Court Bauer believes that people who have been involved in controversy should get the chance to rebuild their careers in wrestling. This came up as he talked about the signing of Tessa Blanchard, who is about to make her MLW debut.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Bauer was asked about his willingness to work with talent that other companies wouldn’t sign. He likes to look at each person individually, and that includes how they act and whether they are able to admit to the mistakes that they made in the past.
“I’m a firm believer in second chances,” Bauer said. “If I didn’t get a second, third, fourth chance, maybe, I mean, I wouldn’t be in the position I am because someone opened the door for me.
“And like you say, you can’t just grade everyone on, like, the same, you know, system. It’s not black and white. There’s grays in this, and you wanna see kind of where they are, where their head’s at when you talk to them, and you converse, and they gotta kinda see what’s happened. How they’ve changed, do they feel differently? How can they reflect? Are they just a sociopath?”
Bauer was critical of the way some people are treated in public after they make mistakes.
“But I really believe in second, third chances, and I think, you know, I think the world got into such a harsh place where it’s like everyone’s just like the Salem witch trials,” he said. “Everyone’s just burn them at the stake. I’m like, there’s definitely some really bad dudes out there. Yeah, that’s it.
“And then there’s people that are like, man, they f**ked up. They get it. They would like another chance, but if no one gives them another chance, they’re just, that’s it. They are done.”
Bauer closed by talking about how fans feel about comeback stories.
“And what I found is like, you know, like the fans they typically want a comeback story if it’s authentic, if the people are worthy of it,” he said. “And so that’s what I believe when I see a lot of folks out there that, you know, need that second, third chance.”
Bauer also talked about the problems that led to Blanchard’s MLW debut being delayed. She was originally scheduled to debut at Fightland on September 12, but that ended up being canceled. Bauer put the delay at around 60 days but didn’t get into exactly what happened.
At that point, CMLL issued a statement to clarify that Blanchard’s deal to work for MLW was for a one-off appearance. MLW pulled Blanchard’s name from its advertising a few days later.
In terms of controversy, Blanchard was accused in 2020 of bullying and of using racist language toward La Rosa Negra. She denied the allegations. In December 2025, she addressed the issue in public again and said she has never been racist.
Blanchard is set to debut on November 7 at Saturday Night SuperFight from Cicero Stadium in Chicago.