After hours, I would train, train, train, six or seven days a week, until 2 or 3 in the morning sometimes.
— Tessa Blanchard
I care more about who people are as a person and being around good people because when you leave the world, you're not going to be able to take the money.
And one thing for me is I've never been motivated by money.
I have a huge family name to live up to and a huge legacy to live up to. I feel the pressure of that every day of my life, but I feel like it's a blessing and a curse.
I would like to face everyone on the Impact roster. It is filled with amazing performers, I would be honored to share the ring with any of them.
Rebellion' was amazing, there was a lot of anticipation leading up to that event.
After my WWE tryout in 2014, I thought for sure that I was going to get signed and that it is finally happening and that I was going to finally be there. Then, when it didn't happen I was heartbroken. I always think it is because God had a plan for me.
I got to travel to Australia and I got to main event at Korakuen Hall.
In a perfect world, I would love to be great at everything.
I've gone places where they've told me what I need to do, what I need to say, who I need to be, what moves I need to perform. And at Impact I get to just be me. I have creative control to be me and do what I want.
WOW and Impact are both different brands, but Tessa Blanchard never changes. I'm the same Tessa Blanchard there as with Impact.
On numerous different occasions I have had people tell me that I am only booked because of my dad, because of who I was dating, or any other exceptions other than my hard work, so in my mind I wanted to put in the extra hours in the ring.
I wanted to go and I wanted to drive the miles for no pay, I wanted to set up the rings, I wanted to set up the chairs, I wanted to go to training six-seven days a week for hours upon hours and blow myself up to where I can only work on instinct. I wanted to sleep in my car. I wanted to do all of that.
But while Taya is so good, she is still no diamond. She is still no Tessa Blanchard. I am one of the best in the world!
I put pressure on myself to be the best and to carry on the Blanchard name with dignity and with pride.
Not a lot of people know this story but I actually got into the business without even telling anyone in my family. It was something I did on my own and I had been training for six to eight months before I told my dad and my step-dad.
My main goal in Impact Wrestling is to win the Knockouts Championship.
They've helped me out so much - Dad from a business aspect and my stepdad on following my heart. They're both so different but so much alike. I get to pick both of their brains.
I've really grown to find myself. I've started to learn the TV style, if you would. And with WOW, I've been able to meet some of the best people.
I train seven days a week. I'm mentally and physically prepared for any situation that I might be thrown in, and that's what puts me in the upper echelon compared to other Knockouts.
I have very high expectations out of myself.
I love wrestling, no matter if it is guys, girls or whatever it may be.
I was so excited for my spot on the Mae Young Classic.
You got to be able to work hard. And that's what I do. I work hard, because that's what's necessary. You have to go that extra mile.
I've wrestled some of the best wrestlers in the world - both male and female.
No matter whether someone has been in the business longer than you or for less time, you can learn something from any of them.
Taya has never beaten me in a fair fight one-on-one. Taya has always needed a stipulation or a special guest referee or something that puts the odds in her favor.
There were so many times I was called to go do a match and drive 8 or 9 hours from North Carolina to Orlando, Florida just to go do the NXT extra spots and then nothing, which would break my heart every time, but I was just very young then.
I think when I started in wrestling, I hadn't realized how difficult locker rooms were going to be. I thought they were going to be more inviting than they were.
I broke my shoulder, or my collarbone, I shouldn't say my shoulder, and I had surgery, six screws and a plate in here.
If Gail Kim gets in my business, I'll make sure there is no more Gail Kim.
Carrying on the Blanchard name is a huge honor for me because my grandfather, my father and my step-father - they've all put a lot into their legacy and for me to carry that on, it's a lot of weight on my shoulders.
To make a name for myself, I feel it's important to do that before I go anywhere else. Impact have given me the platform and the exposure to do that.
I would love to wrestle Scorpio Sky again, that's one of my most favorite matches.
Watching promos of my dad and stepdad... it's a lot to live up to. I don't want to make them look stupid.
Progress only happens with change, and people love something different.
I do feel like since I am a third-generation wrestler, I do have to hold myself - and there are a lot of people that expect certain things out of me - I'm an athlete, and I'm a top athlete.
I am getting to travel all over the world doing what I love and making a living out of it. That is a huge blessing to me.
I do not regret anything I do.
I think that I am misunderstood because people perceive me to be a certain way because I am generational. They expect me to be entitled and expect me to have things early on. I think people misconstrued that honestly.
Everywhere I go, the styles are different. When you wrestle in Japan, it's more strong style. When I go to Mexico, it's definitely more high-flying. And in my matches I've had with Taya in Impact, it's been a lot more ground-based.
I watch a lot of old-school wrestling, and one of my favourite matches is my dad vs my step-dad at Starrcade '85, Magnum TA vs Tully Blanchard. In that match everything looked so aggressive, everything was so real, and it looked like a brutal fight.
I try not to get my hopes up too high with anything, because I'll never be let down that way.
One thing about WOW that I love is that we're taking women from all different parts of life. We have girls from jiu jitsu and an MMA background. We have mothers. We have students. We have people from everyday life who found this love for professional wrestling.
Scott Armstrong got me my tryout at the WWE Performance Center. I went there and got my tryout and it was one of the most physically trying things in my life.
No matter what it is, I wanna be great. I wanna be be the best at it.
Being lean doesn't make you any more worthy, any more beautiful or any more valuable. It doesn't make you a more fit person, it doesn't mean you've worked harder in the gym, people who are leaner than you aren't better than you.
I've always done whatever is necessary to retain my Knockouts title by any means necessary.
On the independent circuit I've traveled the world, I've won championships, I've won tournaments - I've defeated some of the best out there so I feel like I am one of the best.
Honestly one woman that I would really love to face would be Taya Valkyrie.
