Doink The Clown A Troubled Life For the Man Behind the Paint, Christian and the Bizarre Deal Between WWE and TNA in 2012. On March 16, 1985, Rhodes defeated Blanchard to win the NWA Television Championship, ending Blanchard's 353-day reign. [69], She was the stunt double for actress Florence Pugh in the film Fighting with My Family, produced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, about former WWE wrestler Paige. Practice what you preach sweetheart., And another NXT star, Chelsea Green, said: Youve consistently put down, bullied, and belittled countless female coworkers, including me. Pain just doesnt seem to bother Tully.". I guess I broke even, but it doesnt really matter because I used the month as a kind of apprenticeship. [10] On June 15, Blanchard wrestled her third match, losing to Carmella. Blanchard made only one successful From: Tully Blanchard's AEW departure 'a little more complex' than contract expiration. Joe also exposed his son to many facets of the wrestling business at an early age, first by handing out fliers to promote shows and selling concessions to setting up the ring when he got older, and later training him to wrestle. Blanchard made a surprise appearance during a sit down interview with Jim Ross and Shawn Spears on AEW's "Road to All Out" YouTube series that premiered July 17, 2019. While he had many options, the star quarterback accepted a major college football scholarship to Southern Methodist University. Blanchard was born in Oklahoma in 1928, but his family would move to Kansas when he was young. On the March 9th, 2022 episode of Dynamite Tully was fired by FTR as their manager after a disagreement of what FTR's focus as a team should be. "He should get syndicated and go that route," Joe told the Los Angeles Times, June 7th, 1985 edition. Blanchard finished his academic requirements early so he could graduate mid-term and kickoff his wrestling career full-time. Blanchard thanked Kim and returned her respect, turning her face in the process. [56], On July 7, Blanchard competed against Sami Callihan in the first intergender match to ever headline a professional wrestling pay-per-view event at Slammiversary XVII, during which she was defeated. The daughter of Four Horsemen member Tully Blanchard, is highly considered as one of the best women's wrestlers in the world. Toward the end of 1987 Lex Luger defected from the Horsemen and feuded with all of them over the course of the next several months. Blanchard considers herself a musical-theater enthusiast, having enrolled at the Children's Theatre of Charlotte, joining Shakespeare recitation contests, and acting in all of her high school's amateur productions. He is a part of the stable known as, Tully Blanchard Enterprises. At the time, the Big 7 Conference Championship was widely considered the best conference for college wrestling in the country. After getting fired by FTR, Blanchard was moved to AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). He also threw a 76-yard touchdown pass. In October 1998, he appeared at NWA 50th Anniversary Show teaming with Tom Prichard in four way tag match as The Brotherhood (Knuckles Nelson and Eric Sbraccia) won the NWA TAg Team titles. Blanchard was the 14th player from the university to wrestle, including Terry and Dory Funk, Dusty Rhodes, Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen, along with West Texas State teammates Ted DiBiase and Merced Solis (Tito Santana) among others. In a statement, the promotion said: IMPACT Wrestling has confirmed that it has terminated its relationship with Tessa Blanchard and stripped her of the IMPACT Wrestling World Championship.. Blanchard was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on July 26, 1995. Tessa Blanchard had a. That summer, he went to Georgia Championship Wrestling and worked for them for a month, wrestling four times a week and earning $250 during his final week. In 1984, Blanchard left SCW for Jim Crockett Promotions. "He proves every day in practice that he is our number one quarterback. She took the following picture with Natalya at the show: A photo posted by natbynature (@natbynature) on Nov 11, 2014 at 6:42pm PST You can keep up with all your wrestling news right here on eWrestlingNews.com. [63] After going on a leave of absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Blanchard departed Impact Wrestling on June 25 after her contract was terminated before it was set to expire on June 30; she was stripped of the Impact World Championship in the process.[64][65]. Blanchard tried out for the football team as a walk-on at West Texas State in Canyon, Texas, a small town with a population of 13,000 located about 20 miles outside of Amarillo. He defeated Stan Lane at the Heroes of Wrestling PPV on October 10, 1999. Back in the late 70s, you had old-timers that were good performers that were kind of in the twilight part of their careers that had a lot of knowledge that youd go out and wrestle for 20-30 minutes a night, and you either learned or got smacked around a little bit. "Wahoo McDaniel worked with me, and he had punted in the NFL," Tully Blanchard said. Maybe if I could guarantee him $4,000 a week for three years.". While working as a promoter in the mid-1960s, Blanchard also was the first sportscaster on KSAT 12, including serving as the first host of the stations High School Football Highlights show. "I happened to walk into the training room, and I saw the scar. After Steamboat departed JCP for the WWF, Blanchard and Dusty Rhodes began a feud for the TV title. Asked if his . The title would soon be renamed the NWA World Television Championship and the two continued to feud throughout the first half of 1985 with Blanchard regaining the title and losing it back to Rhodes in early July 1985 at the Great American Bash inside a steel cage; Rhodes also won the services of Baby Doll for 30 days. Joe was a little laid-back and quiet, didnt have quite the same charisma to rev up the wrestling audiences.". Payoffs in the Florida territory werent great, and it was hard for Blanchard to make ends meet just coming out of college, so he switched territories. However, Blanchard would experience first-hand why the territory had its reputation for low pay, bad business, and bad weather. We just walked out and the next week and Tully was our manager. [5] At All Out, Blanchard accompanied Spears for his match against Cody, but in a losing effort after interference from Blanchard's former Four Horsemen stablemate, Arn Anderson, who delivered a spinebuster on Spears and chased Blanchard out of the arena. Between 1978 and 1983, Blanchard held the SCW Southwest Television Championship and SCW Southwest Heavyweight Championship on seven occasions. He also wrestled Verne Gagne, a two-time NCAA Champion out of the University of Minnesota and an alternate for the 1948 Olympic Games, who handed Blanchard a rare lopsided loss. 2)", "ViacomCBS Inks Multiyear Distribution Deal with WOW Women of Wrestling", "ViacomCBS Syndicating 'WOW Women of Wrestling' Reboot in 160 U.S. Markets, Beginning in 2022", "IMPACT REDEMPTION LIVE RESULTS: ARIES VS. PENTAGON JR. This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. In fact, you can say he was bred for it. At the same time, Blanchard dealt with personal issues, including a divorce where he lost his house and money and drug issues. The Genius Cast with Lanny Poffo (2018-19), HOMAGE.com Our favorite in retro wrestling attire! Speaking on the Two Man Power Trip podcast, Blanchard said he was no longer with the Khan companies and assumed his wrestling career was done other than autograph shows and events like Starrcast weekend. [11] However, the marriage was brief and ended in divorce on June 30, 1980. A third-generation professional wrestler, Blanchard is the daughter of Four Horsemen member Tully Blanchard and the stepdaughter of Blanchard's rival Magnum TA. [66] On May 18 in Tuxtla Gutirrez, Chiapas, Blanchard made her debut in the AAA teaming with La Hiedra, who defeated Faby Apache and AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Lady Shani. On November 8, 2014, Blanchard debuted for Women Superstars Uncensored and was defeated by Niya in a match for the WSU Spirit Championship at Breaking Barriers III. In addition, it was announced that Blanchard would be one of the trainers in the WOW all-women's wrestling training school in Long Beach, California. Tully B Obenhoff (aka Tully Lafayette Blanchard, Tully Lafayette Blanchard Obenhoff), birth son of Tully King Blanchard. "Tully came to opening drills ready to accept a challenge," Mayfield said. Free delivery for many products! "At 19, I thought I was an expert at everything. In 2016, Blanchard was posthumously inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. It was a good finish to my football career before my wrestling career started.". For other inquiries, Contact Us. Part 3: The final years and legacy of Seelie Samara. Blanchard was trained to wrestle by his father and Jos Lothario, debuting in 1975 in his father's promotion, Southwest Championship Wrestling, where he also held a number of backstage production and creative positions. Faced with a new head coach and an uncertain future, Blanchard dropped out and transferred to West Texas State at the suggestion of alum, and family friend, Terry Funk. In 1971, Blanchard continued his strong play as a junior, and Churchill became the states top-ranked team. Tully Blanchard (daughter) Pro Wrestling Family Match #4 for WCPW Women's Championship. "My dad didnt want me to be an offensive lineman, so he taught me to play quarterback," Tully said in a July 2016 speech accepting his dads posthumous induction into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. Churchill finished the 1970 season with a 7-3 record and 4-1 in the District 31-AAAA region, good for second place. Tully Blanchard was destined to become a star. On April 27, 2016, Blanchard appeared alongside Ric Flair and Arn Anderson in an episode of Table For 3 on WWE Network, where the three former members of the Horsemen discussed their lives during and after their years as a team. Blanchard kept his injuries to himself, hoping to get by on sheer determination and will. Fortunately, we havent needed for him to work, so hes been able to devote the summers to football.". [36] In October, Blanchard started a feud with Taya Valkyrie, whom she defeated on two different occasions at Bound for Glory[37] and three weeks later in a rematch at Impact. [21] During her reign, Blanchard successfully defended her championship against Faith the Lioness,[22] Reyna Reyes,[23] Serpentine,[24] and WOW's veteran, former champion, Jungle Grrrl. Blanchard debuted for Shine Wrestling as a villain at the Shine 26 event on April 3, 2015, and was defeated by Evie. She signed for IMPACT Wrestling in 2018 and alongside Callihan in July 2019 competed in the first intergender match to ever headline a wrestling pay-per-view at Slammiversary XVII. Injuries kept Blanchard from competing for the next two years. Later, he did some refereeing. BREAKING NEWS here at #ROH! Tully Blanchard was known to be a great in-ring competitor back in his heyday. He grew into a 6-2, 225-pound stud who was a star football player in high school at Parsons, Kansas. [12], Blanchard later married Courtney Shattuck. As the son of wrestling promoter and former American Wrestling Association star Joe Blanchard,[1] Tully Blanchard was involved in professional wrestling at a very young age. This North Carolina promotion lasted from March 1998 until January 1999.3The last TV title he won on January 12, 1979, was renamed to Heavyweight title in February 1979. "I've got a ghostwriter writing a book for me and we're trying to get it published. After graduating from college, and a brief fling as freshman football coach at Kansas State, Blanchard played professional football as an offensive lineman for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Western Canadian League from 1950-53, where he was a teammate of future wrestling hall of famers Gene Kiniski and Wilbur Snyder. "I consider the most important thing to feed my knowledge and ultimate success in this business to be the three years that I refereed in the summers. He was inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame in 2009 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012. In the mid 80s Tully Blanchard had a series of matches with World Wrestling Council (WWC) Universal Champion Carlos Colon in Puerto Rico and the Continental United States. After clashing with Jim Crockett and booker Dusty Rhodes about their pay, Blanchard and Arn Anderson left the NWA for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on September 10, 1988, losing in an 11th-hour title change to the Midnight Express tandem of Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane after a brief feud. If I wanted to be the best at something, I had to work harder at it. TULLY BLANCHARD'S DAUGHTER TESSA VS. WSU CHAMP CHERRY BOMB--FEMALE REVOLUTION EXPLODING! On August 3 at Triplemana XXVII, Blanchard defeated Apache, Taya Valkyrie, Ayako Hamada, Chik Tormenta, La Hiedra, and Lady Shani in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, to win the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship thus becoming the third foreigner (after Taya Valkyrie and Ayako Hamada) and first American to win the championship. Blanchard immediately entered into a feud with Mark Youngblood over the WCW Television Championship. Blanchard was the head booker of NWA: New Beginnings territory in Charlotte, North Carolina and has been a backstage agent for the wrestling shows as part of the 2010 and 2011 NWA Legends Convention which were in Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia. He is a Hall of Famer and Legend, who is currently working for AEW and Ring of Honor as a manager. Finisher: Piledriver and Slingshot Suplex: Trademark Moves: Diving Sunset Flip, Elbow Drop, Figure-Four Leglock and Knee Drop: Tag Teams: Brain Busters with Arn Anderson (as Tully . "There was one shooter in our family, and it was my dad. I just wanted to subtly happen. She debuted for Queens of Combat but lost her first few matches as a a star villainess and her first win came against LuFisto. Ron Matejko is a contributing writer for Pro Wrestling Stories. He is perhaps best known for being a part of the wrestling faction The Four Horsemen. "Id sell peanuts and soft drinks because I wasnt old enough to sell beer," Blanchard said in a 2016 interview with Hannibal TV. I refereed six matches a night from the opening match to the last match," Blanchard said during his speech to accept the Cauliflower Alley Club Iron Mike Award in 2017. [60] At the Hard to Kill pay-per-view on January 12, 2020, Blanchard defeated Callihan to win the Impact World Championship,[61] becoming the first woman in history to win the title. Tessa Blanchard accused of cheating on husband. In the mid-2000s, Blanchard briefly worked for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a producer. [17], On September 5, 2018, it was announced that Blanchard had signed with Women of Wrestling (WOW), and would make her debut through the TV tapings from October 2018. By using this site, you agree to the legal terms set out in ourDisclaimer, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Disclosure. She has three siblings from her father and twin half-siblings from her stepfather. "Tully had a super game," Mayfield told the Lubbock Avalanche Journal after the game. Tully Blanchard created a Hall of Fame career as a member of the Four Horsemen and now his daughter, Tessa, is following in his footsteps. At one point, I felt myself relax to die, felt myself drift away, and then come back because I didnt want to miss the party on Friday. Date Of Birth: Jan 22nd 1954. Tully Blanchard would visit his children at least once a month after the divorce. On a special episode of IMPACT called ReDefined, Tessa Blanchard won the IMPACT Knockouts Championship. Dustin Rhodes defeats Tully Blanchard. She had a singles match against NXT signee Dominik Dijakovic and a mixed-tag team match with Ricochet, Bea Priestley, and Will Ospreay. I did well the rest of 1977 but didnt want to get killed to the point where I could never go back and try for a main event run," Blanchard said. Because the coaches didnt know about Blanchards shoulder injury, they thought he just couldnt throw far downfield. Thats my statement and the most attention Ill give it because of how actually ridiculous it is., The woman in question, Puerto Rico star Black Rose, provided more detail on Twitter, saying : If [Tessa Blanchard] do not Remember it Can I. I am not a Mean Girl with any Coworkers around the world. [31] A few weeks later, after attacking her during her match, Blanchard defeated Hogan in her first match on Impact!. CONTROVERSIAL wrestling history-maker Tessa Blanchard has stripped of the world title and axed by IMPACT Wrestling. It was only six miles back to campus. Blanchard appeared to be back on track to fulfill his destiny of college football stardom, but a serious car accident before the season not only changed his plans but nearly ended his life. Sports in a 2012 interview following Blanchards passing. "[Playing pro football] has always been my ambition," Blanchard told the Lubbock Avalanche Express, September 13th, 1976 edition. (Use code PWS for a nice surprise). [30], Blanchard made her debut for Impact Wrestling on Redemption, when she joined the commentary team during a match between Kiera Hogan and Taya Valkyrie. Dax Harwood said once he . I found there wasnt much need for me or anyone else to take him in hand he already had plenty of real skill.". It is claimed she failed to do so, with PWInsider saying IMPACTs attempts to get her to return and drop the title did not lead to anything, forcing them to vacate the championship and terminate her contract. Tessa Blanchard (Tully Blanchard) via tvovermind.com Tessa Blanchard is the granddaughter of wrestler Joe Blanchard, daughter of Tully, and stepdaughter of Magnum TA. She became the first female wrestler to win the Impact World Championship and is also a former Impact Knockouts Champion. He challenged Douglas again in February and March, losing on both occasions. At the time, Mozart had grown weary of the Salzburg court and was looking for a new position. The decision was a measured one, as all were during his athletic career, with an eye on the spotlight and dreams of an NFL career on the radar. [4] It was announced the following day that Blanchard had signed a multi-show deal to serve as an "exclusive advisor" for Shawn Spears in All Elite Wrestling. Blanchard began wrestling intergender matches after the spring of 2016, after working for Shimmer, Stardom, and Lucha Underground, and NXT.