Former TNA Wrestling star Tessa Blanchard has opened up about some of the personal challenges she has faced throughout her wrestling career, including dealing with criticism from the Internet Wrestling Community.
During an interview with TMZ, Blanchard was asked what she has overcome during her career that has meant the most to her and helped shape the person she is today.
Blanchard acknowledged that there wasn’t a simple answer, pointing to challenges involving relationships, family and her own feelings of self-worth.
“Goodness, that’s a loaded question because there’s so many facets to it. I’ve overcome relationship problems. I’ve overcome family problems. I’ve overcome feeling that I’m not good enough. There’s a long list that any wrestler, any human being will deal with, right?
It’s no secret I went through some difficult things in wrestling. I think one of the most difficult things is going online and reading comments or opinions that all these people that don’t know you personally, have about you.
If you’re continually consuming that type of media or that type of information, at one point you might start to believe it about yourself.”
Blanchard explained that learning to separate her identity as a person from her wrestling persona has been particularly important.
“So I think one of the most difficult things that I’ve had to overcome, and I think many wrestlers have to overcome, is having a strong sense of who you are. Like, Tessa Blanchard the person and Tessa Blanchard the wrestler.
And having that strong work-life balance and realizing that these are different people.
They’re not the same person. And having whatever it is for you to have that balance. For some people it might be going to the gym. Some people it might be deleting social media for a while. Some people—it’s going to look different for everyone, but I figured out what works for me.
I think that that’s probably one of the most difficult things to overcome is the Internet Wrestling Community.”
For Blanchard, establishing that separation and finding a work-life balance that works for her has helped her deal with the scrutiny and opinions that come with being a public figure in professional wrestling.
