During a recent appearance on the “Battleground” podcast, TNA Wrestling star Tessa Blanchard commented on making her return to wrestling, speaking with former TNA President Scott D’Amore and Gail Kim, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On her return to wrestling following her hiatus: “I decided to go back to wrestling when CMLL called me, and go out to Mexico, and I fell in love out there. Fell in love with the country, the culture, the people, Arena Mexico. It solidified the fact and reassured me that I still am great and I can still do this, and this is where I need to be: in a ring. TNA and I had talks way back in January (2024) and Hard to Kill. For me, it didn’t seem like the right time to go back. I was happy in Mexico. I had finally found my happiness again.”
On overcoming her recent anxiety: “I know how much anxiety I had acquired over the past few years. It’s hard to explain anxiety if you don’t experience it. It’s like a weight on your chest that you can’t get off. For me, personally, I shut down and closed myself off. I can’t really speak about it. I was like, ‘I’m happy in Mexico. These people don’t judge me. These people don’t think something about me. These people don’t have any preconceived notions, and I can just wrestle and do what I love. I don’t want to give that up.’ It didn’t seem like the right time.”
On her past talks with TNA in early 2024: “I talked to Scott (D’Amore) and Gail (Kim) at the time, and it didn’t seem right, so we didn’t do it. Months and months later, looking at my life, I’m 29 years old now, I always said in my head, I have a good solid number in my head of when I don’t want to be a wrestler past, and one day I would like to have a family. Putting all of those things into perspective and prioritizing what I need to prioritize, I was like, maybe now is the time that I need to jump in and see if there is something there. See if there is a chance to return, and not be the exact same Tessa that I was because I’m such a different woman now, but see if there is still success for me out there, doing what I love. Speaking to Gail and Ariel (Shnerer), it seemed like a good time to try it out and return.”
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