Chelsea Green believes comments made by WWE producer Michael Hayes on WWE: Unreal ultimately worked in her favor.
During the second season of the Netflix series, Hayes praised Green’s entertainment value but questioned whether she should ever be positioned as one of WWE’s top women’s stars. “Chelsea is so entertaining. But she is not built for, nor should she be in the Charlotte Flair role or Tiffany Stratton. Because Chelsea’s job is to help make those people.”
Just days after those remarks resurfaced, Green captured the Interim WWE Women’s Championship by winning the five-way ladder match at SummerSlam Sunday.
Speaking with Sam Roberts after her victory, Green joked that perhaps she owed Hayes a thank you.
When Roberts mentioned the viral Unreal clip, Green quickly interjected with a smile. “Screwed them.”
Roberts then asked if she wanted to dedicate the championship win to Hayes. “Do you think that I should dedicate my title win to old Michael Hayes… Freebird himself?”
The discussion then turned to whether Hayes’ comments had actually rallied fans behind her. “Yes. I have thought that since the minute that season 1, episode three of Unreal came out.”
Green admitted she immediately believed the footage would backfire on WWE management while benefiting her. “I thought, ‘Oh, this is not going to be good for the office. But I love it.'”
She explained that fans embraced her simply for being herself. “I’m getting all this love for just being me, for doing nothing out of the ordinary, for literally just showing up to work, doing my job, and going home.”
According to Green, the response has only continued to grow over the past three years, with the release of Unreal Season 3 reigniting fan support. “Unfortunately, for the office, that aired, everyone loved it, and now here we are three seasons later.”
She added that she has felt the momentum building throughout her championship run, particularly after winning the WWE Women’s United States Championship, but believes it has reached another level recently. “It has exploded since then. Exploded.”
Green finished by crediting Hayes for unintentionally helping fuel that support. “I thank Michael Hayes for that.”
