Tessa Blanchard has dealt with plenty of difficult things throughout her wrestling career, but one of the hardest had nothing to do with taking bumps. She says dealing with the Internet Wrestling Community became something she genuinely had to learn how to overcome.
Speaking to Inside the Ring, Blanchard talked about everything from relationship and family problems to struggling with feeling like she wasn’t good enough. Wrestling brought its own problems too, but constantly seeing what strangers had to say about her became a different kind of battle.
“There’s so many facets to it. I’ve overcome relationship problems, family problems, and feeling not good enough. Me personally, it’s no secret I went through difficult things in wrestling.”
Blanchard said one of the hardest parts was going online and reading opinions from people who didn’t actually know her. After consuming enough of that negativity, she found herself starting to believe some of it.
“I think one of the most difficult things is going online and reading comments and opinions from people who don’t know you personally. If you’re continuously consuming that type of media or that type of information, at one point you might start to believe it about yourself.”
That forced Blanchard to figure out where the wrestler ended and the actual person began. She believes having that strong sense of self is something other wrestlers struggle with too, especially when so much of their lives gets picked apart publicly.
“One of the hardest things I had to overcome—and many wrestlers have to overcome—is having a strong sense of who you are. Like Tessa Blanchard the person and Tessa Blanchard the wrestler.”
For Blanchard, the answer was finding a better balance and realizing those two versions of herself didn’t have to be the same person. Everyone handles that differently, but she eventually figured out what worked for her.
“Whatever it is to have that balance—for some it might be going to the gym or deleting social media. But I figured out what works for me, and yeah, that’s one of the most difficult things to overcome: the Internet Wrestling Community.”
Blanchard knows better than most what it’s like to have the internet constantly discussing her. Allegations surrounding her past have followed her for years, including the claim that she used a racial slur against La Rosa Negra, something Blanchard has repeatedly denied. That controversy resurfaced again in December 2025, when Blanchard responded to someone calling her racist and insisted racism was never part of what happened.
“I’m not perfect, made plenty of mistakes in my life… racism is not one of them nor has that ever been in my heart.”
Blanchard may not be able to control what wrestling fans say about her, but she’s apparently stopped letting those voices decide how she sees herself. After years of being one of wrestling’s most polarizing names, figuring out that separation might have been the only way to tune the noise out.
What do you think of Tessa Blanchard calling the IWC one of the hardest things she’s had to overcome? Let us know in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
