Tessa Blanchard has had one wild year with a lot of highs and lows. After a build-up from last year’s chase for shattering the glass ceiling, Blanchard became the first woman in IMPACT Wrestling history to hold the top men’s title. She became the IMPACT World Champion after defeating Sami Callihan at Hard to Kill in January.
During that same weekend of making history, Blanchard became the target and talk of racist remarks and actions. These allegations came from peers in the industry specifically mentioning an incident between Blanchard and La Rosa Negra in Japan.
Controversay would continue to follow Blanchard with how her title reign ended. Reports show that she was in Mexico and unable to make it to the United States to defend her title. As a result she was stripped of the title due to inactivity and subsequently let go from IMPACT.
A positive side to Blanchard’s year came when she tied the knot to fellow professional wrestler Daga. Recently, the couple celebrated their honeymoon and Blanchard has posted it to her Instagram.
She had the following to say:
“I’ve been away for a while, the main reason for that is to focus on my wedding & honeymoon. 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. Who I am is a woman that gives 110% at whatever she does whether it was waiting tables, extracurricular 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”
Blanchard returned to the ring recently at a Warrior Wrestling event where she defended the women’s title. She lost the title to Kylie Rae.
