10 Things You Didn't Know About Tessa Blanchard
Tully's daughter is a controversial trailblazer, but there is more to Tessa than heat and titles.
Make a list of the 10 best female wrestlers on the planet. Take your time, don't rush it. If your list doesn't include Tessa Blanchard, then your list is ill-informed, preoccupied with internet controversies and politics. If it does include Tessa Blanchard, you've got her name in the upper echelons.
Such a blase approach to the controversy that surrounds Tessa Blanchard is to be taken with a pinch of salt, but it is undeniable that the daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Tully is one of the most important pro wrestlers of the modern era. She defeated Sami Callihan to become Impact World Champion in 2019, putting her name in the history books in the process, a championship win that was tainted by allegations of racism and bullying in the build-up.
Her reign was cursed from the get-go, and the global pandemic that shut down the world only made matters worse. Tessa was stuck with the title in Mexico, unable to get back to the US to drop it and seemingly unwilling to send in the promos that were asked of her. She was eventually released, being stripped of the title in the process.
All this is fairly common knowledge at this point, but what about her early years? What about her influences? What about the sage advice of Carlito Caribbean Cool? It is time to get to know Tessa Blanchard.
10. Shakespeare Not Suplexes
Like many of her peers and contemporaries, Tessa Blanchard discovered the magic of the stage from an early age. Being the daughter of an all-time great heel was always going to leave some performative genes (apples rarely fall too far from trees, after all), but it was the world of music and story that initially grabbed Tessa, not the violence and poetry of the squared circle.
In an interview with the San Antonio Daily Express, Blanchard stated that she never wanted to be wrestler, instead dreaming of a spot on Broadway. She excelled in music and theatre all through school before eventually enrolling at the Charlotte Children's Theater, entering a world of Shakespeare and amateur productions. Blanchard's childhood wasn't dramatic on either side of the ledger (she has claimed that she doesn't remember much of it), but musical theatre provided an escape.
As the pro wrestling industry continues to evolve, it is inevitable that more young stars are going to be make the transition from music and theatre to the squared circle. The days of tough men getting by on an ability to be punched are long gone, and the future of the industry depends on its ability to develop engrossing characters with the ability to tell fascinating stories. Tessa's background stood her in good stead.