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Impact Wrestling issued a statement in which they confirmed the termination of Tessa Blanchard's contract. She has also been stripped of the Impact World Championship title.
The statement reads as follows:
IMPACT Wrestling has confirmed that it has terminated its relationship with Tessa Blanchard and stripped her of the IMPACT Wrestling World Championship.
Tessa Blanchard has not appeared on Impact Wrestling TV since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States. Blanchard decided to stay at home during the pandemic and PWInsider noted that the situation between the wrestler and the Impact officials had gotten 'increasingly icy' in recent weeks.
Blanchard's Impact Wrestling contract was scheduled to expire before the Slammiversary PPV, and the belief was that she would compete in her final match at the show. The idea was for her to defend the Impact World Championship against Eddie Edwards, Ace Austin, Trey Miguel and Michael Elgin. Elgin's status for the show is up in the air as he is currently suspended.
The 'icy' relationship between Tessa Blanchard and Impact Wrestling officials
The relationship between Impact and Blanchard got worse after she reportedly did not send the promos from her home in Mexico for an episode of Impact,
The plan was to get the footage sent by Blanchard and edit it into a sit-down satellite interview with Josh Matthews. Tessa Blanchard, however, did not send the footage and Impact Wrestling was forced to make several changes to the show, ranging from a few re-edits and new voiceovers cuts.
Sources told PWInsider that Impact Wrestling had tried to convince Tessa Blanchard to show up on TV and drop the title on multiple occasions. However, it was noted that both parties were not able to agree on terms.
While her contract was due to end before Slammiversary - which is scheduled to take place on July 18th - Impact hoped that she would come back for another match. It came to a point where Impact Wrestling management realized she wouldn't be returning anytime soon and the decision was made to terminate her contract.
As things stand, Tessa Blanchard - daughter of Tully Blanchard and Magnum T.A.'s step-daughter - is a free agent and she is eligible to sign up with any wrestling promotion in the world. Tully Blanchard currently works for AEW, and that could give rise to speculation about a potential move to All Elite Wrestling.
In an update released by Sean Ross Sapp on Fightful Select, Tessa Blanchard's contract was reportedly set to end on June 30th. The report also added that there is interest from other companies to sign Blanchard but which ones were not revealed.
Tessa Blanchard joined Impact Wrestling in 2018 and created history by becoming the first woman to win the Impact Wrestling World Championship. There are no updates on how this would affect her fiancé Daga's status in the company as he is signed to a multi-year deal.
She is inarguably the hottest free agent in the world right now, and it would be interesting to see where she heads to next. Stay tuned for more updates on her future.
