It appears that Tessa Blanchard’s time is over in TNA.
Fightful Wrestling is reporting that Blanchard asked for her release, and it was granted by TNA.
This report comes after rumors that TNA didn’t want wrestlers appearing in CMLL, which was only Blanchard with a special deal, due to the WWE ownership of competing lucha libre company
AAA.
Dave Meltzer confirmed the release of Blanchard. On the topic of the the WWE/AAA/TNA/CMLL/AEW rumor, he added, “Tessa Blanchard appears to be caught in the crossfire of the wrestling promotional war. Basically, TNA doesn’t want a wrestler on their TV working for CMLL. They shouldn’t care. It’s not their war. But wrestling politics are such that people above TNA probably aren’t happy a TNA wrestler was on the same show as their wrestlers in the U.S. is in CMLL.”
Blanchard has worked regularly with CMLL over the past year, and she often speaks fondly of the opportunities given by CMLL. Plus, her boyfriend, Esfinge, is on the CMLL roster.
Blanchard’s first run with TNA ended as reigning world champion (Impact World Championship) in 2020. That run exploded in an unfortunate manner. She was stripped of the title and her contract was terminated. Reports indicate TNA could not reach an agreement for Blanchard to drop the title as her contract was set to expire soon. This incident coincided with the COVID era of wrestling. Those issues came on top of the bullying and racist accusations that surfaced earlier the same year.
Blanchard returned to TNA in December of 2024. She was put into a high-profile feud with Jordynne Grace. Blanchard prevailed in that battle as Grace moved on to WWE. Blanchard then challenged Masha Slamovich for the Knockouts Championship, but she never won that title this go-around. Blanchard moved to the mid-card with her faction, including Victoria Crawford and Mila Moore. In the first month upon return, live fans reacted with chants of calling Blanchard a racist. Those chants died down over time. There were no negative reports about Blanchard’s behavior backstage during her second stint in TNA.
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