Additional Details On Tessa Blanchard's TNA Return

Tessa Blanchard is back in TNA after a four-year hiatus, but her return has been met with a boatload of controversy. Blanchard returned at the Final Resolution event on December 13, attacking Jordynne Grace, which looks to have set up a feud between the two women. That's despite Grace reportedly pushing back on the idea due to Blanchard's original stint in TNA that saw her accused of racism and bullying. Dave Meltzer has gathered some new information on her return in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, including the reaction from her now former employers, CMLL.

Meltzer noted that WWE is a factor in this decision, particularly in the feud between Blanchard and Grace, as Grace is expected to join WWE in the new year, while there are people in WWE who want to work with Blanchard, so having her wrestle in the US more frequently could entice WWE into picking her up. A lot of people in TNA were completely unaware that Blanchard was returning, with Anthem Sports higher-up Ariel Shnerer being the one to make the call, not phased by the unceremonious exit from TNA she had in 2020, or the fallout she had with Women Of Wrestling. Meltzer also claimed that there was no interest from AEW, as he believes they would receive far more backlash than TNA or WWE would in recruiting Blanchard.

The 29-year old worked for CMLL for 14 months with no incidents, and was rewarded with the CMLL World Women's Tag Team Championship up until her departure, after which she vacated the title. It's unclear if CMLL wanted this to happen, or if TNA refused to allow Blanchard to drop the titles, but Meltzer believes CMLL decided against the possibility of Blanchard working for both CMLL and TNA, deciding to keep the belts vacant.