Tessa Blanchard to return to wrestling as a part of Women of Wrestling via Fightful Select
Tessa Blanchard’s time as a free agent is over. Fightful Select reported on Monday that Blanchard will be a part of the relaunched WOW Women of Wrestling.
According to the report, a press conference is scheduled for Wednesday to announce the relaunch. NBA fans will recognize the name Jeanie Buss, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers as an individual tied to the project.
Blanchard is an individual that comes with controversy tied to her name. In 2020 she was hit with multiple accusations of bullying and racist remarks to a fellow performer. Fightful also reported in January of 2020 that she verbally abused members of the staff, including wrestlers and trainers.
Things did not improve for Blanchard, as later that month the accusations of racist behavior started to roll in. Names such as Chelsea Green and Allysin Kay spoke up about the situation involving Blanchard and La Rosa Negra, where Blanchard was accused of calling her the “N-word,” and spitting on her as well.
The situation rightfully tarnished the moment that Blanchard became the Impact World Champion, becoming the first and only woman to hold that title in a time when the push for higher-profile women’s wrestling continued to surge. Blanchard’s statements immediately after the victory and on social media did not include the apology that many demanded of her.
“The point of this post is because I’m taking back the control of my narrative,” Blanchard posted to Instagram. “Racist? That’s not me, that’s never been me, I don’t have a history of being that way, I don’t have a history of using that language and that’s the end of it, it’s just not who I am, and I’m tired of being called and my family seeing me be called something so hateful.”
According to Fightful’s report, the planned relaunch of WOW was pending, but there is little known about what other names will land with the promotion other than Blanchard. WOW creator, David McLane, went as far as to email performers in 2020 to ask them to not post to social media about Blanchard as rumblings of her behavior surfaced. Blanchard last performed in September of 2020 where she was defeated by Kylie Rae for the Warrior Wrestling Women’s title.
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