Despite accusations of racism and bullying against her, Impact Wrestling chose to go ahead with their long-term plans and made Tessa Blanchard their world champion. In doing so, she became only the second female to become the World Heavyweight Champion in a major wrestling promotion after Sexy Star in Lucha Underground.
Blanchard’s run as champion was far from a success; she’d miss television tapings due to not wanting to travel due to COVID-19 and would fail to send in video clips Impact Wrestling asked for her to film herself. The last straw for Impact Wrestling was when she refused to attend Slammiversary and drop the title, reportedly due to living in Mexico with her fiance, and being concerned she would not be able to return. Impact Wrestling would go on to strip her of the title and release her few days before her contract was set to expire.
It’s now been exposed by @BeltFanDan, a notable figure in the belt-making scene who refers to himself as a “Human Belt Encyclopedia” that Blanchard requested $150,000 to return the physical belt. Seeing as belts used on television typically cost between $10,000 – $25,000, her request was obviously rebuffed by Impact Wrestling, and the belt won by Eddie Edwards at Slammiversary is a replacement.
Back in the day, wrestlers had to put down a $25,000 ($60,000 in today’s money) deposit to be NWA World Champion to avoid this situation.
