Chelsea Green On Posting Photos With AEW Stars, WWE Missing Out On Female Stables
As noted earlier this week at this link, WWE NXT Superstar Chelsea Green recently spoke with Spencer Love of the "Conversations with Love" podcast to discuss a number of topics. You can find the full interview on the Win Column Sports Network or Podbean. Love sent us more highlights from the interview.
Green discussed walking the line between her NXT character and her personal life while using social media, something she said she struggles with. Green also talked about publicly communicating on social media with wrestlers from other companies, like AEW stars Britt Baker, Cody and Brandi Rhodes. She said she's received some flack for it.
"I really struggle with that, actually," Green said of walking that line. "I kind of get people telling me all sorts of different things when it comes to social media. When I was with Impact, a lot of people were kind of annoyed that I would post as myself, but then also post as the Hot Mess. But, that's what I love about my job and about social media is I can choose. So, I really didn't give a s**t that people thought that was annoying or it broke kayfabe, because at that point it's 2018 and people know that I am dating who I'm dating and that I live where I live and they know who my good friends are. So, they know that when I leave the Impact Zone or when I leave NXT, I am not the Hot Mess. But, of course, yeah, my co-workers kind of were a little bit annoyed, a couple of them, but I think they quickly realized, like, 'look, she's playing a character, it's who she is.'
"We really haven't had many people like that in the generation of social media that have to figure this out, because everyone in wrestling is kind of an extended version of themselves, and the Hot Mess really wasn't. It was a true character. I have to say, it was difficult, and I struggle with it every day. I struggle with how much do I give away versus what I want to keep private and stuff like that.
"All in all, I just like my fans to know exactly who I am, and that's every side of me, whether it's my family, my relationships, my friends, and I don't give a s**t if a friend is in a different company. I'm sorry, but I'm going to post with Britt Baker and Cody Rhodes and Brandi Rhodes. I don't care. They're my friends. I get a little bit of flack for it, but I think everyone is pretty understanding nowadays."
Green's friend and former tag team partner Deonna Purrazzo was released from WWE on April 15, along with Green's fiance Zack Ryder. Purrazzo and Green were set to officially debut their "VXT" team on NXT TV at one point. She revealed what the "VXT" name means and how Rachael Ellering came up with it.
"Oh my gosh, so many people ask us that!," Green said of the name. "So, VXT was just a short version of the word 'vexed,' which Rachael Ellering came up with. She saw it and pitched it to Deonna and myself, for the three of us to be a strong, badass, Charlie's Angels-type of group. We truly wanted to be the Undisputed Era of the girls. I think so many people laughed at that, but I'm like 'no, but they're so cool!' They're so individual, but they're so freakin' cool, and they all highlight each other.
"So, it was the word 'vexed,' which means to bring trouble to cause a reckoning. But, we could shorten it down to VXT, which is perfect for chants and NXT rip-offs and stuff like that, and it was also just a badass word. But, Rachael hurt herself, and then I was out for a little bit, and it was such a mess that we never truly got to – we kind of pitched it on social media to the fans, but we never truly got to actually do anything in NXT with it, really."
Green said the lack of female stables is a missed opportunity, especially in WWE. She thought the "VXT" idea was money.
"One-hundred percent, and especially in WWE," Green said when asked if the lack of female factions is a missed opportunity. "That was such a crazy opportunity that we could have taken and run with, especially because the tag titles came out and then they were saying that NXT, or that the tag titles would be defended on every brand. I just felt like it was money. The reason that we decided to get together is not because we were like 'oh, we're better together.'
"We actually all think that we're strong singles wrestlers and better as singles wrestlers. But, we thought '(we) think this could work,' because the Undisputed Era (were) better as singles wrestlers, and now look at them. It was a perfect opportunity to get these three singles wrestlers and put them together and show that this was going to be this perfectly well-rounded group of individuals. A strong person, a person that is more dramatic, which obviously is me, and then Deonna, the technical wrestler. I seriously think that could have been something that, if we had've got the opportunity, we could have totally run with it. But then, I look back and I'm like 'well, dang, I ended up on RAW, and Deonna ended up on RAW, so do I really care?'"
Green recalled her Royal Rumble Match debut earlier this year, and how she told Robert Stone she had a feeling she'd be used in the match. Green entered the 30-woman match at #16 and lasted just 12 seconds before Alexa Bliss tossed her out to make the 13th elimination. Green picked up one elimination as she entered – Dakota Kai. She said she's glad she was eliminated right away because it was the most nerve-wracking thing she'd ever done.
"I don't know why, but I get this women's intuition I always call it, where I just know when something's going to happen," Green said. "And although I hadn't really been used on TV or anything, I just said to Rob, 'Rob, I'm going to get gear made for the Rumble. I feel like I'm going to be asked to be in it.' And he kind of like laughed at me, like 'what? Okay?' I just had this feeling, this gut feeling, like 'I don't know, man, I just feel like I'm going to be in it.'
"I didn't really find out I was in it until the last minute. Nobody does, and even when you're then put in it, you're not necessarily 100% in it. They change it all around last-minute, they change your number, they change whether you're in it or not in it. So, I was excited, but I didn't want to get excited until my music hit. I'm telling you, when my music hit, oh my god, I'm so glad that I got kicked out right away because that was the most nerve-wracking thing I've ever done."
Green is currently on NXT TV with Stone, as his first acquisition under The Robert Stone Brand. She's also been used on WWE RAW and WWE Main Event a few times this year. Green was asked why she feels she keeps getting unexpected opportunities.
"I think what happens is someone just throws me a bone, and I think that I'm really good in a situation where it is sink or swim," Green said. "So far, I have managed to doggy-paddle my way out of all these crazy situations I've been thrown in, and I think that has done me a lot of favors. I don't think anyone expected for me to be used on RAW that day, and then, when they just threw me that bone, I was like 'well, here it is!' Even if this is just a match where I'm losing in two minutes, I don't care. I'm going to go out there and look the best I've ever looked and look at Charlotte in the eyes and show every single person that yes, there is another woman out here who is the same size as Charlotte, who can go toe-to-toe with her, and I think that's what I did."