Tanea Brooks’s terminal ALS diagnosis has now reached mainstream media, with People publishing a full report on the AEW personality’s announcement on Saturday.
Since the announcement, public messages of support have come from across the wrestling industry, including from wrestlers in companies Brooks never worked for. Matt Hardy, Alexa Bliss and Shane “Hurricane” Helms are among those who have posted publicly. Brooks, 47, also used her own announcement video to thank AEW CEO Tony Khan and the company for their role during her two-year medical journey.
The Wrestling Industry Responds
Matt Hardy posted a message to Brooks on X: “You are dominating my thoughts. My prayers are dedicated to you & I wish you the best & the world. God bless you, Tanea!”
WWE’s Alexa Bliss replied: “Sending you so many prayers.”
Shane “Hurricane” Helms wrote: “We all love you Rebel!!!”
In November 2025, Brooks announced her primary pulmonary lymphoma diagnosis. Christy Hemme, Brooks’s longtime friend who originally helped recommend her to TNA, has been among the most consistent voices of support across both rounds of health news. Replies under Brooks’s own X and Instagram posts from the past 48 hours run into the thousands and include current and former wrestlers from WWE, AEW, TNA, Stardom and the U.S. independent scene.
In her announcement video, Brooks went out of her way to thank AEW for the way the company has handled her extended absence and her treatment. She has not appeared on AEW programming since August 2022, and her last extended on-screen role was as the personal assistant to former AEW Women’s World Champion Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.
“I want to say thank you to Tony Khan and AEW for supporting me on this medical journey. It has been a blessing that is unheard of. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. And thank you to all of you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for a peaceful journey and a peaceful passing. I love you.”
Doctors at the Mayo Clinic identified the ALS while Brooks was preparing for surgery on the masses on her lungs that were the subject of her cancer treatment.
Coverage of Brooks health news has also appeared in Yahoo Sports, Sports Illustrated’s The Takedown, Men’s Journal, Hello Magazine and a range of other outlets outside the wrestling-news ecosystem.
ALS Awareness Month
Brooks announced her diagnosis on May 1, the first day of ALS Awareness Month in the United States. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease — is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, causing muscle paralysis. There is currently no cure. The ALS Association is the largest philanthropic funder of ALS research in the world.