Joey Ryan gets his wish.
On Feb. 22 it was announced that Eli Drake would be taking on Tessa Blanchard at IMPACT United We Stand on Apr. 4. However, shortly after the match was announced, Eli Drake took to social media to state, "I have amazing respect for @IMPACTWRESTLING and @Tess_Blanchard and can see that she is likely the greatest female talent in wrestling today. Although that said, I will not participate in a one on one intergender match."
You couldn’t have hit the nail more directly on the head.
— Eli Drake (@TheEliDrake) February 22, 2019
I have amazing respect for @IMPACTWRESTLING and @Tess_Blanchard and can see that she is likely the greatest female talent in wrestling today.
Although that said, I will not participate in a one on one intergender match. https://t.co/Hv5MydU8P6
The bout was pulled from the original announcement on IMPACT's website, but no announcement was made regarding the status of the match. A couple of weeks later, Joey Ryan stepped up, saying he would wrestle Tessa in an intergender bout. Now, Ryan has gotten his wish.
BREAKING: A major Intergender match is set for United We Stand on April 4th in New Jersey! @Tess_Blanchard will face @JoeyRyanOnline!
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) March 11, 2019
TICKETS: https://t.co/LEQehGKYjX @FiteTV: https://t.co/INd9tDxV3z pic.twitter.com/qjXd9b6Kjq
Despite their long history of competing in intergender matches, Tessa and Ryan have never faced in a one-on-one match. Ryan did team with Candice LeRae to defeat Tessa & Colt Cabana in an intergender tag team bout in 2017.
IMPACT United We Stand is scheduled for Apr. 4 in New Jersey. The event will be headlined by Rob Van Dam & Sabu taking on The Lucha Bros in an Extreme Dream Match.
