Tessa’s Woes Easy To Kill
Controversy doesn’t stop Impact Wrestling.
History was made on Jan. 12, 2020, as Tessa Blanchard became the first woman to win the world championship in a major promotion.
She ended the relatively brief reign of her arch-nemesis Sami Callihan, who pushed his challenger to the limit. They started the match trading finishers a la Randy Orton vs. Triple H from WrestleMania XXV. Of course, finishers don’t mean what they used to, so unlike in that main event from 2009, the Dallas crowd wasn’t deflated after such an exciting start. They knew such a historic match wouldn’t end that quickly, especially after Impact spent eight months building up the feud and even longer promoting intergender wrestling as its specialty, it’s differentiator in a crowded market.
“I get why people write it off for the obvious reasons,” Blanchard told The Wrestling Estate days before Hard To Kill. “Maybe they aren’t comfortable, maybe they aren’t used to it, maybe it’s not what they grow up on, maybe it’s not what their family sits down and watches on Monday night. It’s different – I get that. But there’s a way to tell that story and I love when someone comes up to me after one of my matches and says ‘I totally wasn’t into this, but now I get it.’ If we’re able to do that, hell yeah, that’s so amazing to me.”
After Scarlett Bordeaux left Impact Wrestling, Blanchard took up the mantle of intergender wrestling crusader, breaking the glass ceiling and destroying gender roles. Athletically gifted, perpetually intense and just looking like she could kick anyone’s ass, the third-generation grappler was the perfect choice to ride the feminist wave and inject Impact with some much-needed publicity.
“There’s a certain pressure that comes with being a history-making champion and being put in the main event of a pay-per-view,” Blanchard said. “If I’m able to take that pressure and turn it into fuel that takes me to the next level, I’m doing something right. I have extreme mental strength and there’s nothing I can’t pick myself up from.”
The 24-year-old North Carolina native must be tapping into that extreme mental strength right now because just two days after speaking with The Wrestling Estate, her world got turned upside down with one seemingly innocuous tweet.
Remember when you spat in a black woman’s face and called her the N-word in Japan? Was that you “supporting women“? The AUDACITY of this tweet https://t.co/P49uNWsqIH
— Allysin Kay (@Sienna) January 11, 2020
Yes true!!! And thank you and @chigusa8888 for gave me the opportunity to back to Japan. After the incident evreything was a totaly nightmares. But remember in bad times you have to be tolerant. https://t.co/mc056rkAnD
— La Black Rose from Puerto Rico (@LaAbusadoradePR) January 12, 2020
You’ve consistently put down, bullied, and belittled countless female coworkers, including me. Is that support? https://t.co/MrOOksiijk
— CHELSEA GREEN (@ImChelseaGreen) January 11, 2020
As someone who experienced your bullying firsthand, received regular verbal abuse, was spat on, had rumours spread about me, dealt with multiple attempts by you to blacklist me from other companies, (plus more), I just pray you now follow your own advice. https://t.co/MWtmUKLOyf
— Isla Dawn (@IslaDawn) January 11, 2020
Remember publicly putting me down on twitter last year for something that didn’t involve you whatsoever, then continuing to drag my name to other people for it?
Pepperidge Farm Remembers.
You should probably delete this tweet. https://t.co/MnsHVnwavU
— Priscilla Kelly (@priscillakelly_) January 11, 2020
She did more nasty stuff in Japan… Never forget. Practice what you preach sweetheart. I standby @LaAbusadoradePR, she’s a fun loving person who would never disrespect anyone. Much love to you Rosa. ❤️ https://t.co/gldMcAzwJD
— Shanna シャナ (@Shannanjii) January 11, 2020
Blanchard was trending on Twitter, denounced by many fans and removed from a Texas independent show. Although Impact didn’t address the controversy, Moose, Kiera Hogan and former Impact wrestler Diamante showed their support, chalking the allegations up to everybody makes mistakes. Blanchard responded to Chelsea Green and then tweeted this, which you have to assume is a response to Allysin Kay’s tweet.
not true. That’s my statement and the most attention I’ll give it because of how actually ridiculous it is.
— Tessa Blanchard (@Tess_Blanchard) January 11, 2020
Despite Blanchard’s reputation being pummeled, there was no doubt that Impact would steer the course and pay off its eight-month storyline with the natural conclusion. The company didn’t address the controversy at all during the pay-per-view – Blanchard merely alluded to it in a speech after the show. As evidenced by the reaction in Dallas, Impact’s audience is standing by its on-screen heroine. Whether other crowds continue to adore her remains to be seen, but it’s likely that this expose remains simply Twitter fodder, never affecting her time at Impact.
After all, this is pro wrestling. Everybody gets a second chance when there’s money to be made. Maybe Blanchard has grown and changed her ways. Maybe she has atoned for her sins in ways we don’t know about. Maybe the controversy will (or already has) force her to reach out to those she offended and make amends.
Of course, that’s wishful thinking. It’s just a shame that such a monumental achievement has been tarnished in the eyes of many fans, although most of them probably don’t watch Impact, anyway.
I dont know if this aired. Tessa loosely addresses the controversy. pic.twitter.com/pMMRHlYgYn
— Voices of Wrestling (@voiceswrestling) January 13, 2020
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