Former TNA Champ Tessa Blanchard Joins MLW

Former TNA Champ Tessa Blanchard Joins MLW Published September 1, 2026 9:30 AM PDT Tessa Blanchard is making a major move ... the former TNA wrestler and world champion is officially joining Major League Wrestling. Tessa announced the news during an exclusive appearance on TMZ’s “Inside the Ring” podcast ... telling us she’s “super, super excited” about beginning this new chapter. “I’m going to be starting with MLW here soon, and I’m super, super excited for everything to come,” she said. Blanchard is a former TNA Knockouts Champion who also made history by becoming the first woman to win the promotion’s men’s world championship. Tessa says her goal is to make the MLW Women’s World Championship “the number one women’s title in wrestling” ... and she already has her sights set on current champion Shotzi Blackheart. “I think what’s been missing from MLW is a franchise, a name that the division’s built around,” she added. “This division was built and now the franchise ... well, I’m here.” Blanchard is currently based in Mexico City ... where she'll continue to live and to wrestle for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, in a joint partnership. The third-generation wrestler ... whose father is WWE Hall of Famer Tully Blanchard ... will make her MLW debut September 12 at FIGHTLAND in Charleston, South Carolina ... the same city where her dad previously wrestled. The full Tessa Blanchard interview drops Thursday on “Inside the Ring.” Related articles Sports Wrestling Podcasts TMZ Sports Exclusive