Tessa Blanchard came much closer to leaving professional wrestling than most fans probably realize. The former world champion recently revealed there was a point in her life when she had completely stepped away from the business, was preparing for a military career and was only days away from signing a six-year contract with the U.S. Army.
Speaking to El Universal Deportes, Blanchard reflected on the difficult period that led to her walking away from wrestling. After feeling like she’d lost sight of who she was outside the business, she decided to start over by returning to university, cutting wrestling out of her life and focusing on a completely different future. She said the time away helped her rediscover herself, and that journey eventually led her toward military service.
“If your feet are off the ground and you fall, you fall very hard, and that happened to me. But I think it was God’s timing because later I took time off from wrestling to get to know myself again. I returned to university. I started training to be in the Army.”
What began as a fresh start soon became a very real career path. Blanchard revealed she reached the point where she had a contract waiting for her and was told it was time to commit. Knowing the commitment would last six years made the decision even more significant.
“And at one point, I had a contract to join the Army. My Lieutenant Colonel told me, ‘It’s time to sign because you’re going to the field this summer.’ And it was a six-year contract, and it’s a very, very important, very strong decision for your life because six years is a long time. It can change your whole life.”
During that period, Blanchard said she was fully committed to the idea of military service. She trained every morning before sunrise and believed she was following the path meant for her.
“And all this time, I remember driving to my training at four in the morning every day and thinking, like, these are God’s things. They are God’s timings, and God’s timings are perfect. I don’t know what’s in store for me, but I need to keep moving forward.”
She also made a conscious effort to remove wrestling from her everyday life, believing she needed a completely fresh start.
“And talking to myself like that every day, I put wrestling aside and I wanted to forget. I deleted my social media, I cut the wrestling people out of my life, and I wanted to start from scratch, anew, in a new life.”
Academically, Blanchard said she was thriving. She graduated magna cum laude, ranked at the top of her class and was studying international affairs with the goal of working in military intelligence.
“But at that moment when my Lieutenant told me, ‘Tessa, it’s time to sign. You are number one in your class.’ Now, I was magna cum laude… Always studying international affairs to be in military intelligence.”
On paper, everything about her future made sense. She had plans for her finances, housing and education, but admitted one question continued to linger.
“And in this situation with him, I was very clear. I wanted all my cards on the table. Like, everything is perfect. My life is perfect… but still in my heart I have the wrestling. What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?”
That answer unexpectedly arrived during the same week she was expected to sign her Army contract. Blanchard received a surprise phone call from CMLL, despite never believing she would have the opportunity to wrestle for the promotion.
“That same week, I had a call from CMLL… and I never, ever spoke to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre before. I honestly never thought that there was a possibility to enter the Consejo.”
CMLL invited her to compete in the 2023 Grand Prix, something Blanchard viewed as the sign she’d been waiting for. Because of that opportunity, she made the difficult decision to walk away from the military before signing the contract.
“But they wanted Tessa to be in their 2023 Grand Prix, and I felt, ‘No way. These are God’s things. They are God’s timings. I swear to you. I feel this is the thing, the signal I was waiting for.’ And I told my Lieutenant not to sign, and it was a very difficult decision.”
Looking back, Blanchard said the experience changed the way she approaches major life decisions. Rather than wondering what might have happened had she stayed away from wrestling, she chose the path she believed would leave her with the fewest regrets.
“But if I look for this now, I have an opportunity that is in my path. I need to keep going. I don’t know if it’s for success or good things, but if I don’t do it, I’ll never know.”
Blanchard’s decision ultimately led her back into professional wrestling through CMLL, a move that reignited her career after time away from the business. Looking back now, it’s clear that one unexpected phone call completely changed the direction of her life, steering her away from a six-year military commitment and back toward the ring.
Do you think Tessa Blanchard made the right decision by returning to wrestling instead of joining the U.S. Army? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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.
