It’s been nearly five years since Tessa Blanchard had a nasty falling out with TNA Wrestling and the greater wrestling community.
A long list of prominent wrestlers accused Blanchard of bullying in 2020, with some alleging that she even made racist comments toward other talent.
Then a few months later her relationship with TNA (then Impact Wrestling) soured, being stripped of their women’s world title and released from the brand after their strained relationship boiled over.
While Blanchard spent years away from the larger wrestling community in America after the series of controversies, she made her official return to TNA Wrestling earlier this year and has become a frequent fixture in their women’s division since. Her presence on the show has received a mixed reaction, with fans disapproving of a return for Blanchard due to the concerning past allegations brought against her.
Scott D’Amore, who ran TNA Wrestling at the time of Blanchard’s departure in 2020, was recently asked if there were any talks regarding her returning while he was in charge of the company.
D’Amore said that discussions between the two “never got too far down the road,” although he recounted a chat with Blanchard two years ago that allowed him to move on from his past experiences with her.
“We left that conversation with saying what we felt we needed to say to each other,” D’Amore said last week in a conversation with POST Wrestling. “I think letting go with grudges and not carrying that around is a healthy thing in life. What’s that saying, carrying around hatred is like being mad at somebody else and punishing yourself? Really, I think that’s what it is. I was happy to have a conversation with Tessa because I walked away feeling a bit of a lift off my shoulders.”
Blanchard’s return to TNA Wrestling hasn’t been received positively by a significant amount of fans. Her presence at events has caused attendees to reference past allegations, with loud chants of “She’s a racist” being heard at past TNA events.
While D’Amore stopped short of commenting about what he thinks is the right decision for Blanchard currently, it seems he has moved on from the past grudges he held against her.
“No ill will for me for Tessa,” he said. “I hope Tessa’s grown as a person. I hope we all grow as people. If I’m the same person now that I was 13 months ago when I left TNA, I’m failing as a human being … The wrestling world’s going to decide what opportunities and chances Tessa gets, and I hope that she’s in a better place in life and makes the right decisions and goes on and lives a healthy, productive life in or outside of wrestling.”
