Tessa Blanchard Wins IMPACT World Championship Amidst Allegations Of Bullying And Racism
A momentous occasion seemingly overshadowed...
At Hard To Kill last night, Sami Callihan put his IMPACT World Championship on the line against Tessa Blanchard. The two wrestlers first faced off at Slammiversary last year and have been feuding ever since. In their two previous encounters, Callihan has emerged victorious, but on November 19th, Blanchard defeated Brian Cage to become the number one contender for the World title and set up a third confrontation between the two rivals.
Ultimately, after executing a Canadian Destroyer from the second rope, Blanchard covered The Worldwide Desperado for the 1-2-3. With that, Blanchard became the first female in history to win a major promotion's World Championship.
However, the wrestling world has been somewhat distracted from Blanchard's title victory as allegations of bullying and racism against her emerged over the weekend. Numerous female wrestlers including Allysin Kay, Chelsea Green, Priscilla Kelly and Black Rose have claimed Blanchard has been a bully in the past and have corroborated a story that while performing in Japan, she spat in Black Rose's face and used a racial slur towards her.
IMPACT Wrestling withdrew Blanchard from media appearances this weekend, but she did seemingly address the allegations in her post-main event speech. The new champion said: "Over the past eight months this has been my life. Sami and OVE have been a thorn in my side and tonight we did it. Nobody in this life is perfect. We’re all human and it doesn’t matter what you say about me, it doesn’t matter what you call me. I’ve got one of the strongest minds that I’ve ever known. So whenever you come for me, you come for all these people."
Ultimately, after executing a Canadian Destroyer from the second rope, Blanchard covered The Worldwide Desperado for the 1-2-3. With that, Blanchard became the first female in history to win a major promotion's World Championship.
However, the wrestling world has been somewhat distracted from Blanchard's title victory as allegations of bullying and racism against her emerged over the weekend. Numerous female wrestlers including Allysin Kay, Chelsea Green, Priscilla Kelly and Black Rose have claimed Blanchard has been a bully in the past and have corroborated a story that while performing in Japan, she spat in Black Rose's face and used a racial slur towards her.
IMPACT Wrestling withdrew Blanchard from media appearances this weekend, but she did seemingly address the allegations in her post-main event speech. The new champion said: "Over the past eight months this has been my life. Sami and OVE have been a thorn in my side and tonight we did it. Nobody in this life is perfect. We’re all human and it doesn’t matter what you say about me, it doesn’t matter what you call me. I’ve got one of the strongest minds that I’ve ever known. So whenever you come for me, you come for all these people."
Written by Aidan Gibbons
Editor-in-Chief of Cultaholic.com Twitter: @theaidangibbons
