ZeeWI: Tessa Blanchard vs. Faby Apache

Last week, Impact came to us from Mexico City, Mexico for the first time ever! It seemed that the roster understood just how big a moment this was, and the company itself looked to stack the show with matches featuring The Lucha Brothers, Rich Swann, Matt Sydal, oVe, and even an appearance by King! Impact Wrestling wanted to make sure that this was a memorable night, and one that could hopefully continue to build the relationship with the Mexican wrestling scene that’s been under construction for a while now (with talent from Crash and AAA, specifically).

It would be abundantly clear quite quickly that someone didn’t get the memo.

Tessa Blanchard arrived on the scene, and wanted it known to all that she wasn’t going to tolerate the disrespect of having someone place their gear on her seat. After all, she is the champion!

Things would take on a different tone in a hurry, as Faby Apache would show up in the locker room, demanding that Tessa show respect – that in Mexico, that’s the way it goes. When Tessa didn’t budge on her stance, and it was clear that Faby wasn’t going to budge on hers, Tessa decided to go hit a “better” locker room, instead.

It’s no secret that in these pages, Tessa Blanchard is viewed as a divine being. She is a huge favorite of the ZeeWI staff, and we consider her a favorite in nearly every situation in which she could find herself. That she is the current Knockouts Champion is hardly a surprise to this columnist, as it was a home run call immediately upon her arrival.

But, if I’m being honest (and I am), I wondered in that moment if Tessa truly understood the situation into which she was getting herself. For those unfamiliar, Faby Apache is no joke. She’s a three-time AAA Reina de Reinas Champion, with her third reign still going currently. She’s held the AAA Mixed Tag Team Championship 4 times, as well as the AAA World Trios Championship once. She’s also won three separate Luchas de Apuestas. She’s been around for a long time, and is the last person anyone should take lightly.

It was during TripleMania XXVI this past August that Faby would take on Lady Shani in another Lucha de Apuesta, but she wound up on the losing end of things. Watching the show, I remember being really let down that she lost, only to gain a whole new respect for the woman when she grabbed the clippers and started cutting her hair off herself. It was clear to me then that this woman values tradition and respect even more than winning, which is really incredible.

The point of this is to highlight that even the most devout fans of Tessa Blanchard can realize that Tessa was provoking the wrong person. When Tessa was able to leave the locker room without any further incident, there was a slight sigh of relief. Tessa Blanchard is everything, to be sure, but Faby Apache is the last person you want to set off.

Faby would wrestle later on in the night, taking on the supremely talented and intelligent Alisha Edwards. Alisha brought all out all of her tools and tricks to try and best the legend, but eventually fell short after an epic five minutes or so. With a little fine-tuning, Alisha could easily be among the very best on any roster.

After passing her extremely difficult test, Faby would get a little interview time with Josh Mathews. Ignoring the hard cam so that she could talk to her fans directly, Apache would make it clear that her locker room run-in with Tessa was not going to be the end of it. Instead, she laid out the challenge for this week’s Impact – Tessa vs. Faby Apache, with the Knockouts Championship on the line!

This is a match that could easily main event anywhere in the world. With a longer build, fans would be frothing in anticipation. Unfortunately, this match is built less around someone earning a title shot, and more around a personal issue that quickly ignited. Faby wants to immediately impress upon Tessa that her style isn’t appreciated, and if she can take the most prized possession of Tessa’s along the way, even better.

Tessa has to understand that she’s wrestling an absolute legend. Sure, she’s had tough outs with Madison Rayne and Su Yung, but neither can compare to the overall package that Faby brings to the table. Faby’s got years of experience, has great submission grappling, is extremely durable, and brings enough power in her strikes to rock the strongest man. Most of all, she’s not going to be intimidated by Tessa’s Third Generation shtick, since Faby herself comes from a wrestling family.

At the same time, while Faby can absolutely take pride in a win over a top competitor like Alisha, she has to understand that Tessa is, to put it politely, light years ahead of Alisha at this point in time. Tessa has the footwork, the speed, and packs more than enough power in her own right. Being able to draw from both Magnum TA and Tully Blanchard has allowed her to think about every possible action, reaction, and reaction to the reaction. She’s always one step ahead, and that’s by design. If Apache thinks she’s simply dealing with an arrogant blowhard, then she’s falling for Tessa’s trap.

Tessa thrives on making people believe that she’s all bluster, with no substance. Once she’s got people believing that she’s all talk, it’s that much easier to overwhelm them with her skill. However, she can’t be too sure of herself heading into this match. Austin Aries did that earlier this year with Pentagon and Fenix, and it cost him the Impact Championship for a bit of time. Just as Pentagon became Impact Champion, Faby Apache could easily win the Knockouts Championship if Tessa doesn’t realize just how dangerous her challenger is.

In trying to picture how this match will play out, this columnist is really having a hard time. The respect I have for Faby is matched only by the complete adoration I have for Tessa. I know that Faby has the experience edge, and that she’s been through absolute wars in her storied career… but I also feel like Tessa is riding a huge wave of momentum at present time, and I’m not sure that it’s going to wane on Thursday night.

I do fear that Tessa’s made too many enemies, and that these enemies would be far too happy to watch her get humbled. I could see someone like Allie or Kiera Hogan get involved. I could see a contingent of AAA wrestlers get involved in the hopes of taking an Impact Wrestling Championship away from one of their best wrestlers.

Then I think about how an angry Faby Apache is someone who could make the fatal mistake, much like she did in her Lucha de Apuesta against Lady Shani. Apache is great, but she’s not infallible. If Tessa’s routine has her so focused on beating some respect into her opponent, then Faby runs the risk of ultimately falling short in her goal of becoming Knockouts Champion. Tessa opening things up with a slap or something else humiliating would be a good way to make sure the match starts out the way she wants it to – with Tessa in control, and Faby losing it.

Forced to choose, however, I do think that Tessa’s going to walk out the winner. All due respect to Faby Apache, but the run Tessa’s been on recently tells me that she’s really putting it all together. If you want to topple her, you have to be able to ignore her antics, and beat the wrestler. I think, at this point, Faby is too irked to make that happen. Her fiery passion will be her undoing, and Tessa will remain undeniable in her quest to become the very best.

Winner: And STILL Knockouts Champion, Tessa Blanchard

Before we end things for the week, I did want to send a quick CONGRATULATIONS to Abyss for his upcoming induction into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame. I can’t think of a more deserving person for the honor, if I’m honest here (and, of course, I am).

In my head, Abyss is the Sting of Impact Wrestling: He’s their guy, the one that never left, the one that did everything one can do in the company, and then did it all over again.

A great example of a modern hardcore wrestler, the man was always willing to leave his blood in the ring if it meant holding the audience in the palm of his hand. Once his body started to slow down, he found new life with Crazzy Steve and Rosemary, forming Decay and giving us another great team in a long line of them in Impact’s history.

It’s well deserved, and I applaud Abyss for the honor, and thank Impact management for making it happen.