Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding it, there’s no question that by capturing the Impact Wrestling World Championship last weekend, Tessa Blanchard became the first woman to ever win a major pro wrestling organization’s top championship — and that’s a big deal. She has broken down a door that has traditionally been locked for female performers, due to some promotions having reservations about intergender wrestling. Aside from Chyna winning the Intercontinental Championship from Jeff Jarrett in 1999, and the occasional hot-potato title change with comedic prop the 24/7 Championship, WWE does not consider women to be in the running for men’s titles.
Blanchard, the daughter of WWE Hall Of Famer Tully Blanchard, is obviously acquainted with another daughter of a Horseman: None other than Charlotte Flair. Flair, already a 10-time women’s champion on the WWE main roster, is one of the top talents in the company and made history of her own last year when she was a part of WrestleMania 35’s main event. When Flair was asked by talkSPORT’s Alex McCarthy about Tessa’s historic title win over the weekend, she had this to say:
I asked Charlotte what she thought of Tessa Blanchard winning the IMPACT world title and if she herself would like to challenge for men's gold in the future.
This includes a funny exchange between herself and Andrade, who himself is the current U.S. champion… pic.twitter.com/tZePTp2vZG
— Alex McCarthy (@AlexMcCarthy88) January 17, 2020
“I think the moment was very cool for Tessa. I don’t necessarily see that for me. I feel like it’s not something that I think about or… It’s not on my bucket list.”
Despite her fiancé Andrade Almas by her side egging her on — himself the current WWE U.S. Champion — Flair showed little interest in competing for a men’s prize. Will Blanchard’s run as Impact world champion change her mind? Only time will tell.
