TNA Interested In Bringing Back Tessa Blanchard

Could Tessa Blanchard make a shock return to TNA Wrestling?

by Andrew Pollard
Tessa Blanchard Impact Champion
IMPACT Wrestling

Could TNA Wrestling be set to bring back Tessa Blanchard? Maybe.

As per PWInsider, there have been early discussions within TNA about bringing Tessa back into the fold. However, there is no indication at this stage that the Anthem promotion has directly reached out to the former IMPACT World Champion.

This comes on the back of TNA's recent Lights Out tease videos, with some speculating that Tessa Blanchard could be the one behind this. Instead, last weekend's TNA Rebellion saw 'Broken' Matt Hardy revealed to be the person responsible, with Rebellion closing out with Hardy laying out TNA World Champion Mouse with the Twist of Fate.

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An incredibly talented total package with immense potential, the 28-year-old Blanchard's career is one mired by allegations of bullying and racism. A 2017 show in Japan saw Tessa accused of using racist language and spitting at La Rosa Negra, while her winning of the then-IMPACT World Title in 2020 took place at a time when the likes of Chelsea Green, Allysin Kay, Gigi Dolin, and Big Swole took to social media to lambast Blanchard's bullying behaviour.

The Diamond was released by IMPACT/TNA in June 2020 after failing to provide requested video content during the COVID-19 pandemic. This release came at a time when Tessa was negotiating a new contract with the promotion and was still its World Champion, with her also being stripped of that title.

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In the time since, Blanchard had a cup of coffee as a talent and trainer for the relaunched Women of Wrestling, although that relationship quickly soured, reportedly due to some promo class words that rubbed several people the wrong way.

After a near-two-year absence from the ring following her IMPACT departure, Tessa Blanchard returned to action in July 2022, and has been a regular part of CMLL since October 2023 - most recently competing in a two-out-of-three falls six-person tag team match this past weekend at Arena Mexico.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.