Tessa Blanchard has signed with Major League Wrestling, and she already has a target picked out.
The former TNA World Champion confirmed the move herself during an appearance on TMZ Sports’ “Inside the Ring” podcast, ending weeks of speculation that started when MLW CEO Court Bauer publicly acknowledged the two sides were talking.
“I’m going to be starting with MLW here soon, and I’m super, super excited for everything to come,” Blanchard said.
Her debut is set for September 12 at Fightland in Charleston, South Carolina, the same city where her father, WWE Hall of Famer Tully Blanchard, worked during his career. MLW runs the show at Festival Hall alongside a Fusion television taping.
Blanchard Calls Herself The Franchise
Blanchard said her goal is to turn the MLW Women’s World Championship into “the number one women’s title in wrestling,” and she named reigning champion Shotzi Blackheart as the woman standing in the way.
“I think what’s been missing from MLW is a franchise, a name that the division’s built around,” she said. “This division was built and now the franchise … well, I’m here.”
Blackheart won the title from Shoko Nakajima on an episode of Fusion that aired in June, ending a reign that had lasted more than 300 days.
The Deal Keeps Her In Mexico
Blanchard remains based in Mexico City and will continue wrestling for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, with TMZ describing the arrangement as a joint partnership. MLW and CMLL already trade talent regularly, with Mistico and Alejandra Quintanilla among the names to work MLW programming.
She requested and was granted her release from TNA in June. That run included a Knockouts Championship reign and the 2020 win that made her the first woman to hold that company’s world title.
MLW started teasing the arrival on the August 29 episode of Fusion, running a vignette built around diamonds and the line “Pressure breaks most, others are made for it” before closing on the words “coming soon.”
The full interview airs Thursday on “Inside the Ring.”
