Magnum TA Explains What Happened Between Tessa Blanchard and Impact, Says Impact Was ‘Paying Her Peanuts’

– Hannibal TV recently spoke to wrestling legend Magnum TA, who discussed his stepdaughter, Tessa Blanchard, leaving Impact Wrestling earlier this year. Blanchard was the reigning Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight champion earlier this year. However, her contract was terminated by Impact, and the title was later stripped as a result after both parties had a falling out. Below are some highlights and a clip from the interview.

Magntum TA on not being a big fan of her becoming the Impact World champion: “I knew from the moment they came up with the idea of making her this intergender — now the World Heavyweight Champion — that they were going down a dangerous path. And they came to our home here in Charlotte and filmed a special with her mom and I about it. And I support Tessa because she’s my stepdaughter, but I’m not a big fan of that portrayal of men and women in the ring. Not because women aren’t capable or anything else, I just don’t like anything that depicts a man being physically violent with a woman. I mean, I still got a young daughter that’s 13 years old. And whether today they still know it’s all a work or not, it’s still not a portrayal that I feel comfortable with. So, I told her that I knew she had reached the pinnacle of what she could do in that organization. Of course, we didn’t know the virus was going to come along.”

On how Tessa Blanchard wanted to get comparable pay to Impact’s top paid talent: “The fact of the matter is they had wanted her to extend her contract and do different things. And the opportunity of that experience that Impact afforded her was a step in her growth at what she was doing, but she needed to move on from that. So because she hadn’t extended that contract, they were paying her peanuts for one thing, but on top of that, she had met all the contractual dates she had needed to meet. So, all I told her was, ‘Hey, they want you to work one more shot?’ I offered her up the psychology of it. I said, ‘Take whatever their top paid guy is and figure what that would equate to in one month’s salary and say, ‘If you want me to come in and do this since I’ve met my obligations, this is what it would take.’ It wasn’t a ridiculous amount of money as was rumored on the internet. It was just, ‘Hey, if we’re going to extend it, extend it for the equivalent of what you’re paying your top guy.’ And they didn’t want to do it. And that’s really the truth.

If using the above quotes, please credit Hannibal TV, with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.