Last night, Tessa Blanchard’s image was removed from the new WWE 2K Battlegrounds video game via patch update. Earlier this week, wrestling photographer Basil Mahmud called WWE Games to let them know that a silhouette of Blanchard from a photo he took of the wrestler after she won the Impact World Title at Hard To Kill on January 12 was used in the video game.
Yesterday, Mahmud tweeted, "UPDATE: @2KBattlegrounds and I have spoken. The image is going to be removed to tonight in a patch update. 1. No I'm not going to tell you guys anything else 2. I don't wanna do your podcast. And number C: Credit your artists. TGIF, now go watch some Boy Meets World"
Mahmud also mentioned that attorney Michael Dockins had helped him this week. Dockins has recently filed trademarks for several wrestlers, including Miro, AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR, Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes, among others. "I just want to thank @mrdockins for all the help with this late last night and today. Awesome person and great representation needed to get this matter solved properly and effectively," Mahmud wrote in a tweet.
The WWE 2K Battlegrounds video game, which was released yesterday, includes WWE stars such as John Cena, The Rock, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt. The game is a spin-off of WWE 2K20 and replaces WWE 2K21 for 2020, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the negative reviews of last year’s WWE 2K20.
Blanchard has been a highly controversial figure this year. In January, several female wrestlers claimed the former Impact World Champion and Impact Knockouts Champion had bullied them and exhibited racist behavior. Black Rose, currently signed to Shine, alleged that Blanchard had spit in her face and called her a racial slur. Blanchard has denied the allegations.
Blanchard’s contract with Impact Wrestling was terminated on June 25. She was subsequently stripped of the Impact World Championship. The daughter of Four Horsemen member Tully Blanchard is currently signed to Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide and Women of Wrestling (WOW).
Source: Wrestling Inc