"There are a bunch of firsts happening and women are given such a big platform now," Blanchard told IGN. "I've always wanted to make history in my own way. A way that's unique to me. A way that disrupts the business but also breaks barriers. I think Impact is giving us the platform right now where we can do something a little different and that's been my goal since day one. I want to do something different. I never knew exactly what that looked like. But this Sunday, this feud has been eight months in the making.""When [Blanchard and Callihan] were the main event at Slammiversary we didn't even know until the day of," Blanchard continued. "But going into this pay-per-view knowing we're the main event, knowing that we're doing something different, something that's making some people uncomfortable...it's something that some people support but for some people it disrupts them. It's cool because it shows that we're doing something special. It shows that maybe we are accomplishing something by evolving things on both sides of the locker room. It makes me a little bit nervous too just because it's something that I've thought about for six years. I never knew what making history in my own way would look like but it's all piecing itself together and coming full circle now. There's pressure that comes with that. There are nerves that come with that. But there's a lot of excitement too."
With Blanchard's bout on Sunday, intergender wrestling takes a big step forward, possibly moving away from an "attraction" to something resembling more of a normal modern-era wrestling scenario. "I know it makes some people uncomfortable for obvious reasons," Blanchard said. "Because it's 'just not normal.' It's not what people are used to seeing so they don't think that's what pro-wrestling is. It's not the typical story that we tell. It's not on Monday night. It's not something they're comfortable letting their kids watch. But in my mind I find it very empowering because I think that women can go out there and tell that story with a man. I think there's a way to do it.""Some people write it off right away without giving it a chance," she added. "For instance, I had a match during WrestleCon weekend against a man. And Santino Marella came up to me afterward and said 'I wasn't a fan of intergender wrestling, but now I get it.' And that's my goal. I want people to stay open minded it and get it. They don't have to like it. It's not for everyone. It's just like how there are so many different styles of wrestling. There's Strong Style, Luche Libre, and so many others. Maybe you don't like every style. There's nothing wrong with that. But at least give it a chance. What we're doing is something cool."
Impact Wrestling's Hard to Kill PPV goes down January 12 at 8/7c. The official live stream can be found on FITE TV. Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.
