'Tough Enough' Q&A: Chelsea Green's dream cut short by The Miz
No matter what level you compete on — be it a small independent promotion or the WWE itself — one of the main things that makes professional wrestling work is teamwork. Teamwork can make or break any match or promo and when it comes to in-ring action, bad teamwork will likely cause mistakes and even the occasional severe injury. That’s why this week’s episode of “Tough Enough” focused on this crucial ability.
She wasn’t originally chosen to compete in “Tough Enough,” but after Dianna Dahlgren withdrew during the
competition, Chelsea Green was selected as her replacement. Formally trained by ex-wrestler Lance Storm, Green has already appeared on WWE programming (if only as Daniel Bryan’s kayfabe physical therapist). Nonetheless, she didn’t show what was required this week and was eliminated.
Q: On “Tough Talk,” you said you were pissed at The Miz. Why?
Green: Well, how could I not be? This is my dream. And he cut that short, so I was pissed. That’s it. It really is that simple. I mean this is my dream. I want to get as far as I can and whoever puts me in the bottom three and stops me from achieving my dream. I’m pissed!
Q: Give me your opinion of Paige as a judge. Do you think she’s too harsh?
Green: No, I think she’s a heel and that’s just who she is and if you can’t take that then you probably shouldn’t be in this competition. That’s what I’m thinking because there’s going to be a lot worse than Paige. I think she’s one of those girls who’s brutally honest always, and you’ve got to be able to take it.
Q: What are your thoughts about the Divas Revolution?
Green: I think it’s an amazing time to be a woman in wrestling right now, whether you’re on the indie scene or in the WWE. Every one of these women is making huge strides. Physically, they’re at the top of their game. Their promos are getting amazing. They all have the full package. So, to be able to get into this business at this time and to be able to be trained by the best divas, to look up to the best divas, to work side-by-side with these amazing divas, you know, we’re just going to keep getting better and better and I really think that the Divas Revolution is just going to continue and grow from here.
Q: What was it like training with Lance Storm?
Green: Yeah, so I trained with Lance five days a week for three months. I had never been in a wrestling ring before I got to Lance’s school, so I was learning and building basically from the ground up, but he has taught me so much, and obviously I’ve been able to use that and take it and apply it to this competition, which has been an amazing bonus for me. When I got here, I knew that nobody else had that prior wrestling experience, so I was able to use that to my advantage in this competition.
Q: So you’re saying that your experience on the indie circuit gave you a leg up?
Green: Well, you know, when I got into this competition, there were some girls who had their looks, there were some girls who had some fire, there were girls who had their personality, and then there are some girls who have that prior experience, and that’s what I’m using to give me a leg up in this competition.
Q: If you hadn’t sprained your ankle earlier, do you think you would still be in the competition because you would have gotten to showcase your talent a little bit more?
Green: You know what, actually, no. I don’t think that my ankle injury really prevented me from progressing in this competition. It only kept me out of one challenge, which I was very lucky for. I worked through it, and isn’t that what “Tough Enough” is all about? If you can’t work through a minor sprain or those tough times mentally, then maybe you aren’t tough enough. So, I was actually OK working through a little pain if that proved that I’m tough enough.
Q: What’s next for you?
Green: What’s next? Let’s see, I’m going to go home and I’m going to regroup and spend a little time with family and get right back into training. Getting in the ring and making sure that I’m constantly improving my craft and getting better and better because this is definitely not the end for me. I’m just going to use this as a steppingstone and make sure that I have even more fire and drive to get back out there.
