Tessa Blanchard got let go by IMPACT, but it was a formality.
On Fightful Select over the past week, and this morning in the Fightful Wrestling Weekly, it was reported that Tessa Blanchard's deal and departure from IMPACT had a lot more than met the eye. Even last month on various Fightful Podcasts, it was noted that many didn't not expect her at the Slammiversary show.
Per the Select reports:
IMPACT Wrestling terminated Tessa Blanchard's contract, but it was coming due anyway.
Fightful Select has learned that Tessa Blanchard's contract was set to expire on June 30, weeks before she was advertised to defend the IMPACT World Championship at Slammiversary in a 5-way match. With her termination, she's been stripped of that title and is no longer advertised for the match.
We were told weeks ago that IMPACT asked Tessa Blanchard to film promos, but that she asked for a day rate, and the two could not come to terms to make that happen. The release had nothing to do with the controversies from January. She's not appeared on IMPACT tapings since the COVID-19 pandemic started, and has been stuck in Mexico.
We've heard there is interest from other companies, but which ones were not specified to us.
For those asking, there is no non-compete clause tied to the termination of Tessa Blanchard that we're aware of. With her contract set to expire on June 30, a non-compete beyond that would have been seen as an "extension," and she would have had to agreed to it.
Coming out of the last tapings, nearly everyone in Impact we spoke to didn't expect her to appear at Slammiversary. Most of the roster we'd heard from thought her contract extended into July. As far as those in Impact we spoke to go, some thought she'd get interest from AAA and WWE, but that AEW wouldn't try to bring her in despite having Tully Blanchard on the staff.
Fightful has also reached out to Tessa Blanchard on the matter.
In addition to this, Select reported that Blanchard has a non-disparagement clause tied to her contract, which has become standard for many promotions.
This report first ran on our premium service, Fightful Select. Subscribe to Fightful Select to gain access to exclusive news, and dozens of podcasts monthly, as well as supporting us directly. You can also check out exclusive news every Wednesday morning in the Fightful Wrestling Weekly.
