Chelsea Green on making WWE history, elevating women, & WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia

Chelsea Green has been wrestling for more than a decade and has wrestled for promotions such as TNA (formerly IMPACT Wrestling), ROH, NWA, and GCW. She has shown her comedic chops and proven that she'll do humiliating things (like being sent through a table into a full dumpster) if it entertains the fans and keeps her on TV.

Last December, she made history by becoming the inaugural WWE Women's United States Champion. The Canadian created the Secret Hervice with Slaygents, Piper Niven, and Alba Fyre. For 132 days, Green ruled SmackDown as champion, where she feuded with Michin and Zelina Vega, who would eventually defeat Green to become champion.

When Netflix's show that goes behind-the-scenes of WWE, UnReal, aired Green learned that a writer pitched for her to win this year's Royal Rumble. That didn't end up happening as Charlotte Flair would go on to win the 30-woman battle royale. Although it didn't play out that way, Green was still happy that someone believed she could win the whole thing.

“It’s an amazing feeling. All you want in this business – not just wrestling, but show business – to have faith in you. To have faith that you can perform. To have faith that you can entertain. You can hold the crowd’s attention, and so, to know that they trust me is pretty amazing.” 

Her fingers and toes are crossed that more writers will suggest that she eventually wins the Royal Rumble and maybe now that fans know, they’ll also push for her to win. “Just an idea that’s going to keep percolating.”

Viewers of UnReal noticed that there aren't many women writers in WWE. There's one in NXT and several on the main roster that Green works with. “I personally do work with them. I am close with them. They give me so much creative freedom, which I really love. I enjoy working with them. They’re honest with me and open, and I think that’s all I can ask for. But do I always want more women in this industry? Yes, period. I always want more women in wrestling, so if we can kind of like open the doors to some more females that would be great. But not just on the creative side of things, but everywhere. Everywhere.”

With UnReal pulling back the curtain on the backstage happenings in WWE, there have been some critics who think WWE is revealing too much. It's an odd complaint given that kayfabe has been dead for the better part of two decades.

“I think in a year or two, we’re going to realize WWE is ahead of the curve and they’re just doing what they always do; taking control of the narrative. We were always going to evolve and show more behind-the-scenes with social media and going live. Having so many different brands and different shows. This was inevitable and inevitable in the industry. So for them to get ahead of it and to do it on their terms, do it how they see fit, I think it’s so smart. And I really do think, give it a year or two, 2028 even, we’re going to be like, ‘can you believe that we cared?’ People love to talk. People love to give their opinion, even when you don’t ask for it.”

Making WWE History

Last fall, WWE introduced two new midcard titles for the women's division. The RAW brand got the Intercontinental Championship while SmackDown got the United States Championship. Being the first champion of a title allows one to define it and set the tone.

“I was obviously very excited to open the door for more opportunities for women in WWE. We have crazy rosters between NXT, RAW, SmackDown, Evolve, ID, and LFG, and so on, and so on, and so on. We’ve got so many women and so many women who deserve the spotlight that a title brings. Adding two more titles to our roster is a really, really smart idea, and I think it happened at the perfect time. And I think that although we’re not seeing a lot being done with the United States title – I would love to see Giulia be able to do more – there’s still more opportunity in there. It grants us more TV time, so I’m very happy that we have them.” 

Green talked about what it meant to be the inaugural women’s US Champion. “Oh my gosh! Like I said with the Royal Rumble, you know, putting a title on somebody or choosing to give them that moment in history -- a moment that you can never take back, that will always be written in the WWE history books -- it’s putting faith in that performer. So that was a moment in my career, it was like ‘wow, I made it.' They trust me. They know I’m going to go out there, and the crowd is going to react one way or another. They know that in the upcoming months, I’m going to be able to keep that attention on me and build storylines and elevate women, and that’s just all of the things that I got into wrestling for.”

“I finally feel like I’m at Year 11 in my career, and finally, after 11 years, it feels like they have full faith in who I am as an entertainer. Like you said, they truly did allow me to decide how I wanted this championship to be represented. They allowed me to be the President of the United States of America and say ridiculous things, political things, in a world where we can often not joke about things right now. It allowed me to kind of make light of the situation that we’re in America.”

If she can’t regain the title anytime soon, she would be happy with Niven or Fyre becoming U.S. champion. “I would love that. It should stay in the family. You know what I mean? It should stay in the family. What I would love is to become two-time United States Champion and for my Slaygents to be tag team champions. Nicholas the Prickulus would love nothing more than that.” 

Future WWE goals

Green has been in matches like a street fight, where she went through the aforementioned dumpster. When asked if there’s anything she’d like to do that she hasn’t yet, Green mentioned that she would’ve loved to have shaved her head at WrestleMania. Since she still has her hair, she won’t be pitching that again anytime soon. She does have her eyes set on the Elimination Chamber. “I would like a match like that, not necessarily a stipulation match. One of those styles of matches.”

“I really haven’t done any pay-per-views. I did a tag match at WrestleMania three years ago. I did the Money in the Bank match in Canada. And so maybe just my goal moving forward is getting booked on more premium live events.” 

Two icons of the Divas Era have returned with Nikki Bella and AJ Lee. Having them back both as a fan and in the locker room has been “exciting, nerve-wracking, and crazy full circle moment for us as fans now turned wrestlers and for the women coming back after just experiencing life. Nikki obviously had a baby, and AJ wrote a book. I mean, they’re just such successful women, so just to be able to pick their brain and share a ring and share a locker room with them, I think it’s going to be amazing. We’ll learn a lot in these upcoming weeks.”

Saudi Arabia struggles

WrestleMania 43 has officially been announced for Saudi Arabia. It will be the first “Show of Shows” outside of the United States. WWE holding shows in Saudi Arabia has been very controversial, mainly due to human rights violations. Green is a vocal ally of the LGBTQIA+ community, even wearing Pride-inspired gear. She weighed in on how wrestling in Saudi Arabia is a struggle. 

“It’s tough, you know, because I am so outspoken about feminism and about rights, human rights. And so I struggle because Saudi Arabia is a place I do enjoy going and they treat me really well while I’m there, but what does that mean? It’s a push and pull for me that I’ve been trying to navigate and one that I’m still trying to navigate. While we’re speaking, I don’t know how to answer it because I struggle with it internally. And so it’s going to be interesting moving forward working so closely with Saudi Arabia and continuing to go there and build our brand in that country.”

 “It’ll be interesting to see how we can all push back and hopefully change. Hopefully, slowly start changing for the better, you know? That’s all I can ask for. Because I can’t be open in my beliefs and then travel to another company and not be open. That’s also not right. So you know, I’m learning as I go. And every time I go there, we’ll kind of see what happens and what conversations we can get started.”

Green wishes she had a better answer. “For all of the people in my life that are part of the community, I wish I had a better answer. Because I know how they feel and a lot of people we work with, I know how they feel about it. And so, we’re just going to figure it out together I think.”  

As WWE Superstars, they are just trying to do their jobs. “I’m just trying to pay for my life. I’m trying to get my paycheck, but I’m also human.” 

What NXT means to Green

NXT recently had its homecoming. Green defended the U.S. title against Sol Ruca. She competed with Ethan Page in a mixed tag match at Heatwave. She put over the talent of the NXT Superstars. “I’ve never seen a division in my life that’s so stacked with talent, and I can’t wait to watch them all come up to the main roster and thrive and become champions. But for right now, I really love going down there and having my fun. Having my cake and eating it too. And helping elevate the women. It’s been a lot of fun. I hope that Shawn Michaels will allow me to continue to come down.”

During Homecoming, TNA talent took to social media to let their true feelings be known. Some believe that NXT gets all the attention, or they go to TNA and try to take over. They’re tired of being overlooked. As someone who spent a lot of time in the company and still has friends and a husband who wrestles there, Green sympathizes.

“I get it. You’re protective of your locker room. You’re protective of your company. You’re protective of what you’ve built, and TNA has always been the underdog. They have forever fought to be respected. I know that because I was there fighting on the front lines, fighting to have that product respected. And so I feel for them. The partnership with NXT is only going to make them better, but there’s going to be bumps in the road. We’re hitting a little bump.”

To bring it full circle, if UnReal were to follow Green at home, she said they’d capture her new house being built, her blind, neurologically challenged puppy, her three cats, and two Goldendoodles. “You’ll see that I’m totally normal. I have my hair up on the top of my head. I don’t wear makeup. I’m just trying to cook dinner for myself. It’s not that different than anyone else. That’s what I want to show people. I don’t live like Kim Kardashian or The Miz.”

If you use any quotes from this article, please H/T Samantha Schipman from Dailly DDT.