On numerous different occasions I have had people tell me that I am only booked because of my dad, because of who I was dating, or any other exceptions other than my hard work, so in my mind I wanted to put in the extra hours in the ring.Collection: Dating
Honestly, the All In women's locker room was such an inspirational group of women. What I love about all the women involved - Chelsea, Britt, Madison, Jordynne Grace, Brandi Rhodes, Tenille Dashwood, Penelope Ford, Mandy Leon - is we all bring something so different to the table for a common vision.Collection: Inspirational
You got to be able to work hard. And that's what I do. I work hard, because that's what's necessary. You have to go that extra mile.
I don't want to be good, I want to be great.
Witnessing the crowd come to their feet mid-match, that's the ultimate sign of respect.
When I first started wrestling I knew that I wanted to work as long and as hard as it took to be able to have a great match with anyone.
People think that we hired a bunch of actresses and taught them how to wrestle, and that couldn't be further from the truth.
Women today are respected as athletes now and that's a really cool thing to see.
Both my stepdad and my dad have said, 'Follow your heart and your dreams, but Tessa, this is a business and you need to become the best.' They don't sugarcoat things and I'm very, very blessed for that.
I get to travel all over the world and win titles everywhere I've gone.
I was part of the first ever women's match to ever be televised in China. That's something no one can take away from me.
I've gotten to wrestle some of the best women and men in the world - Brian Cage, AR Fox, Scorpio Sky, Tracy Williams, David Starr.
I want to become one of the most versatile wrestlers in the world.
I came into Impact and I ran through the entire Knockouts locker room just like I said I would.
I am grateful to both Impact Wrestling and the WOW executives for working out the details to allow me to pursue my dream of competing at the highest levels within our industry.
I don't think I'd be the wrestler or the athlete that I am today if I didn't have some of the intergender matches that I have.
I am happy to join Selina Majors in providing women with a fully comprehensive training program designed specifically for them. I was trained by men, and while that worked for me, I know a more supportive community for women wanting to join our profession will increase the participation.
I'm a born legend.
And I'm so grateful to have that family name and continue my family's legacy, but I'm also very excited to create my own.
Depending on what country I go to, my style might be a little bit different and my tactics might change a little bit, but at the end of the day, I'm still Tessa Blanchard and I'm still the same wrestler.
I think that wrestling guys has elevated my game in a whole different way. My timing, my transitions, everything is crisp. It's a whole different level.
I was a music theater nerd in high school.
I never wanted to be a wrestler, I wanted to get into musical theater. I always wanted to be on Broadway.
I know what my goals are, and I always keep that in the forefront of my mind.
Every time I step into the ring there is a different obstacle but I'm very confident in myself and my ability.
My favorite wrestler of all-time is Johnny Valentine. I believe him to be the best bad guy ever in wrestling and he is my absolute favorite.
Female-wise, one person that I really, really, really would like to share the ring with is Gail Kim. I say that because I believe her to be one of the best women's wrestlers in the world!
My dad had already retired by the time I was born.
After my freshmen year of college, I really wanted to pursue wrestling.
I wish my grandpa could have seen me wrestle, even once.
I love hard work and proving people wrong.
I have goals, I have my purpose. I want to build upon what my grandpa and my dad and my stepdad did in the past.
Impact is such a fun place to work, I enjoy it so much I can't stress that enough.
I do, I put so much pressure on myself whether it's in the gym, whether it be in wrestling, whatever goals I have.
I remind myself to be grateful and remember where I came from.
That is the great thing about Impact - they care about each individual talent and everything that we put out on TV has a lot of thought and time put into it.
Gail Kim has done so much and has so much knowledge. I think she's extremely underrated. She wants the product to be great and she doesn't mind taking the extra time to get it there. That is a really invaluable thing to me.
I hope to share the ring with Gail Kim one day.
So, I'm a huge Chris Jericho fan. I've always been a huge Chris Jericho fan.
I am not owed anything in this life, especially in wrestling.
I love getting in the ring with Britt Baker. She is one of my favorite people that I got in the ring with.
Honestly, I want to wrestle everybody.
Tasha Steelz, I've watched a few of her training videos, and she is super athletic.
One person that I really love to wrestle again is AR Fox and Brian Cage again too because those are two of my most favorite matches.
I am a huge fan of intergender wrestling. It's something that I would love to see Impact evolve to one day.
I would love to wrestle Scorpio Sky again, that's one of my most favorite matches.
My main goal in Impact Wrestling is to win the Knockouts Championship.
Honestly one woman that I would really love to face would be Taya Valkyrie.
To make a name for myself, I feel it's important to do that before I go anywhere else. Impact have given me the platform and the exposure to do that.
Not a lot of people know this story but I actually got into the business without even telling anyone in my family. It was something I did on my own and I had been training for six to eight months before I told my dad and my step-dad.