Backstage Update on Why Tessa Blanchard Was Asked to Choose Between TNA & CMLL

As noted previously, former iMPACT Knockouts Champion Tessa Blanchard exited TNA Wrestling earlier this week.

Blanchard was granted her release after she chose CMLL over TNA. In this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON), Dave Meltzer commented on the story.

Meltzer claimed that Blanchard was informed by TNA a couple of weeks ago that the promotion didn’t want her wrestling in CMLL. According to Meltzer, this came at a time when WWE announced its tour of Mexico, which includes shows in Mexico City, ahead of CMLL’s Anniversary Show for September 2026. According to Meltzer, Tessa Blanchard was caught in the fallout of CMLL’s ‘war’ with the WWE-owned Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide promotion, as TNA decided they didn’t want anyone on the roster who worked for CMLL.

Meltzer added that TNA did offer Tessa a new deal but that she would not be able to continue to work for CMLL. Tessa opted to stick with CMLL, but Meltzer noted that she likely would have picked TNA had she been doing “something of note” with the promotion.