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Tessa Blanchard reveals that she had talks to return to TNA as far back as early 2024.
The former TNA World Champion made a shock return to the company at TNA Final Resolution in December. Despite her controversial exit years ago, she returned to the company to challenge for the TNA Knockouts Championship.
Tessa Blanchard had been wrestling in Mexico since walking out on TNA as their world champion. She had a frosty reception from fans and wrestlers following her comeback, which was different to how she was seen in Mexico.
Speaking with the Battleground Podcast, Tessa Blanchard spoke about her TNA return. She revealed that she had talks with the company in early 2024, but didn’t feel it was the right time for her to return then.
Tessa Blanchard On Talking With TNA In 2024 About Return
“I decided to go back to wrestling when CMLL called me, and I went out to Mexico. I fell in love out there—fell in love with the country, the culture, the people, and Arena Mexico. It solidified and reassured me that, yeah, I’m still great, I can still do this, and this is where I need to be—in a ring,” Tessa Blanchard said.
TNA and I had talks way back in January, around Hard to Kill. At that time, it just didn’t seem right for me to return. I was happy in Mexico. I had finally found my happiness again, especially after all the anxiety I had built up over the past few years. Anxiety is hard to explain if you’ve never experienced it—it’s like a weight on your chest you can’t lift. For me, it caused me to shut down, close myself off, and struggle to talk about it.
In Mexico, I didn’t feel judged. People didn’t have preconceived notions about me. I could just wrestle and do what I love, and I didn’t want to give that up. So, the timing with TNA didn’t feel right. I talked to Scott and Gail back then, but we decided to wait.
Now, months later, I’m looking at my life. I’m 29 years old. I’ve always had a number in my mind of when I didn’t want to wrestle beyond. One day, I want a family. So, when I thought about my priorities, I realized it might be time to take the leap—to see if there’s a chance for me to return.
It’s not about being the exact same Tessa I was before. I’m a very different woman now. But I want to find out if there’s still success for me in doing what I love,” added Tessa Blanchard.
Tessa previously said it didn’t feel right to return to US wrestling
In April, PWInsider.com reported that TNA Wrestling had “at least preliminary discussions” about bringing Tessa Blanchard back into the company. In August, Blanchard told George McKay of Straight Talk Wrestling that she had talks with some wrestling companies, but she claimed that it “hasn’t felt right” and has, as such, remained with CMLL for the time being.
“I’ve talked to some other companies recently, but it hasn’t felt right yet to go back. One thing I promised myself is that it doesn’t matter about the money or anything else—if it doesn’t feel right, I’m not going to do it. My happiness is very important to me right now. Through everything I’ve gone through, I’ve developed some anxiety. “
“It sounds silly, but unless you’ve actually experienced high levels of anxiety, it’s hard to really explain. There are days when I’m just uncomfortable in my own skin because it overtakes everything. I never had this before, but now it’s something I deal with quite frequently. Even the other day, I was on a bus surrounded by people, and I felt this strong anxiety. I’m learning different ways to cope with it, like breathing exercises and refocusing myself.”
