We are almost two weeks away from the biggest event of the year for Impact Wrestling – Slammiversary. While the card is filling up, one name notably absent is that of Impact Wrestling newcomer Tessa Blanchard, who has been quickly cementing a prominent role in the Knockouts division.
It’s been a few months since Tessa Blanchard made her Impact Wrestling debut at the Redemption pay-per-view on commentary during a match between Taya Valkyrie and Kiera Hogan. She began establishing herself as the prodigy with wrestling lineage and privilege issues, which allowed Blanchard to seamlessly assume the roll of the villain.
Since then, Blanchard has had a program with Hogan, which included a No-DQ match. Stemming from that came Blanchard’s program with former Knockouts champion Madison Rayne, a feud which curiously hasn’t seemed to have ended yet, even as Madison Rayne vies for the Knockout Championship against Su Yung.
That brings us to the question at hand – with all the momentum she’s been building up since her debut, what exactly is Blanchard’s roll in the upcoming Slammiversary, if there even is one?
The show is two weeks away; feasibly, it could be possible for Impact to book Blanchard for a short feud with another performer not yet on the card for Slammiversary, figure someone like Taya Valkyrie. Valkyrie’s beaten Kiera Hogan and lost to Madison Rayne, just like Tessa Blanchard. I could see Valkyrie stepping up to Blanchard for some kind of Number One Contender match for the Knockouts Championship in that time.
Speaking of the Knockouts Championship, in the current atmosphere of Impact Wrestling, that being what we saw on the latest episode airing on July 5th, Blanchard is still taking cheap shots at Madison Rayne, even in the middle of Rayne’s other matches.
This is clearly indicative that we haven’t seen the last of their feud. What we’re still waiting to see is whether or not Blanchard’s position in Rayne’s business plays into Rayne’s match at Slammiversary.
In light of her actions on Impact Wrestling, if she doesn’t get booked elsewhere on the card, I would assume Blanchard will try to sabotage Rayne’s championship match like she’s been doing. Looking towards the outcome of said match, I see it figuring one of two for Tessa Blanchard. If she interferes and Su Yung retains, this will lead into the next chapter of the Blanchard/Rayne feud, which wouldn’t be the most exciting outcome unless the match is stipulated.
However, if Rayne were to go on and win her sixth Knockouts Championship, I think that would cement Blanchard as the next challenger. I wouldn’t even be surprised if Rayne herself, already more than sick of Blachard’s attitude, called out Blanchard to challenge for her title. Whether or not Blanchard would win that bout is up for debate; I, however, believe Blanchard’s booking thus far is testament to the fact that they’re ready to give her a significant role in the division.