Tessa Blanchard made her return to TNA Wrestling at the Final Resolution special last Friday, initiating a feud with Jordynne Grace. The storyline is expected to culminate in early 2025, as Grace is rumored to be leaving TNA for WWE.
Blanchard’s comeback is significant given her controversial departure in 2020, where she was stripped of the TNA World Title and fired after refusing to return and drop the title during the pandemic. At the time, Blanchard cited concerns about being unable to return to Mexico, where she was living, due to travel restrictions.
Blanchard’s return comes amidst her polarizing reputation. Allegations of bullying and the use of racial slurs from other wrestlers have followed her for years, though Blanchard and La Rosa Negra, the reported target of those remarks, have been seen together in recent photos. Despite this, Blanchard has never issued a formal public apology for the allegations.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed additional backstage details surrounding Blanchard’s return, noting that the decision to bring her back was largely driven by TNA upper management rather than the wrestling side of the company.
“It was an interesting thing because even though I had it in the Observer, most or many, I shouldn’t say most, many people in TNA had no idea she was coming, and it was upper management of TNA who wanted her back, and not necessarily the wrestling people, which is really interesting to me, because my question is, like, why? She’s a good wrestler, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not like she is someone that you would keep from the wrestling people. I don’t know. It’s a really weird story, other than it could be.”
Meltzer speculated that Blanchard’s TNA return could act as a trial run for WWE. He explained:
“I mean, it could be just a favor for WWE. I mean, the idea is if she’s in TNA for a while, and, you know, there’s no big backlash or anything, they could bring her into WWE because there are women in WWE who want to work with her. There may be some who don’t, but I know there’s some who do. And you know she’s very controversial, for all the reasons that everybody knows. And it’s kind of like a test thing, you know? I mean, I know people in you know both. It’s just controversial. She’s got talent. But with TNA, I was surprised, but I’m not. You never burn your bridge and everything like that if you have talent. And but she had talent, and she was in CMLL because it wasn’t like she was, you know, that there were a lot of people who were wanting her in. I mean, it wasn’t like AEW was running to get her because if they were, she’d have been there.”
Meltzer further emphasized that while AEW had opportunities to sign Blanchard, they did not pursue her. This reflects lingering concerns within the industry about her past actions and relationships.
“She didn’t leave [TNA] on the best of terms. She was their world champion at in. TNA and the pandemic came, and, you know, she said it’s a pandemic. She didn’t want to go back. She didn’t go back, and vacated the title, and there were hard feelings over it. But, you know, it’s a new regime in TNA anyway, and she’s back.”
Blanchard’s return to TNA highlights her undeniable in-ring talent but also raises questions about whether the wrestling industry is ready to fully welcome her back. Whether this move smooths the path for a potential WWE debut remains to be seen, especially as her feud with Jordynne Grace unfolds.
