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Tessa Blanchard, the former IMPACT! World Champion, has signed with Women of Wrestling (WOW).
Blanchard and the current WOW World Champion The Beast are the only two women signed so far.
Her participation was announced in a relaunch video released by WOW.
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After being gone for more than a year, reports of Blanchard returning swirled over the past few days. Two days ago, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that Blanchard will be part of the relaunch of WOW.
Tessa Blanchard before WOW
Shortly after winning the IMPACT World Championship, Blanchard took a leave of absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was reported that Blanchard was released from IMPACT in June 2020 after failing to prove she was self-isolating in Mexico ahead of a title defense.
IMPACT Wrestling officials reportedly thought that Blanchard "would no show" her title defense at that year's Slammiversary event.
Tessa Blanchard has been rumored to return to wrestling throughout the past year. Blanchard was also rumored to be interested in working with both AEW and WWE. However, it was reported that neither company wanted to work with Blanchard, specifically sighting her backstage issues with other wrestlers.
Tessa Blanchard last wrestled in IMPACT Wrestling
Blanchard became a pioneer for intergender wrestling in 2019 and early 2020.
In July 2019, the Diamond Standard faced fellow IMPACT star Sami Callihan at Slammiversary XVII. This was the first intergender match to ever headline a pro-wrestling pay-per-view.
While Blanchard lost, she went on to face Callihan again at Hard to Kill 2020, where she became the first woman to win the IMPACT World Championship. Her last appearance on IMPACT came in early March 2020, just at the start of the pandemic.
Along with Blanchard, AJ Lee has been announced for Women of Wrestling as an executive producer. The former WWE Divas Champion hasn't been seen in pro-wrestling since retiring following WrestleMania 31.
What will Tessa Blanchard do in WOW? Will she be well received by the fans? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below!
