Tessa Blanchard is pushing back on the story of her first departure from TNA Wrestling in June 2020.
Speaking with Maverick Rose on WrestleMagicPod, Blanchard blamed the “cancel culture” climate of that era for fueling claims that she refused to drop the IMPACT World Championship.
Her contract was set to expire June 30, she said, and the Slammiversary match wasn’t until July 18. Blanchard said IMPACT offered her a three-year deal, but the plan on the table was a short-term extension — just long enough for her to lose the title once outstanding payments were settled.
“There are stories like, ‘Tessa held up the title. Tessa didn’t want to lose the title.’ That was never the case.”
She added that Josh Mathews already had the belt when reports surfaced that she was refusing to return it, and that she found out about her release from a website two days before her contract expired — never receiving a call from the company.
Reporting at the time backs up parts of her account. IMPACT terminated Blanchard on June 25, 2020 and stripped her of the title. Her contract was confirmed as expiring June 30, and she had been advertised for a five-way title match at Slammiversary, but IMPACT never publicly addressed a three-year offer, outstanding payments, or where the belt was.
Reports also noted that IMPACT asked Blanchard to film promos, but the two sides couldn’t come to terms on a day rate.
After returning at Final Resolution in December 2024, Blanchard wrapped up her second TNA run in June 2026. Shortly after her release, she said on CMLL Informa that she chose to stay in Mexico after TNA asked her to choose between the two promotions.