For those wrestling fans who were hoping that Tessa Blanchard was going to be heading to WWE/NXT any time soon, it appears that you’ll have to wait quite some time for that to happen. Yesterday, Impact Wrestling announced that the third generation wrestler has signed on “long-term” with the company.
BREAKING: @Tess_Blanchard will continue to prove she's undeniable in the Knockouts Division as she has signed a long-term contract with IMPACT Wrestling. pic.twitter.com/3SWenkIJyG
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) July 10, 2018
After rumors for nearly a year of Blanchard’s “imminent” signing with the WWE, Tessa Blanchard shocked everyone when she debuted with Impact Wrestling at the April tapings in Orlando and made her TV debut on the May 17 episode of Impact Wrestling, in a victory over another new Knockout, Keira Hogan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F7C-i07OMo
Since then, she’s been locked in a feud with former 5x Knockouts Champion Madison Rayne, who is on a collision course with current Knockouts Champion Su Yung at Slammiversary XVI on July 22. So far, Blanchard has yet to get in a win over the veteran Knockout. While many fans have been upset at Blanchard’s booking (despite being 2-0 against Keira Hogan, she’s currently 0-2 against Rayne), she’s still looked strong in her showings. And prior to her new signing, Tessa was working on a short term deal – it’s hard to commit to a long term storyline if you aren’t 100% sure that the talent will be remaining for the duration of the story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAFnQuf4zKg
But with yesterday’s news that Tessa Blanchard is now locked up for the foreseeable future, expect her storylines to develop a little deeper and the “Diamond” to become one of the cornerstones of the new Knockouts division going forward. This past weekend, as part of the Impact and RISE Wrestling co-production RISE of the Knockouts, Blanchard won more singles gold, becoming the new Phoenix of RISE Champion after defeating Mercedes Martinez in a gruelling 30-minute Iron Woman match, after previously wrestling Stardom‘s Kris Wolf in the early stages of the show.
