 Green as theWWE Women's United States Champion in 2025 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Chelsea Anne Green[1] (1991-04-04)April 4, 1991 (age 34)[1] |
Spouse | |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Jaida[1][2] Chelsea Green[1][2] Princesa Gate Laurel Van Ness[1][2] Megan Miller[3] Reklusa[1][2] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1][2] |
| Billed weight | 125 lb (57 kg)[1][2] |
| Billed from | Victoria, British Columbia, Canada |
| Trained by | Lance Storm[1] WWE Performance Center |
| Debut | May 31, 2014[1][2] |
Chelsea Anne Cardona (néeGreen; born April 4, 1991) is a Canadianprofessional wrestler. As of January 2023[update], she is signed toWWE, where she performs on theSmackDownbrand under thering nameChelsea Green. She is the currentWWE Women's United States Champion in her record-setting second reign and is the leader ofThe Green Regimestable. She also makes appearances for WWE's partner promotionLucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), where she is one-half of the currentAAA World Mixed Tag Team Champions withEthan Page in theirfirst reign. She is a formerone-timeWWE Women's Tag Team Champion.
Green is known for her tenures with theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA),Ring of Honor (ROH),World Wonder Ring Stardom, andImpact Wrestling, having performed in the latter promotion with the ring nameLaurel Van Ness during her first stint and became aone-timeImpact Knockouts Champion. She won theImpact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship (withDeonna Purrazzo) in her second run with the company while performing with her real name. Green also performed inLucha Underground with the ring nameReklusa. Green is also known for her appearances on theindependent circuit across North America and Asia.
Under thering nameJaida, Green wrestled on forElite Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW). Her first match was on May 31, 2014, atECCW Better Than You. She teamed with Brady Malibu and MR2 in a losingsix-person tag match againstBilly Suede, Kenny Lush &Nicole Matthews. She next joined a Women's title tournament, winning the first round against Kaitlin Diamond. On December 8, 2014, at the conclusion of the Women's title tournament held atECCW Payoff, she defeated Kate Carney in the semi-finals.[citation needed]
In 2016, Green toured Japan twice forWorld Wonder Ring Stardom (WWRS). Her first tour was three months long, but was cut short by a broken collarbone while wrestling in India. Green's second tour of Japan was in late 2016, where she teamed withSantana Garrett for the2016 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League. During this tour, Green also challengedWonder of Stardom ChampionKairi Hojo to a match but lost. Green was undefeated in singles bouts in Japan, prior to her loss to Hojo.[citation needed]
Queens of Combat 17 on February 18, 2017, saw the start of the QOC Tag Team Championship tournament to crown the first QOC Tag Team Champions. Van Ness teamed withTaeler Hendrix and defeated Aja Perera andKiera Hogan in the first round.[4] At Queens of Combat 18, also on February 18, they defeatedNevaeh andRachael Ellering in the semi-finals. Hendrix and Van Ness defeated The Lucha Sisters (Leva Bates andMia Yim) to become the first QOC Tag Team Champions.[5]
In September 2018, Green performed on theAll In pay-per-view show, the first independent wrestling event in the U.S. to draw a live attendance of at least 10,000 fans. Green wrestledBritt Baker,Madison Rayne, andTessa Blanchard in aFour corner survival match.[6]
On January 7, 2016, Green made herTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) debut under thering nameChelsea, losing toJade. The following night on January 8 atTNA One Night Only: Live!, she wrestled in a number one contendersgauntletbattle royal match for theTNA Knockouts Championship, entering the ongoing match at number four before being eliminated byAwesome Kong.[7]
In June 2016, Green officially signed with Impact.[8] She made her televised debut as aheel on the September 29 episode ofImpact Wrestling under the new ring nameLaurel Van Ness, defeating Madison Rayne.[9] On the October 20 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Van Ness attackedAllie which led to a match between the two where Van Ness was victorious. She attacked Allie again the following week, which led to another match between the two on the December 8 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Van Ness was defeated.
In late 2016, Van Ness formed an on-screen relationship withBraxton Sutter. On February 23, 2017, the two were set to marry until Van Ness got rejected by Sutter during their wedding when he professed that he was in love with Allie (who is Sutter's legitimate wife).[10] The following week ofImpact Wrestling, the Lady Squad quietly disbanded when former leader Maria's contract expired.
In March, Van Ness started amaniacal gimmick, wrestling with a severely disheveled appearance (including a messy, damagedwedding dress and chaotic-lookingmake-up),barefoot, and carrying awine bottle to the ring.Grado tried to propose to her on July 27, however he was interrupted byKongo Kong.[11]
On the August 24 episode ofImpact, Van Ness came out, all cleaned-up, during Grado's deportation farewell address. She took out a wedding ring, asked Grado if he wanted to marry her and he said yes, establishing herself as ababyface for the first time in Impact. However, after Grado found out that Van Ness was Canadian, not American, he called off the wedding on the September 7 episode ofImpact. Van Ness began turningheel when she reverted to her emotionally chaotic gimmick, which later included going out in the crowd and campaigning for a husband. On November 5, atBound for Glory, Van Ness attacked Grado during his Monster's Ball match againstAbyss, completing her heel turn, only to be on the receiving end of Rosemary's mist.[12]
On November 8, which aired on atape delay on December 14, Van Ness defeated Rosemary in a tournament final for the vacantImpact Knockouts Championship. During that time she also returned to her 'normal'ring gear instead of the ruinedwedding dress, but retaining her chaotic/'drama'gimmick. AtGenesis, Van Ness defeatedAllie to retain the title. on the February 8 episode ofImpact, Van Ness defeatedKiera Hogan to retain the title.[13][14] Behind the scenes, Green planned to leave Impact Wrestling upon her contract's expiration, believing WWE would then immediately hire her, but Impact's producers cast her as champion before Green notified them she intended to leave.[15] So, Green asked for her contractual release from the company while one of its onscreen titleholders; management, predictably, refused to release her while she was still champion in its storylines. On January 15, 2018, Impact officially released Green after she had completed her matches in the television tapings (where she ensured a smooth storyline continuity by losing the Knockouts Title to Allie).[16]
Green debuted inLucha Underground at the season four tapings ofLucha Underground on February 25, 2018, under the stage nameReklusa. Green wrestled a fatal four-way withJeremiah Crane,XO Lishus, andMarty "The Moth" Martinez. On October 10, Reklusa lost toPentagón Dark in the main event.[17]
Green made her firstWWE appearance before signing for the company on the August 11, 2014 episode ofRaw during the feud betweenBrie Bella andStephanie McMahon, portraying Bella's real-life husbandDaniel Bryan'sphysical therapist "Megan Miller," confessing that the two had been having an affair before an infuriated Bella stormed the ring and slapped her.[3] In 2015, Green reappeared under her real name, as a contestant on the sixth season of the re-launchedTough Enough, finishing in fourth place for the females.[18]
Green took as part in a WWE tryout in 2018 and was signed on August 3,[19] and reported to theWWE Performance Center on October 8. She made herNXT in-ring debut at a live event on October 26, competing under her familiar "psychotic" gimmick. However, she suffered a broken wrist during her first TV match on the March 13, 2019NXT tapings and underwent surgery the following day on March 14.[20] Green returned to the ring on June 29 at a NXT live event.[21][22] Green appeared on the December 23, 2019 edition ofRaw, competing in a losing effort againstCharlotte Flair.[23] On January 8, 2020, she returned toNXT alongside her new managerRobert Stone.[24] On January 26, Green competed in the women'sRoyal Rumble match at thepay-per-view of the same name, which was eventually won by Flair.[25][26] On the March 4 episode ofNXT, Green defeatedShotzi Blackheart to qualify for a Ladder match atTakeover: Tampa Bay to determine the #1 contender for theNXT Women's Championship. The ladder match was moved to the April 8 episode of NXT where the match was won byIo Shirai. On the May 27 episode ofNXT, she fired Robert Stone. Following the wind-up of Green's partnership with Stone, WWE had planned to call her up toRaw, but after the show's executive directorPaul Heyman left the position, the plan was scrapped.[27]
Green made herSmackDown debut on the November 13, 2020 edition ofSmackDown, where she participated in afatal four-way qualifying match againstLiv Morgan,Natalya, andTamina to earn a spot atSurvivor Series as part of the women's team, which Morgan won.[28] Following the match, it was revealed that Green had broken her wrist again and that the planned finish which saw Green winning had to be changed to Morgan.[29] After months of inactivity, on April 15, 2021, WWE released Green from her contract alongside other wrestlers.[30]
On July 11, 2021, Green made her surprise debut atRing of Honor (ROH)'sBest in the World pay-per-view event, introduced byMaria Kanellis-Bennett (who was an onscreen personality and behind-the-scenes producer for ROH).[31] Originally, Green was scheduled to wrestle in theROH Women's World Championship tournament; however, Green suffered an arm/wrist fracture prior to the date of her first round match, and the Maryland Athletic Commission (every match except the final was taped for ROH's weeklyTV show in Baltimore, Maryland) didn't medically clear her in time to participate.[32] While recovering from injury, Green appeared as one of the onscreen commentators for the tournament's first round matches.[33]
On July 17, 2021, atSlammiversary, Green returned to Impact Wrestling, but under her real name, wrestling in an intergender tag team match with real-life fiancéMatt Cardona, defeatingBrian Myers andTenille Dashwood.[34] In October, Green entered the tournament to crown the firstImpact Digital Media Champion: she defeated Madison Rayne in the first round,[35] and lost toJordynne Grace in the finals at theBound for Glory pay-per-view show.[36]
On January 8, 2022, atHard to Kill, Green participated in the inauguralKnockouts Ultimate X match, which was won byTasha Steelz. On the March 24, 2022 episode on Impact Wrestling, Green and Cardona attackedMickie James after James was defeated by Steelz in a street fight match, turning heel in the process.[37][38]
On the July 21 episode ofImpact!, Green alongsideDeonna Purrazzo, now dubbed as "VXT", faced the Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace and Mia Yim, which they were victorious.[39] On August 12, at the pre-show ofEmergence, VXT defeatedRosemary andTaya Valkyrie to win theImpact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship.[40] They lost the title on October 7 atBound for Glory to The Death Dollz (Jessicka, Rosemary and Valkyrie), ending their reign at 56 days.[41] Green had her last match with the company against Mickie James on the November 11 episode of Impact in a losing effort. After her loss to James, Green and Purazzo would have a backstage segment where Green would say she was "going home". It would then be reported that Green had left Impact officially.
On January 28, 2023, Green made her surprise return to WWE atRoyal Rumble as a participant in the Women'sRoyal Rumble match. Entering the match at number 20, Green was quickly eliminated byRhea Ripley in five seconds, a Women's Royal Rumble record.[42][43] Upon her return, she became a member of theRaw brand, and would soon adopt the gimmick of a "Karen".[44]
On the March 27 episode ofRaw, Green teamed up withSonya Deville and defeated the team of"Michin" Mia Yim andCandice LeRae to qualify for the Women’s WrestleMania Showcase match. AtWrestleMania 39, Green and Deville were unsuccessful, with the match being won byRonda Rousey andShayna Baszler.[45] Green and Deville were drafted to the Raw brand as part of the2023 WWE Draft.[46] On the July 3 episode ofRaw, after a five-match losing streak, Green and Deville won a tag team turmoil match for aWWE Women's Tag Team Championship opportunity[47] and defeatedLiv Morgan andRaquel Rodriguez for the titles on the July 17 episode ofRaw to win her first championship in WWE.[48] Green and Deville became the firstTough Enough female competitors to win the titles as well as the second WWE women’s tag team to originate inTough Enough history.
On August 7, Deville was reported to have suffered anACL injury and had to relinquish her half of the tag team title.[49] A week later, despite Green wanting to hold auditions for a new tag team partner, a returningPiper Niven took one half of the tag team titles and declared she would be Green’s new partner. Although Green touted herself as a two-time champion, WWE recognizes this change as a continuation of Green's original title reign with Deville, ending Green's reign with Deville at 28 days.[50][51] On the October 30 episode ofRaw, Green won her first singles match on the main roster where she defeatedNatalya in aTrick-or-Street Fight match.[52][53] The following night, Green and Niven returned to NXT to successfully defend the tag team titles againstChase University (Thea Hail andJacy Jayne) at Week 2 ofNXT: Halloween Havoc.[54] On December 11 it was announced that Green and Niven would defend their tag team titles against new number one contendersKayden Carter andKatana Chance.[55] The following week onRaw, Green and Niven lost the tag team titles to Carter and Chance, ending their reign at 126 days and Green’s individual reign at 154 days.[56] On the January 8, 2024 episode ofRaw, Green and Niven were unsuccessful in regaining the titles in a rematch.[57]
AtRoyal Rumble, Green entered at #14 in the women's Royal Rumble match, lasting over 17 minutes before being eliminated byBecky Lynch.[58] At Night 2 of the2024 WWE Draft, Green and Niven were drafted to the SmackDown brand.[59] Green made a surprise appearance at Week 2 ofSpring Breakin' on April 30 where she was announced asNXT Women's ChampionRoxanne Perez's next title challenger but failed to defeat Perez the following week.[60][61] Green then competed in thewomen’s Money In The Bank ladder match atMoney in the Bank on July 6 in her home country of Canada, but was unsuccessful after the match was won byTiffany Stratton.[62][63] On November 2 atCrown Jewel, Green and Niven completed in afatal four-way tag team match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship in a losing effort.[64]
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On the November 22, 2024 episode ofSmackDown, Green entered thetournament to crown the inauguralWomen's United States Champion, defeatingBlair Davenport and WWE Women's Tag Team ChampionBianca Belair in a triple threat match in the preliminary round.[65] After defeatingBayley in the semifinals, Green advanced to the finals atSaturday Night’s Main Event on December 14, where she defeatedMichin to become the inaugural Women's United States Champion, her first singles title win in WWE. Additionally, Green and her husbandMatt Cardona (who performed in WWE under the ring name Zack Ryder) became the first husband and wife duo to win the women's andmen's United States Championships.[66] After the title win, Green took on thegimmick of America's "head of state" with Niven acting as Green's bodyguard (dubbed as Green's Secret Hervice, a pun onSecret Service).
On the January 10, 2025 episode ofSmackDown, Green successfully defend the title againstMichin in a rematch.[67] AtRoyal Rumble on February 1, Green competed in the Royal Rumble match entering at number 5 where she lasted over 26 minutes, eliminatingLash Legend andB-Fab in the process before inadvertently being eliminated by Piper Niven.[68] On the March 7 episode ofSmackDown, Green again defeated Michin in a Philadelphia Street Fight to retain the title whenAlba Fyre interfered on her behalf and joining The Secret Hervice.[69] On the March 18 episode ofNXT, Green successfully defended the title againstSol Ruca. Her new stable with Niven and Fyre was then namedThe Green Regime.[70] On the April 25 episode ofSmackDown, Green lost the title toZelina Vega, ending her reign at 132 days.[71] On May 24 atSaturday Night's Main Event XXXIX, Green failed to regain the Women's United States Championship from Vega while suffering a nose injury.[72]
On the August 19 episode ofNXT, The Green Regime appeared to aid theNXT North American ChampionEthan Page in his feud againstTavion Heights andTyra Mae Steele. Green and Page emerged victorious atNXT Heatwave in amixed tag team match.[73] AtLucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) Day of the Dead on November 2, Green and Page defeatedLa Hiedra andMr. Iguana to win theAAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship.[74] On the November 7 episode ofSmackDown, Green defeatedGiulia to win her second Women's United States Championship, becoming a double champion in the process.[75]
Green states thatKelly Kelly inspired her to become a professional wrestler.[76] On April 4, 2019, her 28th birthday, Green announced her engagement to American professional wrestlerMatt Cardona. The two had been dating since January 2017.[77] They were married on New Year’s Eve 2021 inLas Vegas.[78] Green announced on January 16, 2024, that she attained a United Statesgreen card.[79] She also has said she holds aBritish citizenship.[80]
Film and television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | WWE Tough Enough season 6 | Self; contestant | 7th place, 4 episodes |
| 2016 | Chokeslam! | Angel | |
| 2018 | Heel Kick! | Self; cameo | Independent film |
| 2020 | Parallel Minds | Alexa | |
| 2022 | Last Date | Kim | Short film |
| 2023 | American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes | Herself | Documentary film |
| 2024 | News Hour | Self; interviewee | 1 episode |
| A Bluegrass Christmas | Claire Crosby | ||
| Celtic Warrior Workouts | Self | episode 142 | |
| 2025 | Dimension 20 | 4 episodes | |
| WWE Unreal | Self; cast member | Documentary | |
| Dhar Mann | Wrestler | 1 episode | |
| Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen | Self; guest | 1 episode |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | WWE SuperCard | Chelsea Green | Video game debut |
| 2024 | WWE Champions | ||
| WWE 2K24 | |||
| 2025 | WWE 2K25 |
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