Days before she won the Impact World Championship in January 2020, Tessa Blanchard found herself at the center of controversy when she was accused by numerous fellow wrestlers of bullying and making racist comments behind the scenes. She emphatically denied the accusations at the time, but things took another turn when she stopped appearing at Impact tapings amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and was promptly stripped of the title and released by the company last June. She has since wrestled only two matches, though there’s been heavy speculation about which major US promotion she and husband Daga might wind up in.
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The latest updates regarding their status came back in December, where conflicting reports came out from the Wrestling Observer and Wrestling Inc. over whether or not AEW had interest in the two (WWE reportedly always has). But in a surprise twist, SEScoops reported on Saturday that negotiations between AEW and Blanchard have been ongoing for roughly a month and that it’s “all but a formality” that she and Daga will sign with the company soon.
Prior to her allegations, Blanchard was seen as a potential cornerstone for any promotion’s women’s division, given her incredible in-ring ability at only Age 25. The comparisons between her and Charlotte Flair have been around for years, only partially because of their status as second-generation wrestlers.
For whatever it’s worth, Blanchard has made no comment regarding the latest insider report.
“I’ve been away for a while, the main reason for that is to focus on my wedding & honeymoon,” Blanchard wrote last September after a hiatus from social media. “The past few months I’ve gotten back to the basics & been focusing on the relationships I have with family, friends & myself. The point of this post is because I’m taking back the control of my narrative. I’ve had people weigh in on what I should do, what I should say, what interview to do, where to go.. now, I want to listen to what I want and what’s in my heart. I am so blessed in so many areas of my life & I am so grateful to have such strong people in my life. & I regained control of that mindset.. that I know who I am. At the end of every day I can look in the mirror and say ‘I know that woman, I like that woman, I love who that woman is becoming and what she’s capable of’, that’s all I need. 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 & that’s the end of it, it’s just not who I am. & I’m tired of being called & my family seeing me be called something so hateful.
“Who I am is a woman that cares deeply about my passion and putting in work,” she continued. “Who I am is a woman that gives 110% at whatever she does whether it was waiting tables, extra curricular school work, the next workout, or in the ring. Who I am is a woman that prefers to be viewed as tough as nails instead of having any form of weakness. Who I am is a woman completely driven by my passion & what I believe God has for me in life. Even with those little details about me, at the end of the day none of it matters.. we are each responsible for taking control of our own lives. I’m taking back control of mine.. #nosvemospronto.”
