How Chelsea Green Became WWE's Hottest Female Star

Sportskeeda Wrestling

Check out Sportskeeda's brand new game, BrainBuster! Can you become the undisputed quiz champion? Play now to find out - https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/brainbuster-wwe-player-guessing-game  Explore the meteoric rise of Chelsea Green as WWE's hottest female star! From her humble beginnings to her breakout moments in the ring, we'll chart her journey to the top. Get insights into her unique persona, in-ring skills, and the charisma that has captivated the WWE Universe  You can also visit our site: https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe  #chelseagreen #wwe #wrestling #sportskeedawrestling

Transcript

00:00Chelsea Green is so hot right now, she may not have won the Women's Money in the Bank

00:12match recently, but she stole the show in Toronto and reportedly has received a lot

00:18of praise from within WWE for her outrageous performance in the ladder-smashing mayhem.

00:25Ever since returning in 2023 to WWE, she's knocked everything out of the park, she's

00:31done a lot to maximize her minutes on television, she's a star for simply playing the character

00:38of a narcissistic try-little-but-entitled-to-everything brat to the ultimate T. If anyone's having

00:45a real brat summer in WWE, it's Chelsea Green.

00:49In doing so, she achieved what many WWE superstars may have never achieved in their careers,

00:56and those that have outstanding careers absolutely do this, get people to care about them.

01:03A decade into her career, the future is looking very bright for Chelsea Green, but those ten

01:09years have been turbulent and also incredible all at the same time.

01:13Let's get into all of it, this is Sportskeeda Wrestling, what do you think of Chelsea Green?

01:19Let us know in the comments below.

01:21So join us as we take our ride through the crazy incredible rise of Chelsea Green.

01:26Stand back, there's a new wrestling quiz coming through.

01:29Check out Brain Buster, the daily quiz that tests your WWE knowledge with winning streaks,

01:35stats and more.

01:36It's time to see if you're up for the challenge.

01:40Unlike many wrestlers, Chelsea didn't grow up a wrestling fan.

01:44Her and her sister dabbled in and out of pro wrestling, but weren't hardcore fans

01:49back in the day.

01:50Heck, their parents didn't even allow them to watch it, they had to sneak into another

01:54room to watch.

01:56Chelsea grew up in Victoria, British Columbia in Canada, with her family supporting her

02:00dreams of pursuing a life on the road.

02:03She traveled extensively before she ever took her first bumps in the ring.

02:08Chelsea became a fan of pro wrestling, starting to hear about some of the big names that broke

02:12out of Canada.

02:13People like The Hart Family and Tyson Kidd, who made it to the biggest stage of pro wrestling.

02:18Green had the build with a passion for fitness, so jumping into pro wrestling allowed her

02:22to play on some of her versatile background and seemed like it was something she wanted

02:28to give a shot on a whim.

02:31So she contacted the man in Western Canada who's made many pro wrestling stars and was

02:37a superstar in his own right, none other than Lance Storm.

02:42From Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a name that might be familiar with any long time wrestling

02:47fan.

02:48In a grueling three month program, Green with a healthy mentality decided to give it 100%

02:54in her time with Lance Storm.

02:57Within her first day of training, she knew that she loved the art of pro wrestling and

03:01she wanted to do it for as long as possible.

03:03Keeping a clear mind, she set her task to two simple things, wrestle clean matches and

03:09make sure the matches make sense for the audience watching.

03:12Even in the earliest stages of her pro wrestling journey, she had an understanding of the importance

03:18of storytelling.

03:19Storm, as Chelsea Green described, is a wrestling encyclopedia unto himself and to make sure

03:25to drill the basics in before any of his students can really move ahead.

03:30It's a bonus to have someone like that at your side guiding you along because names

03:35like Lance Storm have deep, deep contacts on their phone and they can bring you to the

03:40right places at the right time.

03:43That last part is important because Chelsea Green revealed in an interview with the Wrestling

03:46Divas in 2015 that Storm had a very direct approach with his students.

03:52He would straight up tell people whether they should stick to the independent wrestling

03:56scene or whether he could actually have them make it at the televised level.

04:00In her early career, Chelsea Green credited Lance Storm for everything she learned.

04:06Some of you may remember that she appeared on a segment of Monday Night Raw in 2014 with

04:11Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella.

04:13She was still very, very active on the independent circuit, making her name around Canada and

04:19beyond with groups like ECCW.

04:23During her Raw appearance, she played a very pivotal role backstage as Daniel Bryan's

04:28physical therapist, Megan Miller.

04:31This was in the thick of the iconic feud between Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella.

04:39Stephanie made Megan admit that she was having an affair with Daniel Bryan after Stephanie

04:45taunted Brie about it.

04:46Megan got slapped across the face.

04:49Ooh, the soap opera drama.

04:51This is actually something that Chelsea Green was all about.

04:54She's a big fan of trashy reality TV shows, so this type of story was right in her alley.

05:00And though this role wouldn't immediately turn into an opportunity full-time with WWE,

05:04it's a big deal for anyone on the independent wrestling circuit to be even playing a supporting

05:10role like this on WWE television.

05:13The crazy part of the story is she was originally called one of the Rosebuds for Adam Rose.

05:17Remember all those people that would parade around the ring with him?

05:20She even got changed with the Rosebuds when one of the crewmen pulled her aside to chat

05:24about her little part.

05:26Next thing you know, she's in a room with Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and Vince McMahon.

05:30Imagine how that must have felt for her.

05:32Within an hour, she was in a ring with the most powerful woman in the wrestling industry.

05:38Remember, this was her first year as a pro wrestler, still actively bumping on the road

05:43with the independent circuit and jumping around the world very quickly.

05:48Heck, it was just a few months after her official in-ring debut.

05:52In that Wrestling Divas interview that we mentioned, Chelsea mentioned that not long

05:59after her Raw appearance, she displayed wisdom and maturity that were rare for someone who

06:04was so new to the pro wrestling business.

06:07To Chelsea, it was an opportunity of a lifetime, and summed up the nature of the wrestling

06:13business.

06:14You can get opportunities in a flash, you can be taken out of spots at a moment's

06:18notice, you have to adapt and work through that.

06:21It's a trait that she's always utilized throughout her career.

06:25Unfortunately for Chelsea, it wasn't enough to get the call, but she made sure to get

06:30a few contacts obviously out of that entire role.

06:34While her Raw appearance may not have been enough for WWE to sign her in Tough Enough

06:39in 2015.

06:41Tough Enough was WWE's competitive reality show that they've revived at several different

06:45stages in the past few years that would create either a new wrestler on WWE television out

06:51of someone who had some experience in pro wrestling, or no experience at all.

06:56Another factor is that Chelsea wasn't even slated to be a part of the original cast for

07:00the revived reality show.

07:02She replaced Deanna Dahlgren, who had quit just three episodes in.

07:07On the men's side, Patrick Clark, who would eventually become Velveteen Dream in WWE NXT,

07:13was kind of presented as the only one who had any actual passion and love for pro wrestling.

07:19Chelsea was put in that category even though she wasn't a fan of wrestling as long as

07:23him.

07:24But what she seemed to have a lot more of than other people on the show was a serious

07:27work ethic and commitment to the craft.

07:30Fans didn't gravitate towards her the way they did with Patrick Clark.

07:34Understandably, Chelsea was upset by the fact that she didn't walk out with a contract

07:39from Tough Enough.

07:40In an appearance on the Pancakes and Power Slams show, she said that not getting a WWE

07:45deal hurt her way more than getting kicked out of a game show.

07:49She walked out with a big chip on her shoulder, and it wasn't going unnoticed.

07:53Her time on Tough Enough kickstarted her friendship with WWE Hall of Famer Billy Gunn, whose family

07:59she would become close to over the years.

08:02It wasn't meant to be once again, but things would begin to shift drastically for her career.

08:08Five quick months after she was eliminated from WWE's Tough Enough game show, she debuted

08:13in TNA Wrestling, yes, the other big televised outfit in pro wrestling at the time.

08:20Within a few months, she officially signed and took on the new name of Laurel Van Ness.

08:26Although TNA has had a very turbulent history in their own right, they have a strong track

08:30record with scouting talent, especially women in their knockouts division, and showcasing

08:35them.

08:36During this time, she crossed paths with Cody and Brandi Rhodes, both of whom seemed to

08:40think that Chelsea and a certain star you may know by the name Zack Ryder, aka Matt

08:46Cardona, would be a good fit for Chelsea in a possible romance.

08:50Oh, matches being made outside of a ring.

08:53The story is actually pretty funny.

08:55Neither Chelsea nor Matt Cardona wanted to date another wrestler.

08:59Cardona especially, having more experience in pro wrestling and a veteran of WWE, seemed

09:05But eventually, they would truly come together as a special power couple, and it was none

09:11other than her future husband who would help shape the next stage of her character, Laurel

09:17Van Ness.

09:18Now, she got herself involved in important feuds pretty quickly in Impact Wrestling,

09:22and it was the first real breakout roles for her on televised pro wrestling, being one

09:27of Ally's biggest rivals.

09:29Maria Kanellis, an established veteran in her own right, was the tyrant of the Impact

09:34Wrestling scene at the time, coercing Ally's partner Braxton Sutter to enter a relationship

09:41with the turbulent Laurel Van Ness.

09:45Otherwise, Ally would be fired, I know.

09:48Wrestling logic.

09:49Ally, for those of you who don't know, was and is the wife of Braxton Sutter.

09:54It all culminated in an incredible wedding scene of Braxton and Laurel Van Ness in February

10:04of 2017.

10:06This was one of those moments where TNA truly struck gold, and Chelsea Green did the right

10:13thing at the right time.

10:15We highly recommend you go check out the full segment, it's available on TNA's YouTube

10:20channel.

10:21It may be one of the most ridiculously satisfying wrestling weddings of all time, it was one

10:27of those moments where every single person in the ring played their part to perfection,

10:31the crowd was red hot because they wanted Braxton to say no to the rich Princess Laurel,

10:38and yes to the endearing Ally instead.

10:41This was less than three years after Chelsea Green's wrestling debut, and she was already

10:46stealing a television show on screen.

10:49It was no surprise that it got a lot of critical acclaim, something that TNA needed around

10:55that time.

10:56Chelsea, for her part, did a fantastic job reacting to Braxton Sutter's rejection of

11:01her right before the nuptials were completed and becoming a complete mess, while Braxton

11:08and Ally kissed and everything else in the ring breaking down around her.

11:13It helped Chelsea transition into her biggest character yet, hot mess, Laurel Van Ness.

11:21The backstage interviews that rolled out this character were highly entertaining, probably

11:26some of the funniest stuff that TNA Impact ever presented, with Laurel Van Ness being

11:30that complete mess, not being able to rationalize or believe the new reality she was in, even

11:36though her daddy spent all that money and imported everything from Italy, and she would

11:41sing The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow, it was just pure wrestling comedy gold.

11:53Around this time TNA may have had some great matches here and there, but the mess was the

11:58main event.

11:59She was proving herself to be a standout player in the character department, and even had

12:04a hilarious storyline where she offered to marry Grado so he wouldn't get deported

12:09from the United States, only for him to find out she's Canadian and not American.

12:18She was set to be rewarded with the Knockouts Women's Championship in late 2017, but behind

12:24the scenes there was a little bit of personal turmoil for Chelsea Green.

12:28There were rumors that Chelsea requested her release from Impact immediately after winning

12:33the biggest prize a woman could win in the company, and if your name isn't Tessa Blanchard,

12:38yeah, that's an issue.

12:40The supposed reasoning behind this was that Chelsea Green was expecting to maybe get signed

12:45by WWE, but on the Wrestling Perspective podcast, she gave her side of this reported story.

12:52Chelsea stated that she didn't go from Impact to WWE, she went from Impact to Lucha Underground

12:58because WWE seemingly didn't want her.

13:01She revealed that between her expenses, visas, flights, and the burdens of just maintaining

13:06everything you need to do to be a pro wrestling star, she was struggling financially, even

13:12though she was on a television show every week with Impact.

13:15Chelsea admitted that she never felt like she deserved to win the Knockouts Women's

13:19title anyway because she was still just a few years into the business.

13:23Despite being given this tremendous honor to look forward to winning in the ring, Chelsea

13:28revealed that she was up all night in her hotel room, conflicted about what she was

13:33going to do.

13:35Knowing that she couldn't go back on her decision, she sent an email to Impact officials

13:39at 3am and agreed to do whatever was asked of her.

13:44Eventually, she worked the remainder of her TV taping schedule and dropped the Knockouts

13:49championship to Allie before Impact officially granted her release in early 2018.

13:56Following a short stint with Lucha Underground, her run there was on the pre-shot seasonal

14:01series presentation as a very serious character, Reclusa, a spider lady who was serious, not

14:08the comedy part player that fans were used to seeing from her in previous incarnations.

14:14She was also one of the hottest names on the independent circuit still under the moniker

14:18of Chelsea Green.

14:20She finally had a tryout for WWE and was FINALLY signed in the summer of 2018, but before that,

14:27she was a part of the historic All-In event, basically THE all-star independent wrestling

14:33show that was kind of a precursor to Allie Wrestling.

14:37She was in a four-corner survival match with Dr. Britt Baker, Madison Rain, and Tessa Blanchard.

14:42Her first run in WWE was a bit interesting, and unfortunately, honestly, disappointing.

14:48She was slotted into NXT and suffered a broken wrist right away.

14:53When she came back from this setback, she returned with a new manager, Robert Stone,

14:58who some of you may know as Robbie E from TNA.

15:01They were familiar with each other from their previous work, and he was the right person

15:05to compliment her over the top, holier than thou, aren't I the richer than you person.

15:11She was kind of in that Elias position, where it was clear that she was bound for the main

15:15roster.

15:16So while she wasn't pushed in NXT, she was reportedly penciled in for a main roster call-up

15:22in 2020, but as you know, the timing of things in 2020 were pretty difficult.

15:27When Paul Heyman, the creative genius of many things in WWE, unfortunately lost his position

15:33as the executive director of Monday Night Raw, she was sent to Smackdown, and unfortunately,

15:39broke her wrist again.

15:41She was supposedly set to win her fatal four-way match and really qualify for big things at

15:46the upcoming Survivor Series show, but that injury, that very unfortunate injury, marked

15:52an abrupt end to her WWE career for the time being.

15:56Months later, on the dreaded first anniversary of the 2020 mass releases, Chelsea Green was

16:03one of the names who was also released.

16:05It was tough times in the world, and obviously tough times for a lot of people in pro wrestling.

16:10Following this, she made her return to Impact Wrestling, and even went to Ring of Honor.

16:15She even got to do a tag team match with her husband, Matt Cardona, but her scheduled match

16:20in Ring of Honor was cancelled after she suffered a fracture to her wrist.

16:27She just couldn't catch a break, and we didn't mean the wrists.

16:30Still, Chelsea was more confident in herself than ever.

16:34She never relented in her belief that she could become one of those standout performers

16:40in the business.

16:41She continued to prove herself over the next year and a half around the wrestling landscape.

16:47Her Impact run was a particularly notable one, due to her VXT tag team with Diana Perraza

16:52of The Virtioso, where they both won the Knockouts World Tag Team titles together.

16:58But when the door came knocking again, Chelsea Green was there to answer it and not miss

17:03the chance.

17:04She knew exactly how small the windows of opportunity in the wrestling business are,

17:08and having experienced multiple times herself, both good and bad, she was going to take advantage

17:14of the next opportunity.

17:16In fact, Chelsea Green revealed that she simply texted WWE's head honcho, Triple H, stating

17:23that she wanted her job back.

17:26And he told her, call me.

17:28Hey, I see you're rehiring people.

17:30I really want my job back and that's the only thing I want.

17:33And then that was it.

17:34That was all it took to get her job back.

17:36Wow.

17:37Maybe it wasn't that easy, but I think you get the idea.

17:39And just like that, her second TNA run ended and she returned at the 2023 Royal Rumble,

17:47getting eliminated in just 5 seconds, a record for the women's Royal Rumble match around

17:51the time.

17:52Now, many claiming, oh, she's buried.

17:54She's buried.

17:55Oh no, she looks ridiculous.

17:58That's kind of the idea.

18:00Since then, she seems to be having one of the best and notable runs of her career, playing

18:04an outlandish spin on Karen Memes.

18:07Yes, she's the Karen of WWE, who makes it a real big problem backstage and has some

18:14serious onscreen chemistry with WWE official Adam Pearce.

18:19They've had some really legitimately entertaining things, both on social media and obviously

18:23on camera, playing out in the time since that kicked off.

18:27In the same year she returned, she won the women's tag team championships with Sonya

18:32Deville, her first championship in WWE.

18:35After Sonya Deville suffered an unfortunate injury that would keep her out of action for

18:39a long time, Piper Niven became Chelsea Green's new tag team partner.

18:45Chelsea Green has seized almost every big opportunity she's had so far to make her

18:49way into becoming one of WWE's best comedic characters.

18:54But that doesn't mean she's boxed into playing a clownish role, like maybe some people

18:59believe R-Truth is.

19:01R-Truth is likely going to go in the Hall of Fame and has had an outstandingly long

19:05and enduring career, but he's played a supporting comedic role.

19:10R-Truth's role isn't that bad at all, he's admitted in 2024 that he looks back

19:15at his career though and contemplates what could have been, maybe if he was just a little

19:19bit more serious.

19:21For Chelsea, she's still finding her feet and is still able to do a whole lot while

19:25entertaining everybody watching her.

19:28Who else gets the most out of playing just a small role sometimes?

19:33If she's not featured in a big match or a big angle on that week's TV show, she

19:37gets the most out of what she does.

19:40We hardly even got an in-ring part of things that she's been able to accomplish.

19:44Chelsea Green's NXT Women's title match against Roxanne Perez was a perfect example

19:49of what she's actually capable of.

19:52Don't say that Green can't be mean and be a hell bell to bell, she killed it in

19:59that match.

20:00This is one of the most underrated WWE women's matches of 2024.

20:04She has a feeling that she can really just go to the next level, and we're just seeing

20:10some exciting things from her right now.

20:12Even in 2020, when Zack Ryder aka Matt Cardona, a man that many thought of as a WWE lifer

20:18was released, Chelsea had an idea that she revealed in an interview with Chris VanVleet.

20:24She told her fiancé at the time that she accumulated information from various promoters

20:30in her seven years on the independent circuit.

20:33She suggested that he take this approach of sporadically appearing in all of these different

20:37places so that it paints the picture that he's everywhere doing everything.

20:42And guess what?

20:43Matt Cardona is always ready with a Z, and he's doing everything everywhere apparently.

20:49I think that you should contact every single company, I have all their information, and

20:54I think you should do all of them.

20:55Even when he was injured, this guy had to line up the door for his autographs.

20:59This of course is a strategy that she has also applied in her career, a tenacious level

21:04of not saying no and saying yes to the opportunities that present themselves.

21:09This of course was a strategy that Cody Rhodes became hot on with the independent circuit

21:14in his time away from WWE.

21:16Chelsea Green laughed in a conversation with Xavier Woods recently that you can see in

21:20the UpUpDownDown channel that when she was away from WWE, she just knew she was coming

21:25back to WWE.

21:27She actually laughed her idea off, but a year later, it began becoming a real, real thing,

21:32and Matt Cardona is one of the biggest names in wrestling who isn't in AEW or WWE.

21:37They're a real power couple, and maybe they get reunited at some point on WWE television,

21:42but that's just neither here nor there.

21:45No matter what, Chelsea Green is on a roll.

21:49It's true, behind every great man, there's a great woman.

21:53Chelsea Green has never hidden her pride for her native land of Canada, and it looks like

21:57she wants to establish herself as one of the all-time great Canadian wrestlers.

22:02Put herself in the same conversation as Bret the Hitman Hart, Owen Hart, Roddy Piper, Chris

22:07Jericho, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Adam Copeland, Christian, Trish Stratus, Natalya, Tyson Kidd,

22:14Bobby Roode, and so many others.

22:16Chelsea Green is working her way into that type of list, but Chelsea Green looks like

22:22she's on a trajectory that'll eventually put her on a list all her own.

22:27She has a wealth of knowledge from her decade in the business, and knows how she's capable

22:32of big things at the best times.

22:35The biggest tease we saw of her going on to these bigger things was at Money in the Bank

22:40in Toronto, but her time just hasn't come just yet.

22:44Like we said, timing is everything, and Chelsea Green's time is still right there.

22:51We've seen glimpses of her brilliance in the ring, and her character work outshines

22:55many other people that maybe are further along than her in WWE.

23:00She knows how to play to her strengths and pounce on an opportunity like very few people.

23:06These are the type of people that usually go on to become the biggest stars, and don't

23:11be surprised if you see Chelsea Green eventually becoming one of the hottest names in all of

23:17professional wrestling.

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