I finally get it. I have seen the light. It took me this long to realize that Dana Brooke is one of the best heels in NXT at the moment.
Back in April of this year, Brooke made her highly-anticipated debut against indy darling Blue Pants, better known as Leva Bates. The match itself did not last long and Brooke stood victorious, posing over a defeated Blue Pants. However, the reaction she received was less than favourable. Her entrance was met with a chorus of jeers, her triumph over a fan favorite like Blue Pants certainly didn’t help either. Just like that, NXT’s newest heel in the women’s division was born.
I could not stand her, to say the least. It was a combination of everything she was. A former fitness model that the WWE had hired the likes of time and time again, and failed a majority of the time. A woman that prided herself in an entrance littered with taunting, to the point of nauseum. It was the arm pose. Definitely the arm pose. She would motion someone to get close to her and then tell them to back off. Even the Maryse pose has been used lately. Oh, and we can’t forget the ab slap and arm flex pose, which is featured at the top of the ramp and inside the ring.
Just the mere sight of her made my blood boil. It became so bad, it would become aggravating to see fellow LWOS writer Adam Contant feature her in his NXT Fast Five piece (Give it a read if you haven’t already). She was quite slow in the ring, her handstand corner choke made little sense, and whoever did her make-up job is either making her look bad on purpose or half-asleep.
And we can’t forget the condescending head tap, which is featured after every promo she cuts backstage.
Then it suddenly hit me. I actually hate this character. A heel.
The Genius Behind the Character of Dana Brooke
As everyone knows, a heel’s job is to make the audience boo them and despise their every word and action. Kevin Owens has done an excellent job in both NXT and WWE, yet he sometimes meets a partisan crowd that can’t see past his marvelous independant wrestling career. Dana Brooke doesn’t have that going for her, however. She’s a former fitness model with little-to-no wrestling background and is being given a shot because of her impressive look.
Finding myself yelling at the television during her latest appearance, it dawned upon me that the WWE had completely fooled me. They had created such an over-the-top character that is obsessed with her look and made sure everyone knew how much better she was, that it had me gritting my teeth and had steam coming out both my ears.
The wrestling company that we all love and hate had finally created a heel persona that makes the audience mad. She’s not spectacular in the ring, yet she is dominant enough to get the job done. Her fireman carry into a Michinoku Driver, in particular, is quite amazing to see her pull off, but outside of that there isn’t much in her array of moves to utilize.
On the microphone, she’s average-at-best. Not particularly bad, in any way, but not great either. Still, she is given ample time on the microphone, both backstage and in the ring, and uses it in a way only she can. Nothing fancy, nothing pipebomb-esque, just brass tacks and insulting, which is exactly the way some heels should be.
If the WWE’s idea was to create a new-era, female version of Gorgeous George, then bravo. You’ve had myself and the Full Sail audience duped since day one.
To Miss Brooke, keep up with the somersault cartwheel, the excessive taunting and ab slapping, and climbing the ranks of the NXT Women’s division. I’ll be sure to meet you at every step on your way there, booing you. Hissing at you. Hating everything about you.
Which is exactly what a heel should be.
