• Look Back In History
• Pmessages
• Quiz
• Stump The Staff
• Top Fifty
• Close

Tim Brooks Pushing His "Killer" Instincts

Posted: Jul 30th 2010 By: CMBurnham

Tim Brooks is showing aspiring pro wrestlers firsthand why he was nicknamed "Killer."

A standout in regional territories throughout the U.S. during the 1970s and '80s, Brooks is staying active in the grappling game by running his own training school and promotion. The North American Wrestling Allegiance is based in Waxahachie, Texas, about 30 miles south of Dallas, where the 64-year-old Brooks was a mainstay for the final decade of his in-ring career.
"This keeps me in touch with wrestling," Brooks said in a recent telephone interview. "We've shot some TV tapes and have 13 episodes in the can. We're looking for a sponsor to get on in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. If you're going to do anything at all (with a promotion), you have to have TV."

With his rough looks, biker attire, scraggly beard and trademark unlit half-smoked stogie, Brooks was a staple mid-card heel during the glory days of the late Fritz Von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling in the mid-'80s.

"I wasn't the No. 1 scientific wrestler in the business, but I was one of the top 10 fighters. That's what made me money," said Brooks, who was managed by the likes of other colorful characters like General Skandar Akbar and the late Gary Hart. "I feel like I was in an elite group with The Sheik, Abdullah the Butcher, Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody. We would tear the arena up with blood and guts. Whatever it took to get the job done, I did it.

"Another thing that got me over (to the fans) was that they never saw me go to the ring and be lazy. I was always in attack mode."

Brooks broke into wrestling in 1969 through his late cousin Dick Murdoch, who was teaming with Dusty Rhodes as the villainous Texas Outlaws. Brooks then began to work for Ed "The Sheik" Farhat, who headlined the Detroit-based Big Time Wrestling territory that he also owned.
Farhat -- one of the greatest heavies in grappling history -- gave Brooks his "Killer" moniker.
"I had wrestled as the Bounty Hunter under a mask and 'The Rebel' Tim Brooks," he said. "The Sheik had taught me how to become a good heel. He then said he wanted me to start going as Killer Brooks. I said, 'There's already Killer Kowalski, Killer Karl Kox and Killer Krupp.' He said, 'It doesn't matter. That's not their real names and there isn't a copyright on them. I really would like to use Killer Brooks as my partner.' Any advice The Sheik had for me I was going to take."

As his experience grew, so did Brooks' profile. He toured Japan 21 times, teamed with a young "Rowdy" Roddy Piper in the Pacific Northwest and engaged in memorable bloodbaths with the late Bruiser Brody (Frank Goodish). His wrestling days began to wind down in the early '90s at the same time successful independent promotions in Dallas/Fort Worth began to fade amid World Wrestling Entertainment's industrywide dominance.

"I had some younger children and wanted to raise my boys and be part of their life when they played high-school sports and things like that," Brooks said. "I had gotten older and had more injuries. I didn't want to stay on the road and fight it. And to be honest, I didn't want to have to fight the alcohol and drugs and bad things that hang around (pro wrestling). I was sick of it. It was a good time for me to get out."

Brooks, though, gradually got back in while working for 12 years constructing and dismantling structures at trade shows and conventions. Brooks opened a wrestling school and initially held classes once a week. Brooks finally quit his post-wrestling job to concentrate full-time on the NAWA, adding to an already impressive grappling resume.

"I'd like to be remembered as someone who tried to give my fans my best," Brooks said. "I don't care who I was on the card with or who was working with me. I always went out to have the best match of the night."

For more information on the NAWA, visit www.myspace.com/killertimbrooks.

Tags: Tim Brooks, Fritz Von Erich, WCCW, Skandar Akbar, Gary Hart, Abdullah the Butcher, Stan Hansen, Bruiser Brody, Dick Murdoch, Dusty Rhodes, Tim Brooks, Karl Kox, Karl Krupp, Roddy Piper, Frank Goodish, WWE