The legendary Magnum TA recently spoke with Hannibal TV to discuss his stepdaughter, former IMPACT world champion Tessa Blanchard, and how her departure from the promotion back in June came down to IMPACT not paying Blanchard what she rightfully deserved.
TA begins by saying that he thinks Blanchard becoming the brand’s top champion put them in a risky position, but that he supported it because of his relationship with Blanchard. He would go on to say that Blanchard had fulfilled all of her contractual obligations up until that point, and advised her to ask for one final payday before dropping the title, something that IMPACT said no to.
I knew from the moment they came up with the idea of making her this inter-gender, now the world’s heavyweight champion, that they were going down a dangerous path. They came to our home here in Charlotte and filmed a special with her mom and I about it. I support Tessa because she’s my stepdaughter but I’m not a big fan of that portrayal of men and women in the ring. Not because women aren’t capable or anything else…it’s just I don’t ever like anything that depicts a man being physically violent with a woman. I’ve got a younger daughter that’s 13 years old…whether today they know it’s all a work or not…it’s still not a portrayal that I’m real comfortable with. So I told her that I knew she’d reached the pinnacle of what she could do with that organization. Of course we didn’t know this virus was going to come along.
They had wanted her to extend her contract and do different things. That opportunity, that experience with IMPACT, was a step in her growth in what she was doing but she needed to move on from that. Because she hadn’t extended that contract they were paying her peanuts for one thing, but on top of that..she had met all of the contractual dates that she needed to meet. All I told her was, “hey…they want you to work one more shot…take whatever their top paid guy is and figure out what that would equate to in one month’s salary, and say ‘Hey if you want me to come in and do this since I’ve met my contractual obligations, this is what it would take.” It wasn’t a ridiculous amount of money that was rumored on the internet…it was just…”hey if we’re going to extend it lets extend it for the equivalent of what you’re paying your top guy.” And they didn’t want to do it.
You can watch TA’s full thoughts below. (H/T and transcribed by Heel By Nature)
