Impact Wrestling

[wildturkey]

So if you check the sheets today, one of the biggest free agents this year is in quite a bit of a controversy.

Tessa Blanchard, apparently at a show last year in Japan, spit on a black female wrestler and called her the N word. Several other women's indy wrestlers have backed up the claim and have also accused Tessa of other incidents and bullying.

Terrible if true. You gotta think it could affect how much WWE or AEW might pursue her now

 

[Yo Tee]

So if you check the sheets today, one of the biggest free agents this year is in quite a bit of a controversy.

Tessa Blanchard, apparently at a show last year in Japan, spit on a black female wrestler and called her the N word. Several other women's indy wrestlers have backed up the claim and have also accused Tessa of other incidents and bullying.

Terrible if true. You gotta think it could affect how much WWE or AEW might pursue her now

Damn. If that's true, that's really sad. She's probably in line to win the Impact World Title, to be honest. She's possibly the hottest women's wrestler going right now, momentum wise, and probably the hottest female wrestler, momentum wise, since Becky Lynch before Wrestlemania last year.

 

[wazzu31]

So if you check the sheets today, one of the biggest free agents this year is in quite a bit of a controversy.

Tessa Blanchard, apparently at a show last year in Japan, spit on a black female wrestler and called her the N word. Several other women's indy wrestlers have backed up the claim and have also accused Tessa of other incidents and bullying.

Terrible if true. You gotta think it could affect how much WWE or AEW might pursue her now

This has to be a work. No way some chick or a dude who is a legit racist could get a push to the top spot in a minor league organization without it being outed. It’s not like her opponents were John Cena where they’d be giving up millions if they called her out.

 

[Judge Fudge]

I got to say....

They made a mistake putting the world tittle on Blanshard.

Apparently She is a REAL piece of work.

Chelsea Green & Allysin Kay Accuse Tessa Blanchard Of Bullying & Racism (Updated) - Wrestlezone

Tessa Blanchard Reportedly Had Consistent Attitude Problems In WOW

Tessa Blanchard Actively Trying To Dig Up Dirt On Her Accusers

Is this someone you want to represent your company as the flag barrer?

 

[Yo Tee]

I got to say....

They made a mistake putting the world tittle on Blanshard.

Apparently She is a REAL piece of work.

Chelsea Green & Allysin Kay Accuse Tessa Blanchard Of Bullying & Racism (Updated) - Wrestlezone

Tessa Blanchard Reportedly Had Consistent Attitude Problems In WOW

Tessa Blanchard Actively Trying To Dig Up Dirt On Her Accusers

Is this someone you want to represent your company as the flag barrer?

Maybe she's changed. I mean, Hulk Hogan is a racist, he's won MULTIPLE world titles in multiple companies. Look at all the backstage/personal problems with Jeff Hardy. He can't stop getting drunk/taking drugs, yet WWE still gave him a multitude of title runs as a singles competitor and a tag team competitor. Can't judge everyone based on all decisions they've ever made in their entire lives, especially if none of them are recent.

 

[Duffman]

Maybe she's changed. I mean, Hulk Hogan is a racist, he's won MULTIPLE world titles in multiple companies. Look at all the backstage/personal problems with Jeff Hardy. He can't stop getting drunk/taking drugs, yet WWE still gave him a multitude of title runs as a singles competitor and a tag team competitor. Can't judge everyone based on all decisions they've ever made in their entire lives, especially if none of them are recent.

Depends on what you consider recent, she’s had issues as current as two years ago. Plus Hulk Hogan isn’t really winning titles anymore and Jeff Hardy hasn’t been on TV in what over a year?

And there’s always a difference between being around in the company and winning the promotions top title as Tessa just did.

 

[Yo Tee]

Depends on what you consider recent, she’s had issues as current as two years ago. Plus Hulk Hogan isn’t really winning titles anymore and Jeff Hardy hasn’t been on TV in what over a year?

Hardy hasn't been on TV why? Because of his 70th DUI? The point isn't whether they are on TV or not, I think the point is judging someone based on ALLEGATIONS that are no more recent than 2+ years ago. This culture we live in where we punish people based off of mistakes/things you've done that don't get brought up til years later is ridiculous. Tessa has been adamant about denying these things so how are we as wrestling fans to take sides on a situation where the truth hasn't been spoken yet and if it has, no one but Tessa and the woman she allegedly made those remarks to knows what really happened. I refuse to pass judgement on something/someone where we don't know all the facts and this was in 2017, almost 3 years ago. If nothing has been brought up about it til now, I'm skeptical to believe it ever happened.

I personally think that it's a great move by a struggling and failing company to put the their title on Tessa. Not only does it break glass ceilings, but it makes headlines and makes people want to watch the PPV/future TV episodes to see how she acts as the champ.

 

[Duffman]

Hardy hasn't been on TV why? Because of his 70th DUI? The point isn't whether they are on TV or not, I think the point is judging someone based on ALLEGATIONS that are no more recent than 2+ years ago. This culture we live in where we punish people based off of mistakes/things you've done that don't get brought up til years later is ridiculous. Tessa has been adamant about denying these things so how are we as wrestling fans to take sides on a situation where the truth hasn't been spoken yet and if it has, no one but Tessa and the woman she allegedly made those remarks to knows what really happened. I refuse to pass judgement on something/someone where we don't know all the facts and this was in 2017, almost 3 years ago. If nothing has been brought up about it til now, I'm skeptical to believe it ever happened.

I personally think that it's a great move by a struggling and failing company to put the their title on Tessa. Not only does it break glass ceilings, but it makes headlines and makes people want to watch the PPV/future TV episodes to see how she acts as the champ.

So you’re telling me if Hardy came back in WWE put the world title on him right away you’d have no issues because hey his problems are in the past?

But you’re right there’s a difference between allegations and 100% true fact, but it’s not just a one on one situation here it’s Tessa saying she didn’t do it and about 10+ people giving instances of what she’s done. It’s not just a “well maybe one person is out to get her” type of issue.

And clearly with allegations I’m not saying you have to kick her off TV completely to punish her but clearly there are multiple stories and people to back up their claims. Point being if Impact wasn’t a joke promotion at this point they most likely wouldn’t have put a title on her but given that they’re desperate for any kind of news about them I understand why they did it even if it was a dumb decision overall.

This is almost to the level of bad as David Arquette winning the WCW title because hey it was good for headlines and to get people talking.

 

[The Q]

This is almost to the level of bad as David Arquette winning the WCW title because hey it was good for headlines and to get people talking.

Or having an untalented red head main event WM35 for your SJW propoganda....

 

[RobToxin]

She was never meant to be a baby face. She's a Blanchard! Her father is Tully Blanchard! The way he was on tv is the way he was off tv.

A Blanchard being an asshole? Next thing you are going to tell me is food poisoning is bad for your health.

 

[DefCONNOne]

Or having an untalented red head main event WM35 for your SJW propoganda....

When did Rousey dye her hair red?

 

[Yo Tee]

So you’re telling me if Hardy came back in WWE put the world title on him right away you’d have no issues because hey his problems are in the past?

But you’re right there’s a difference between allegations and 100% true fact, but it’s not just a one on one situation here it’s Tessa saying she didn’t do it and about 10+ people giving instances of what she’s done. It’s not just a “well maybe one person is out to get her” type of issue.

And clearly with allegations I’m not saying you have to kick her off TV completely to punish her but clearly there are multiple stories and people to back up their claims. Point being if Impact wasn’t a joke promotion at this point they most likely wouldn’t have put a title on her but given that they’re desperate for any kind of news about them I understand why they did it even if it was a dumb decision overall.

This is almost to the level of bad as David Arquette winning the WCW title because hey it was good for headlines and to get people talking.

I'm telling you that Tessa has had enormous growth in 2019 and was one of the hottest female wrestlers of the year. It made 100% sense to put the World title on her. If Jeff Hardy had the growth and the climb that Tessa did and WWE decided to put the world title on him, it would make sense and I wouldn't have a problem with it. The issue is that Jeff Hardy's issues are as recent as a few months ago. All of these issues with Tessa that are being brought to light all of a sudden are not recent events/actions.

Are these 10+ people describing issues that happen backstage currently or are these 10+ people describing issues with her that were felt years ago? That makes a difference. Everybody is fine with Hogan now because it happened long ago. No one wanted anything to do with him right afterwards.

Putting the belt on Tessa Blanchard, a woman who has worked hard all year, stayed healthy and was at the top of her game in the ring and on the mic is about as bad as WCW putting the World title on David Arquette? A guy who was ONLY there because of a movie he was filming? You are wrong. 100%. Haven't seen anyone so wrong on here in a while.

 

[Duffman]

I'm telling you that Tessa has had enormous growth in 2019 and was one of the hottest female wrestlers of the year. It made 100% sense to put the World title on her. If Jeff Hardy had the growth and the climb that Tessa did and WWE decided to put the world title on him, it would make sense and I wouldn't have a problem with it. The issue is that Jeff Hardy's issues are as recent as a few months ago. All of these issues with Tessa that are being brought to light all of a sudden are not recent events/actions.

Are these 10+ people describing issues that happen backstage currently or are these 10+ people describing issues with her that were felt years ago? That makes a difference. Everybody is fine with Hogan now because it happened long ago. No one wanted anything to do with him right afterwards.

Putting the belt on Tessa Blanchard, a woman who has worked hard all year, stayed healthy and was at the top of her game in the ring and on the mic is about as bad as WCW putting the World title on David Arquette? A guy who was ONLY there because of a movie he was filming? You are wrong. 100%. Haven't seen anyone so wrong on here in a while.

There are people describing issues that now that they’ve come to light more people feel they can speak out about it. And obviously there is something to those rumors because Tessa is no longer welcome for the promotion Stardom because of how she acted during her time there. She’s not welcome in AEW because of her attitude, and WWE didn’t want to sign her after the Mae You classic because of her attitude issues. Clearly the old saying where there’s smoke there’s fire applies in this case.

And Impact on Twitch draws like 4000 viewers every week(I’m not even gonna bring up what they do on AXS because it’s so low Anthem doesn’t participate in the Nielsen ratings), they’re desperate for anything and if putting the title on a woman gets them some extra attention of course they’re going to do it. Just like WCW put the title on Arquette because it was going to get them some extra attention. It doesn’t matter how good Tessa is compared to Arquette, you can pretty much describe this as a publicity stunt which is exactly what it is. They’re trying to do something shocking by putting their main title on a woman, if it was a normal thing they wouldn’t have made such a big deal out of it.

And for the record when you look at the numbers the Tessa/Sami stuff has been a negative for viewership. Just like it was a negative when Lucha underground did a bunch of intergender wresting, as it’s been for most companies who try to do intergender wrestling. The majority of people don’t care to see it and so they’re gonna tune out.

 

[osubuckeye89]

Youre welcome

 

[wildturkey]

Deonna Purrazzo, recently released from WWE, chose Impact over AEW. Their women's division is stacked but damn, AEW needs to step up their offer sheets to at least sign one or two more competent women

 

[UVA_Guy81]

Deonna Purrazzo, recently released from WWE, chose Impact over AEW. Their women's division is stacked but damn, AEW needs to step up their offer sheets to at least sign one or two more competent women

Definitely, especially since around half of the AEW women's roster is stuck in Japan for the foreseeable future and they only have a select few coming to these tapings to start with.

 

[Yo Tee]

Deonna Purrazzo, recently released from WWE, chose Impact over AEW. Their women's division is stacked but damn, AEW needs to step up their offer sheets to at least sign one or two more competent women

I wonder what it is about Impact that draws people to them still. With that said, that match between Willie Mack and Ace Austin might have been the best wrestling match I've seen all year. But those matches are few and far between with Impact.

 

[wildturkey]

I wonder what it is about Impact that draws people to them still. With that said, that match between Willie Mack and Ace Austin might have been the best wrestling match I've seen all year. But those matches are few and far between with Impact.

I haven't really kept up with them in years beyond just seeing headlines here or there. From what I gather, they actually have some stable management with good financial backing for once. And their women's roster is the strongest of anywhere not named WWE.

 

[Hitman Hart]

I haven't really kept up with them in years beyond just seeing headlines here or there. From what I gather, they actually have some stable management with good financial backing for once. And their women's roster is the strongest of anywhere not named WWE.

Gail Kim and Scott D'Amore have a lot of credibility when it comes to women's wrestling. That's probably a reason why they've been able to sign so many talented ladies.

In all honesty, I'm more likely to watch Impact than any other company right now. It's just a fun product. I don't like Tessa as World Champion, though.

 

[Duffman]

Impact Wrestling issued the following to PWInsider.com:

Impact Wrestling confirms that it has terminated its contracts with Dave Crist and Joey Ryan, effective immediately.

In addition, it has suspended Michael Elgin pending further review of allegations of misconduct.

PWInsider.com can also confirm that Impact's production team was working all day to remove Ryan from tomorrow's episode of Impact on AXS. The Cancel Culture vs. Crazy Steve & mystery partners match, which was slated to be the first match on tomorrow's broadcast will not air. Ryan has been accused in multiple cases of alleged sexual harassment and assault and has disappeared from social media as well as closed his own independent promotion, Bar Wrestling. Any Ryan-related Impact material that was taped will not see the light of day, PWInsider.com is told.

As noted earlier today, Dave Crist had been expected to be released by the company and was refused entry into the Impact locker room at the last set of TV tapings, having to change alone in another area. Sources noted there had been heat on Crist even before allegations of physical, mental and sexual abuse were made by several over the weekend as part of the #SpeakingOut movement on Twitter. Crist will not be appearing on Impact TV going forward. His brother, Jacob Crist, is not involved and remains with the company.

Elgin has also been accused of alleged improprieties in recent days. Impact has opted to suspend him while the issues are investigated. Depending on how long the investigation is and what the results are, it may mean Elgin is out of the 7/18 Slammiversary PPV, where he was slated to be among four challengers for the Impact title. His run in Elgin has been some of the best work of his career from an in-ring standpoint. Impact has yet to determine how they will handle in-ring material featuring Elgin on their AXS TV series, as he is a big part of the Slammiversary build and the majority of that was already taped. It's possible Impact will edit around Elgin or downplay him as long as the suspension is active, but that remains to be seen. Elgin was not slated to appear in the ring on tomorrow's TV episode.

PWInsider.com is also told that today's announcement came so late in the day because Impact did not wish to comment until they were sure talents had been contacted by the company.