Tessa Blanchard Rejoins TNA 4 Years After Controversial Release
Former TNA World Champion Tessa Blanchard set to make sensational return.
Tessa Blanchard has reportedly re-signed with TNA Wrestling, completing a sensational comeback four years after leaving the Anthem-helmed promotion under a banner of controversy.
Dave Meltzer reports as much in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Blanchard's TNA return is believed to be on the cards, hence her lack of appearances for her most recent home promotion, CMLL, over the past three weeks.
Blanchard, 29, was an important figure for TNA during her 2018-20 run. Quickly ascending the ranks, Tessa became Knockouts Champion by August '18, but broke ground for the then-IMPACT Wrestling by participating in the intergender match to headline a company pay-per-view that following July (vs. Sami Callihan at Slammiversary XVII).
In January 2020, Blanchard broke further ground, defeating Callihan to become the first woman to hold TNA's World Championship. This moment, however, was mired in infamy. Days before the Hard to Kill pay-per-view, where Tessa bested Callihan, multiple women's wrestlers came forward accusing Blanchard of racist behaviour towards a black wrestler during a tour of Japan.
Allysin Kay tweeted on 11 Jan, 2020:
Remember when you spat in a black woman’s face and called her the N-word in Japan? Was that you “supporting women“? The AUDACITY of this tweet https://t.co/P49uNWsqIH
— Allysin Kay (@TheAllysinKay) January 11, 2020
Current WWE star Chelsea Green posted:
You’ve consistently put down, bullied, and belittled countless female coworkers, including me. Is that support? https://t.co/MrOOksiijk
— CHELSEA GREEN (@ImChelseaGreen) January 11, 2020
La Rosa Negra, the wrestler Blanchard was accused of racially abusing, supported the claims.
In a statement issued days later, Tessa denied using a slur:
"Over the last week I have been accused of calling a fellow wrestler a racial slur. To read this allegation has been personally upsetting. To be clear, I absolutely did not use that word. That word is not in my vocabulary. That word is not in my heart. Racism is not in my heart."
"Yet I know many people have to deal with racism in a way I will never have to. Racism is an awful part of American history, and it is equally awful that its still part of our society today. While I did not do what was claimed, I stand ready to use my platform to support the fight against racism however I can."
Blanchard was booked to dethrone Sami Callihan as World Champion despite the controversy.
By June 2020, however, Tessa was out of TNA/IMPACT entirely. The promotion stripped her of its top championship amidst reports of an increasingly "icy" relationship between the wrestler and the company. Blanchard allegedly failed to submit promotional material to TNA while isolating in Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fearful that Blanchard would no-show an upcoming title defence and with her contract set to expire at the end of the month, TNA stripped Tessa of the gold.
Since 2020, Blanchard has worked primarily out of Mexico, with her CMLL run starting last October.