Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Chelsea Green On Samantha's Irvin's Iconic Intro, Her WWE Return, Matt Cardona

Episode Date: February 8, 2024

Chelsea Green (@imchelseagreen) is a professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and is known for her time with TNA Wrestling, Ring Of Honor and Lucha Underground. She sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Tampa, FL to talk about her return to WWE, the signature introduction that ring announcer Samantha Irvin does for her, breaking the Women's Royal Rumble record for shortest time in the match, her character being a Karen, her love for acting and stunts, why her husband Matt Cardona isn't back in WWE yet and much more! Quote I'm thinking about: “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist.” – Oscar Wilde Sponsors: BLUECHEW: Use the code CVV to get your first month of BlueChew for FREE at http://bluechew.com BONCHARGE: Go to http://boncharge.com/CVV and use coupon code CVV to save 15% BETTERHELP: Get 10% off your first month with the code INSIGHT at http://betterhelp.com/insight MUDWTR: Get 15% off with the code CVV15 at http://mudwtr.com/cvv MAGIC SPOON: Get $5 off with the code CVV at http://magicspoon.com/cvv ROCKET MONEY: Join Rocket Money today and experience financial freedom: https://rocketmoney.com/cvv FITBOD: Get 25% off when you use the code INSIGHT at http://fitbod.me/INSIGHT MYBOOKIE: Bet on WWE! Get up to $200 cash bonus when you use the code CVV and sign up at http://mybookie.ag GHOSTBED: Get 40% of your purchase with the code CVV at http://ghostbed.com/cvv MIRACLE MADE: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to http://TryMiracle.com/CVV and use the code CVV to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at http://plunge.com For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you enjoyed this episode, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast/iTunes? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests.  Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris, there we go. Welcome back to another audio adventure here on Insight. I'm CVV, Chris Van Fleet. So good to see you. Hope you're doing well. Thank you for being with us. And thank you for making Insight, one of the top wrestling podcasts on the entire planet.

And hey, if you've ever enjoyed any of the interviews that we've ever had on the show, all I ask is that you take a second right now to hit that follow button wherever you're listening. That's all. Apple podcast, Spotify, wherever it is, just take half a second to click that follow button and help the show to keep growing. We've got Chelsea Green on the show today, or should I say, Chelsea Green. And I didn't even do this intentionally, but the last episode was Lance Storm. And you know who trained Chelsea Green to wrestle?

Yeah, you guessed it. Lance Storm, trained Chelsea Green. So a nice little unintentional tie-in there during Canadian week here, right? Two Canadians, Lance Storm, Chelsea Green. Well, I guess three Canadians, throw me into that as well. And what a career Chelsea has had so far. TNA, Lucha Underground. We saw her on Tough Enough before she got signed to WWE.

When she did get signed to WWE, she was making waves and then got released in April of 2021. That's when she joined her husband, Matt Cardona, on the Indies where they were tearing it up together before she returned to WWE last year at the Royal Rumble with this new gimmick, basically like a Karen gimmick. And she's magic every time you see her on the screen. She plays this character so, so perfectly. And I love talking to her.

This is the second interview that we've done together. You can go check out the other one from, wow, it was three years ago. Crazy. Yeah, it was from 2021. But this one was so great. did this Royal Rumble weekend in Tampa. We sat down together in person, and I know you're going to love this. Please snap a screenshot. Let us know how much you love this. Tag us on social

media. She's at I'm Chelsea Green on Twitter. She's at Chelsea Green on Instagram. I'm at Chris Fanfleet. And here we go. Enjoy this conversation with Chelsea Green. Hey, in person. Oh, my God. There we are. Yeah. It's so good to see you. Yeah, good to see you. Yeah, good to you too in person. In person. And my husband raved about how so much better with you in person. So here we are. Look, all interviews are better in person. Agreed. Like, and I understand that we did Zoom interviews during when the world was shut down. Obviously made a lot of sense. But nothing's better than being able to look at someone actually like chat with them. Rather than the Zoom of like the, no, no, no, you go. Oh, nobody. Okay. You know, you go. It's so true. And then also with all my animals.

It's like, there's always something going on, a tail going in the frame, something happening, a dog barking, my cat scratching me. So we've got none of that here today. None of that here today. Gratz on your green card. Your Chelsea Green card. I'm Chelsea Greencard. I'm officially not able to get kicked out of this country. That's a good feeling.

That's not exactly true, actually. Look, I'm 32. I don't break any laws anymore. You know what I mean? That was for my 20s. I behave myself now. Okay. What happened to your 20s?

You don't want to know. Things that happen in Canada? A lot of things that happen in Canada. I was a wild child. How wild are we talking? We're talking like a couple of police trips when I was younger. Just trips with the police? Wow.

With the police. Yeah, we always, when I go back to Canada, I sit around my dinner table with my family. We drink lots of wine. And we like to reminisce on the crazy things I used to do in high school. So you're not as crazy now? No, I am very, very calm compared to what I was. I seem high-strung, and I am a little bit, like, high-energy all the time, but I'm not, I'm not as wild.

No, but it's like you have a high energy. It's like super charismatic. Like, you have this infectious personality. Even when we did that last interview over Zoom, I was just like, man, you bring it every time. Thank you. I just got a publicist. Shout out to Lee. He's amazing.

But he, at first, during my first interview, he messaged me and said, Chelsea, that person's not your friend. And I said, I think you're going to find that I'm like that in all interviews. That was not just that one person. I just like to chat with people. I'm very open. I don't think that Americans realize how big it is to get a green card. I've had mine now since 2012.

That was one of the, like honestly, one of the best days of my career. I seriously, I mean, I've said this to you before and I say to everyone like, the weight I felt lifted off me when I open. that piece of mail that said I was approved, I, nobody except a Canadian in America, getting their green card, will understand that feeling, especially because a lot of people during the pandemic when I was released from WW, they were like, oh, you're good, you're married, you're with Matt, whatever. Like, no, that's not how it works. That you don't just get a green card. You don't just magically get to work in this country because you are with somebody. So I was still struggling all the way up until I got rehired last year by WWE. I was still on my fourth visa. I was

spending five grand at a time for these visas and trying to find someone to sponsor me to get the visa. I think the people think it's like you get the marriage license and you get the green card like handed to you. It's like, no, no, that's not how this works. No, I mean, this green card process took me two years. And that is with all the correct steps that I took. That's with four visas to get there. a real job and a real marriage. A real marriage. Because there's some of those green card marriages. So that's why you married Matt.

So that's why I've married Matt. I've got my green card. I'm out. I'm out of here. No, I don't think he's going to get rid of me that easy. I, you can't. I mean,

I feel like you guys seem like such a lovely couple. Thank you. We, you know, we've been through our shit. And we've come out the other side. We've been together seven years now. Wow.

It's a long time. It's a long time when you kind of didn't know where you were going to end up with your, you know, career and with the green card and all that stuff. And here we are. We're building a new house where, you know. You told me. Yeah, we're happy. We've got all of our animals. That's amazing. Yeah. And he's crushing it. Oh, my gosh. He, he's doing amazing. And I know that he always says, like, I knew that this is what I had at me. I didn't know because I didn't care about him in wrestling when we got together. So for me to see the evolution of Zach to Matt has been insane. Like I just had no idea that he had that in him to totally change and evolve and become this entire new persona. He's like a marketing genius too. And he'll be, you're rolling your eyes like, I know, I hear this other side. But, like, the fact that he's able to, he tries.

He tries a lot of things. A lot of them work. Some of them, don't we talk about that during our episode together. Yes. But when he has something that hits. Like, it hits. Yeah. It really goes off and goes off hard.

And, okay. But let me tell you a little story about that. Okay. Because when he first was released from WW, and this, I get so angry with him because the whole world is like, oh, Matt Cardona, he's the only person to, walk through the forbidden fucking door and all he does all these amazing things. Let me tell you something. Okay.

When he got released, do you know what I told him to do? I said, I don't think you should sign anywhere, Matt. I think that you should contact every single company. I have all their information, been on the Indies for, you know, seven years. And I think you should do all of them. And you should do them all sporadically so that each week people don't know where you're going to be. And it has, it paints a picture of you are literally everywhere.

You're unstoppable. And guess what? He laughed at me. He laughed at me. And he was like, I don't think so. And he pursued one thing. And it was like, one thing. And then he ended up doing what I said to him a year later.

And it's amazing, right? Like, that is why he is the indie wrestler of the year or whatever, because he's everywhere. So you're welcome. Did he at least give you credit? No, he never does. So that's why I'm giving myself credit right now. And like we should clip that and then make him retweet it. That's a clip.

Troy's the best shorts editor in the world. So Troy's going to clip that for you. I love that. We need to give Chelsea Green some credit. Yes, I came up with that. And actually, I also was released and did it first, but I'm just going to let him have his glory, his moment. This episode is brought to you by Blue Chew.

And if you've ever been thinking of trying Blue Chew, how about your first month for free? Yeah, when you use the promo code CVV at checkout at Blue Chew at Blue Chew, at bluechew.com, you'll get your first month for free. You just have to pay $5 for shipping. Guys, this is the same active ingredients as Viagra, Sealis, and Lovitra, but it's in chewable tablets and a fraction of the cost. And the best part, it's all done online. There's no doctor's visits, no awkward conversations, no waiting in line at the pharmacy. And look, even if you don't struggle in the bedroom department, this is kind of a fun thing to try.

And I promise you, the Mrs or the girlfriend or whoever it is is going to be a big fan of this too. Bluechew.com. Use that promo code, CVV at checkout. And you get your first month for free. You just have to pay $5 for shipping. That's bluechew.com. The promo code is CVV. The fact that we're sitting here Royal Rumble weekend, it's full circle.

It's one year now since you've been back in WWE. I think a lot of people didn't understand the full scope of what was happening when you returned to the Rumble last year. You came out, there was all this fanfare. What was actually really interesting is Michael Cole seemed genuinely surprised. It's like, he was like, I'm going to do a little bit of research about Chelsea Green, figure this out. And before he could even say anything, you were eliminated. I think a lot of people went, she came back, just to get eliminated in five seconds. But then you became the talk of the Rumble because of that.

And I think people don't really realize that. No, they don't. I don't think, I mean, fans and wrestlers, like, I sometimes I think that we're all so caught up in winning. And I'm just not. I've been doing this 10 years. It's not about winning. What's it about? It's about making people feel a certain way. And when I became the hot mess in impact, that's when I realized. That's when the light bulb, like, friggin' flashed in my face. like, oh, wow, people don't care. People don't care that I was cool and winning. They don't care that I won the championship.

They care that I turn crazy. They care that I feel like their crazy best friend. I feel like their crazy ex-girlfriend. I, you know, John Mayer sat in front of me at all in and said, oh my God, you remind me of a lot of people I dated. Like, that's the feeling I want you to feel with a character. I don't need you to go home and be like, wow, she's a real winner. Like, what?

What a name drop with John Mayer? That's amazing. Yes. Like, people have said that to me that I would never expect to say things. But it's because it's not about the winning. It's about the way that I made them feel with whatever, my facials or my ridiculous comments, like, whatever it is. And if that's making people laugh, great. If that's making people annoyed, even better.

Did you have a plan for, because it was kind of like a revitalized version of your character this time around. a plan for what this character was going to be? I had a plan. WWE had a totally different plan, and I went along with it because as long as you're giving me something to work off of, I will absolutely build a backstory. I will absolutely build this and make this into a character. You just give me, just give me a hint. Like, just sprinkle something that you want in front of me, and I'll make it something because that's what I like to do. You basically became a Karen. That's right. That's right. That is, I did that. I did that.

That's fair to say, right? It is. And I tried to cut my hair like a Karen too. I tried to go all the way. Why didn't this happen? I wasn't allowed, but... Well, I think that might be for the better. I think so, too. You would probably rock a Karen cut, though.

Look, Matt said he would totally be okay with it. And that's our thing is, let's just ask each other. Like, are we okay with this? Are we okay if I shave my eyebrow off? Are we okay if I give myself a Karen haircut? But it's okay because I think it's even better having like an attractive or a typically attractive looking girl doing really annoying things. Yeah.

Like there's something a little deeper about that. It's very relatable because we've all been at the bar and we've seen that or we've been in line for the bar and we've seen that girl be like, hey, look at me and my friends. And I've been standing in line here for 15 minutes. You're going to allow this to happen? Yeah. I've been there. Exactly.

Instant heal. Right. And all those things, all those little moments that, you know, people share with me or that I see myself, like I can use those. I can go to work on Monday and I can use that exact moment. It's great. This is the type of character development that actors talk about a lot. But you actually don't hear wrestlers talk about this a lot.

I think that fans may think that this is just an organic thing. It's maybe an idea that happens. But like the idea of developing a character. and working on it really doesn't get discussed. No, it doesn't, but I don't know that everyone does it. You know, I think a lot of people are themselves just turned up a notch, but that's just not, that doesn't resonate with me. Because for me, I am just a very normal Canadian girl.

Like, yeah, I played sports. Yeah, I was really good at playing sports. But I also danced and I act and, you know, I tried to do a little bit of everything. And I was a bartender. And, you know, I struggled. and failed with a lot of jobs. Like, is that a character? That's boring.

You know what I mean? Like, good for Bianca that she is the EST. She believes that. But at the end of the day, she also, she truly is the EST, you know, she was the best track athlete. She was the best, whatever, this and that. Like, I want to be something different.

When I step into the ring, the minute I go through that curtain and I hear my entrance music, I want to be someone totally different than myself. that's just what I like and what I like to watch too. That's why I loved watching Bray Wyatt. You know, like that type of human, like to my core, I feel. I'm like, oh, God, I love that so much.

I feel what you put into this. I know that the development that you did to get here and the process you took to get there. It felt like when you got released that like it was just a matter of time before you came back, whether that was a year or two or five. or whatever, it just felt like there was unfinished business there. And I'm so glad that you're back. What did the path look like to get back? Well, I knew the minute that I got fired, I got the call and I was like,

okay, sure, okay, bye. And I knew that from that moment on, it was going to be whatever I did, those next steps that I took were just to get back to WWB. Like, I didn't want to be anywhere else. So it was great going back to Impact and seeing all my old friends and working with my old coworkers. It was great going back onto the independent scene doing that. It was really cool being at NWA and opening up a new door I hadn't explored and Ring of Honor. But those were the steps I was taking so that at the right time I could text Triple H and say, I want my job back and this is

what I've done. So I just knew I needed to give it, you know, a couple of little wins, whatever that be in character development, in people noticing that I had up my skills, whatever it was. And then I could text him and I could really have something to share with him. And when I did, he said, okay. But how do you even start to write that text? Well, that's a funny thing, is that for so long before I got the job at WWE in 2019 or 18, the first time I got WWE, I had spent from 2014 until then, so five years, like just agonizing over these text messages, just sitting in front of my computer and in front of my phone

and debating over and over. Should I write this sentence? Should I not? Delete, delete, delete. Okay, let me type this. Oh, no, that's too desperate. No, that's too cocky. No, I know I need to add more. By the time this thing all happens, I had no fucks to give. I just wanted my job back. And I, and at this point, at this point, I had all already worked with Triple H, and I knew that he is like a, just shoot it straight. Like, just tell me what you want, tell me what you need kind of guy. I didn't want to waste his time. So I wasn't going to be like, and these are all the amazing things I've done, and this is how good I am, and this is why you should have me. It was like, hey, I see a rehiring people. I really want my job back, and that's the only thing I want. And then that was it. Wow. I was at impact. When it happened,

and I was just about to go wrestle, and he called me. And I didn't pick up because I was about to go wrestle. And I'm like, and I looked at Deanna. I'm like, she was my tag partner at the time, and we were holding the tag championships. And I was like, um, Triple H just called me. Can you just give me one second? And then I promised you all be out there with you. And I went back and I sat in my locker room and had the conversation with Triple H.

And then I went out and wrestled. Wow. Yeah. Is his name Triple H when it shows up on your phone? Yeah, it is. It's HH. Yes, it is. And you know what? That's one thing I did agonize over. Like, what do I, what do I put them under? And then also do I hide it? But if I hide it, am I going to remember the name that I put it under?

Like, I don't know. Do I put him under Paul L? I will never remember that. Was it was the talk to bring you back at the Rumble? No, it was just, he was really honest with me like, hey, do you do you just want to, do you just want to come back and see where it goes? Or do you want to wait and do you want us to give you a storyline and do you have any ideas? I said, I just want to come back. I don't care what you do with me. Because at that point, I didn't. Like, I just wanted stability and to be back. And I knew that if they gave me the opportunity that I felt I deserved in the first run, I could prove to them. I didn't know how. And they had no idea. And then I think that it was like, well, I mean, we've got her. She's signed. Why don't we just use her in the Rumble and we'll go from there.

You made that a moment at the Rumble. Yeah. Similar to Santino's elimination. I mean, you hold the record now for the Women's Rumble. Congratulations. They cannot erase me from history. Santino holds the record for the Men's Rumble. But you made that a moment. Like it's great. Your music hits. Oh my gosh.

Chelsea Green is back. You're talking shit as you're walking down that very long ran. Talking shit all the way. My God. You probably ran out of things to say. Oh, I did. And I am so glad I wasn't mic'd up because originally, let me tell you, originally I was supposed to have a microphone.

And I was actually supposed to cut a promo. all the way to the ring. Then they were going to turn on the camera audio so you could hear me. Thank God they did neither of those. Because by the time I got to the end of the ramp, I was like, and I was just yelling things, anything, anything. Yeah, that's a long entrance way. But it was so great because, like, you're, you know, a lot of people, their music hits, three, two, one, and then they come out, they're running to the ring. Yeah. Which I actually thought was always a terrible technique. Like, shouldn't you? Right. Why?

Why? Take your time. Give yourself an extra minute. And it's notoriously been a long ramp. Like, we've had short ramps, but lately, that's a long run. Yeah, they're all stadiums. I am not gassing myself. Yeah.

So, I mean, it's, it was brilliant because it's like, here's the big return. And you're talking as you're going out there, you get in the rain. And it's over just like that. Yeah. But that was one of the moments from that rumble that people remember. And that's the thing. It's not, it's not about being. an Iron Woman or winning or doing the craziest moves.

It's just not. But more power to the people that do that, it's just not going to be me. I'm going to be remembered for something different. This is the Maya Angelou quote, right? You know what I'm talking about? Yes, yes. If you don't remember what you say or what you do, but don't remember how you made them feel. Exactly.

That's exactly it. That's like wrestling in a nutshell there. 100%. And we could sit here and list off so many incredibly great wrestlers that never held a championship. And it's like, Jake the Snake didn't need a championship. because he was Jake the snake. He didn't need that to get over. And it's funny because Twitter right now is on this new rampage of how we need kind of a mid-card

title for the women. And I'm like, you know what? That's great. More, great. More titles for women? Great. But like, you guys, I don't need that. You're pushing for me so hard and I feel it and I love it and I'm so happy that the reactions

are positive. But I'm good. I'm good. You guys are talking about me. That's all I ask. You're going home and you're talking about me. That's it. I mean, the run with the women's tag team championship, that was so fun.

That was great. So fun. But at the end of the day, like, I wrestled just as much before we won those championships, and I'm continuing to wrestle every week on Monday without them. Yeah. Because it's the entertainment factor. Did you know Matt was going to buy a replica title? No.

Take it to Japan. It was Japan, right? Yes. And he wore it and an indie show in Japan. No, I had no idea. And if he had told me that, I probably would have been like, I support most things you do, but I feel like maybe we should wait, like a month, even two weeks. Oh, no, he ordered it that night.

He said he overnighted it. Yes. Yes, the WWE guys laughed. They're like, Chelsea, you can tell him he can just get it from you. I'm like, I'm not even, I don't even have anything to give to this conversation. Like I had no idea he was doing it. I liked it, but, you know. Was this like, this was the beg for forgiveness instead of ask for permission?

For both of us. Because he did it. Then he had to, you know, beg for my forgiveness. And then he did it. So I'm like, everybody, I didn't know he did it. I didn't know this was coming. I'm sorry. I don't know.

It seems like great publicity all around. Yeah, no one cared actually. Everyone thought it was quite funny. People thought it was your actual title. They did. Like, it caused a stir. Yeah. He doesn't get to take my title around.

He's won enough. You know what I mean? He can take his own titles. He's a lot of titles. One of like eight, I think. He's not going to touch mine. You talk about how much you proved yourself, you reinvented yourself between leaving WWE and coming back.

Nobody has done that more than your husband. Why isn't he back? I would also love to know that. I'm waiting. I am patiently waiting because not that I want to be partnered up with. them in WWE, that would be great. I think we could have an amazing mixed match tag team division, whatever it is. But I don't know. I don't know why I would love to know why. I would love to what they would love to be a fly on the wall of kind of like the meetings of the top guys in

WWE. But I do feel like in my heart of hearts, it's only a matter of time. It does feel like that. Yeah. It feels crazy that he wouldn't be. And it also, it seems crazy, but I think it's Matt Cardona making his WWE debut. Yes. Not Zach Ryder making his return. Zach Ryder's dead. Wow, it's weird when you say it. Yeah, he's dead. We don't talk about Zach Ryder in my household. Oh. But to be fair, we never, we never, Matt and I built our relationship on everything but wrestling. So it's been very interesting, like kind of an interesting turn of a very interesting. events us both being released because it forced us to speak about wrestling. And then to be paired up, that was the first time we spoke about wrestling in our house was

2021. Yeah, because I guess he was explaining this to me that like, when it's work, it's work. When you were doing that together, it was work and you came home and then you had, you know, your real life. But then when you were both released, it's like, now what? Well, right. Now what? And now what for both of us?

And do we do we do something together? we don't know what each other does in the ring. Like, we have no idea how we mesh. And then also just like, well, what are you going to do? Well, what are you going to do? Where are we going to go? Or, like, it was just a really weird time for us trying to figure out who we were outside of what we had before the pandemic.

Huh. Yeah. So, so Zach Ryder was, that's his thing. Like, I don't know who Zach Ryder is. He was just, he's always just been mad at home. to me. And then obviously now Matt Cardona, like, that is the wrestler that I've grown to love and hate. But I feel like with everything he's doing right now, like it's 24-7, and he's on the road a lot. Yeah. He said he's on the road more than he ever was with WWE. Oh, yeah.

Way more than you're on the road. Oh, he is. And I'm on the road a lot. Like, we, he is, he is the busiest person I know. Your dogs must just let go crazy when you're finally home. It's funny because thank God for our dog sitters because our dog sitters are like their aunt and uncle or else I don't know what we do. They would be so upset. But they, the way that they jet out of my car into the dog sitter's house is like so nice for me. It's harder on me leaving them than it is on them leaving me. How often are you home in Canada? Man, I have tried to get home.

Since 2020, I have tried to get home. I have tried to get home like probably 15 times. I've ended up home twice. And those two times, together, five days. Isn't the interesting thing, though, when you live somewhere nice, like Florida, I live in California now, family and friends want to come visit you.

Thank God. My parents just left yesterday. Yeah. If we're going to come see you in January, we've got to stay for at least a week. Mm-hmm. I understand. I love having everyone come visit me and I love hosting and that's why we're building a house that can fit more people.

But I don't know. I miss BC. I miss mountains. I miss outdoor life. There's something about the West Coast. Yeah. If I was in California, I think I'd feel a bit different. Yeah.

Because California has a little bit of everything. People just don't understand. BC, you can ski and surf in the same day. Yep. There's not many places in the world. Right? You can't do that in Florida. Yeah, I lived in Vancouver for a year, actually.

I was on a show called 969 on City TV. City TV. Yeah. I love City TV. It was also on Razor, which was a much music station. Oh, my gosh. I was a VJ. Yeah.

I was like one of the very first things I did in my career. I loved Vancouver. I loved so much. I lived in Yale town. That's where my sister lives. Oh, wow. Yeah. I just love there.

You can't even explain it to somebody. It's the energy of, well, anyone who lives in a city right on the water might feel that, but there's not many of them. There's not many cities like that. And Vancouver is just so everyone is outside. Everyone's so healthy and energetic. And the weather, you know, in the summer is so beautiful. Like, I miss that.

Well, sounds like you're not moving to the West Coast anytime soon if you're building a house. And I'm a Chelsea Green Card now. I can't. Well, you can move to California. Yeah, I could. I could do that. You can move to, here, I'll have some, too. Yeah. This is great. Thank you. I love this flavor. It's so good.

Yeah, California. I could do California. I could absolutely do California. Matt and I often speak about that. And when I become the female John Cena, we will. But, you know, that's going to take some time. Is this the goal? The goal is always, for me, is always and has always been. acting. I just didn't know that that would bring me to this moment in my life where I was wrestling. I didn't realize acting would bring me here, but I've always loved acting.

It never goes the reverse way like that. It's wrestling leads to acting. Isn't that weird? How does acting lead to wrestling? I think it's because I would watch TV and I was trying so hard to follow this path of going to college and, you know, doing something like my parents. My dad's a financial advisor. My mom is an administrative assistant trying to just follow a normal path. And watching TV and seeing the ridiculousness of wrestling, I was like, man, I kind of like that. Like that seems like something I could do. Seems easy enough.

Obviously, it was not easy enough. But I just totally fell into it. But again, that is why I love character development side of it and the theater side of it and the acting side of it. in the acting side of it, because that's the goal. What kind of auditions are you going on right now? Oh, man, everything. So I do acting class throughout the week. So I just had my class on Wednesday.

My very first master's class was very scary. It was like being a child amongst adults. They were amazing. So I take class in Orlando. I do audition classes with a studio in California as well. and then I'm auditioning for anything and everything. I just, it's not always about like booking the part because I can't necessarily always book apart with WWE.

You know, that's very hard to try to do both. But it is about keeping the skill up of auditioning. Yeah. That's hard. That's hard. And you take time off and you go to audition and you realize you kind of lost it. You're a little rusty. So I just try no matter what to take auditions,

whether it's off casting network and go in and film them at my studio no matter what. What have we seen you in that maybe we didn't know we've seen you in it? Well, there's a couple of Canadian movies that I did stunts for and did small roles in. Oh, which ones? We're going to go look them up now. Oh, God. So one was Chokeslam. That was my very first one that I got hired as a stunt double for the lead.

And then it ended up like parlaying into having an actual role, which was amazing. Keep in mind, I had no training at that point. I had just wanted to be an actress but didn't know what I was doing, had done theater. So it's probably terrible, but I don't watch myself. And then I did a film called Parallel Minds. I did Tin Star. I was a stunt double for Tin Star. I was a stunt double in Winona Earp on the CW for the lead.

And then most recently I just did a, Christmas movie. It's not out yet? No, it's coming out next year. It's coming out this Christmas? Yeah. What's it called? Well, it's called Bluegrass Christmas, but I'm not sure if that's a working title or not.

But it's supposedly being released November 24. Like, we'll see you in it? Like, you've got like a bunch of scenes? Got a couple scenes. This is great. Yeah. Yeah. So acting is the big dream.

Acting is the big dream. Whatever, whatever, whatever way that, like, I'm not, I don't want to shut any doors. Yeah. So it's kind of whatever happens, happens. In reality, I guess what I want to do is speak. Like, I do like hosting things, but I also like auditioning and acting. So I kind of just like the entertainment industry, I guess.

By the way, nobody likes auditioning. I know. The fact that you're saying that is crazy. I know. But I like it because. for me, I just like stepping into a different character. So each audition is, and sometimes, you know, we do three auditions back to back. So you're literally forced to step into the character.

Okay, take the mask off, put another one on, take it off, put on. And I like that challenge. What's so tough about auditioning, and you know this, is you'll get a script, it's a due tomorrow at noon. Oh, God. And you're like, okay, well, what would this character think like? What would they dress like? what's going through their mind in this, you know, these six lines that you're looking at here.

You're putting so much thought, so much effort into what the character is. Then you've got to learn the lines. Then you're going to get on camera. And by the way, as you know, it's so much easier because you're doing it like self-tapes. Rather than going in. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You can do multiple takes. Yeah.

But you put all this work into it just to not get a callback. And then it's rinse. Right. It's rinse, lather, repeat, and do it again. Like an hour later. Yeah. And I think a lot of people, you know, a lot of agents who take on WWU wrestlers, they want to, they want to wait for the best role. But like, that's not, that's not what I want to do.

I do want to take these small Christmas movie roles or commercial roles, things like that, so that I can build a resume. So when the time comes and that role is in front of me, I've already auditioned 10 million times. I've already been on set. I already know how this works. You know, like I don't want. I don't need to step into a Marvel role and have that be my debut role. I'm not delusional. That'd be awesome.

It would be amazing, but I'm not delusional. You know what I mean? Like, you got to put in the time and energy just like I had to with wrestling. I had to work my way kind of up the ladder. Have you had these conversations with John Cena? Yes. So he knows he and his wife are good friends of Matt and I. So we have, we try to go for dinner every few months and just kind of like unpack everything.

that's going on in our lives. And so the last few times I have spoken about auditioning and things like that. I mean, he's an amazing sounding board. And so is his wife. Shea goes to all of his movies with him. She learns everything that he's learning. She's on set. Oh, wow.

Yeah. So they are just great people to kind of bounce ideas off of. But at the end of the day, I have to do the work. I wonder if he's still on. I doubt it. He, I feel like he did just say that he had read for something. So I, I would say that even if he's being a little, like even if he knows he has the role, I think he's one of those guys that likes to still give them 110%.

Yeah. You know? Do you think you could still do WWE and some big acting roles? I think it's been done before. It has. Why not? And I do hope that the character that I'm playing right now shows people that are watching TV that I can act. Yeah. You know what I mean? If you watch this and you see who I normally am and then you see the quick wit that I have on camera in this character or maybe playing a drunk girl has the hot mess or maybe being reclucca and Lucha Underground. I hope people see that I do have that kind of range.

So glad you brought up Lucho Underground. Because I think there's a lot of people that don't realize you were in Lucha Underground. And there are so many, so many people that we love that are doing great things in all these other companies right now were in Lucha Underground. So many. Lucha Underground is such a special place in my heart. Like I was, I was such a big fan. I went to the temple. I saw some shows there.

It's, it was such a unexpected, amazing experience. I never, I never in my wildest dreams could have thought that. I would end up on Lucha Underground. I had no idea. I was so heartbroken when I left Impact because I asked for my release the night that I won the championship, the knockouts championship.

I asked for my release because I had already been waiting for the moment to ask for my release. I just knew it was time for me to go to WWE. And so I asked for my release and then the next day, WWE was like, oh, now's not the time. I'm like, oh, no. Like, what did I do?

But I just had to stick with my gut. And my gut was telling me, now is the right time. You've done all you can do. You've, you know, you've just stretched this hot mess character thin. And she's gone on this ride and she is back in gear. You need to get out of there. You need to get out of there before the people turn on her kind of thing. And I didn't know what I was going to do after WWE said no.

And then not a month later, I got to call. from Lucha Underground and I'm like, what? And I was actually filming a movie when they called me. I believe I was filming or maybe doing some stunt work when they called me for Winona Earp. And I thought, okay, maybe I won't wrestle. Maybe I'll just get into the Canadian stunt scene. And Luch Underground called me and they flew me to L.A. the next morning. And they said, I had a tryout. They did not tell me I was reclusa. They did not tell me that they had this entire role for me. They just put me in a five-way match with Sunny Kiss and Sammy Guevara and all these crazy people that could flip and do amazing Lucha moves. And there I was just like totally out of

my element. And then they were offering me a contract and passing me sexy stars mask and I was reclusa. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, Lucha Underground was so special. Oh, the temple and the atmosphere. Yeah. I, it's hard to explain because no other wrestling show was like that. And so I went there for a taping and, what, 300 people maybe fit in there? Maybe. And what's crazy is every single person in there is like rabid, like, screaming their heads off. And I think Melissa Santos does such a great job of like hyping them up with the announcements that she would do as the ring announcer. Then you guys coming out like the, so good.

And the backside of that entrance, because the entrance is so intimidating. The doors open, the smoke is there, the stairs all the way down. But I wish that the fans could have seen the backside of that because we had to climb a ladder in our wrestling gear to get up there. Because everything else is on that ground level. All of our locker rooms, everything. You have to climb a literal ladder rung by rung and then stand up there on a platform. like scaffolding. Wow.

Yeah, it was crazy. Yeah, it was like a movie set. Yeah, it was. In like a random warehouse in Boyle Heights. And it felt when you were in it like a movie set, like you were on set, and it felt when you were watching it, like it was a movie. It also felt like you guys were treated like it was a movie set because there was like a craft services table, which I ate some of your lovely snacks. It was great. Good food.

Great food. We had beer after. That's right. We had coronas. He had a green room that had beer in it. And I was sitting in there with Marty the Moth. And I'm like, is it like? My boy, Marty.

He's great. He's so good. Yeah, we had a wardrobe department and they would wash our outfits. What? No, it was such a good experience. Like, they really treated everyone like gold. And that's why everyone was so happy there. You're going to do a movie one day with Robert Rodriguez.

And you're going to be like, El Ray Network needs to come back. Oh. So that we can have more Lucha Underground. I wish. I wish. I would love, love, love to be a part of Lucha Underground. What's one thing about Canada that you really miss? Other than family and friends, of course.

The snacks. The Hawkins Cheesies. What? I don't even know this. What are you talking about? I don't know if you're Canadian then. I don't know if I just revoked your Canadian card and you were a full American. I'm from Ontario, okay?

You got to go and look up Hawkins Cheeses. They're like, they're like cheetos, crunchy Cheetos. Okay. Times 10. Like real cheddar cheese. Oh. Oh, they're insane. They're crack in a bag.

Are we talking like ketchup chips level? Better. No, I'm telling you, once you have Hawkins Cheezys, all dressed and ketchup is like, sure, I'll take those. But no. That is a bold statement. Oh, yeah. My family will ship them to me. They will go to Costco and they will get the bags, a big bag, this big, full of like 72 little bags.

My family ships me the powder to make Swiss chalet sauce. That's amazing. I love Swiss chalet. I support that. When I land at Pearson Airport in Toronto, we go to the closest Swiss chalet because I miss it that much. That dipping sauce is unbelievable. Well, I do feel that way about the keg, but it's funny because when I was in Canada, I was just It's like, yeah, it's the keg, whatever.

I'd go there for half-price wine, like a cheap steak, and now I'm like, God, I just want the keg. And the keg was one of those places where, like, it's not a super high-end steakhouse, but it's not like, you know, it's not a mid-level. It's kind of like a little bit above a mid-level. Yes. So it was the place you'd go to celebrate a birthday or like an engagement or something. Right, like a big family dinner. It's not too crazy, but it's still a little fancy. When someone said they were going to the keg for dinner, you're like, oh, wow.

So what are we celebrating? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I missed the keg too. There's one when I was living in there's one in Seattle. And I remember like, oh. Yeah.

I remember like my friend lived in Seattle and I'm like, you've never been to the keg and I'm like, oh, you're about to find out. I took little Miss Piper there for the first time. We were in Quebec and I was like, we're going to the keg. Oh yeah, I am getting you a keg steak.

I ordered her. We walked out probably with three giant bags. We tried everything, yeah. Does Kelly Kelly know that she's the inspiration for you getting into wrestling? She does because I have tweeted it about 30,000 times. She has no choice in the matter. She has to enjoy me because I love her so much. I tweet her all the time.

You know, my gear was inspired by her, all sorts of things. Have you talked to her about, like met her? Yep. Oh, okay. I tell her. Okay. I tell her all the time. I have no, like, I don't keep my cool around people. I told her the minute I saw her, I'm like, you're so beautiful. I love you. Oh, my gosh. I remember what she was wearing the very first time I saw her. What? She was wearing, I was in the crowd, and she came to Victoria in 2008, and she was wearing a purple sparkly bra and purple sparkly booty shorts, and she wrestled Beth Phoenix. And this inspired what you wear now? Oh, yes, because she wore the gauntlets. So my very first set of gear for the first couple years was a bra top, little shorts and conglets.

Wow. I feel like there could have been, if this was a different era, there could have been some great matches that you guys could have had together. I belonged in the divas era. I really did. I've heard you say that before. Yeah. And I feel Sydney, Maxine Dupree also belongs with me. And what do you mean by that?

I just, I loved the girliness of it. I loved the, like, I like watching catfights. Like, I didn't get into this to be a UFC fighter. Do you know what I mean? That's just not me. I like a good old bitch slap. Things like that. Like, that is my form of entertainment.

That's what I love. So watching them, I love that. And then, like, I'm not also forgetting that there was some women that was like, you go back and you're like, oh, damn. like they could really do some crazy moves. And we just totally swept it under the rug. Yeah. Yeah, I think there's actually a lot of people from that era that are like completely underrated.

Yes. We're underrated then. We appreciate them now. Yes. But like Victoria, for example. Oh, my, I mean, I've wrestled Victoria. That's unbelievable. And she's amazing.

I mean, watching all these women, even just like, you know, Michelle McCool last year. Yeah. Wrestling in sweatpants. and uggs. I couldn't do it. I could not do it. So for her, after having babies, after having been out so long,

to get back in the ring and just like totally switch into wrestler mode, it's amazing. Yeah. I just feel like all those women were underrated for so many different reasons. There could be a gimmick here

that you're like the last diva. I tried. Oh, this was it. I tried. I wanted it to be like, I was the ultimate diva. I was against anything, any sort of baggy pants or any sort of like, we shouldn't be rough housing. We should not be punching each other.

Should be acting like a girl. It didn't go over well. But that's fine. I'll keep pitching it. Did Samantha Irvin tell you how she was going to introduce you the first time she did it? No. So you're walking out and you hear her do it the way she does it. Chelsea Green.

In all her glory. What were you thinking? I loved it. I loved it because to me it adds a little something. If people, you know, we see over and over again men in wrestling, the fans latch onto something, whether it's Seth's thing or Shinskay's thing, whatever it is, you know, Roman Rain's thing, like whether they have a punchline, a song, a moment, a movement, like they latch on to that. with men, and it's really hard as a women to get men to latch onto that for a woman.

Like, it's a hard, it's kind of a hard thing because, you know, I'm going, are they going to do that? Are they, I don't know, maybe not. But that announcement is what they latched onto. Yeah. I love that. Perfect. Perfect.

That's what I want. I want people to have something that's like, oh, Chelsea Green. Oh, you know that announcement or whatever it is. It's just one more thing for them to enjoy. She said the reason she did it was because, I mean, look at Chelsea. It just, it was so fitting to say it like that. She's not Chelsea Green. Yeah.

Yeah. And I think she's right. Like, I think she's spot on with all of her announcements. I think a lot of fans want it back. Well, it's back. Why was it gone? Spoiler, it's back. Yeah.

It came back as of last Monday. Why was it gone? We don't know why it was gone. But we do know it was taken away. Yeah. It was only taken away for like a month. Your thing is back. My thing is back.

I'm so thankful because nobody is shing to me in the crowd. Is that what the tattoo says? Yeah. The tattoo came. So Maria Canellis saw this tattoo and said, why don't you use it? Why don't you shh? And I'm like, that's jeal. I've had this tattoo since I was 16.

What's the original meaning behind that? tattoo. Why does a 16-year-old get that tattoo? I was sassy as hell in school, and I used to piss people off by telling them to shh, when they were talking. Really rude. Like now, looking back on it, really rude. But here we are. I made a career out of it. Then you went as a 16-year-old. Yes, I got a fake ID. Yes. And I went and I got it tattooed on my finger. Did you hide it from your parents for a little while? You were always sitting like this? Yes, I did. Yes, I did. And then, Who found it first? I think by the time they found it, it was so far gone. Like, I was 21. Wow. Yeah. Yes.

You hit it for that long? I mean, I hid my tongue piercing for like two years. How? I don't know. I don't know because my parents, we were a very close family. We sat at the dinner table. We ate dinner together. I don't know.

That is mischievous. I know. I was wild. Wow. I can't believe you could hide that for five. If it's on your hand. I know. But I guess it kind of can just look like pen.

Yeah. When you're in school, do you know what I mean? And you can't really read it from here. No. Like, I know what it means, but. Yeah. Yeah. So Maria Canellis was the one that told me, no, so that's where it started.

Sometimes these things just happen like organically. And something like that, I think is so great. Isn't that wild? Could it come back? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Who knows?

I'm so excited to see what's next for you. And I love that we're doing this conversation in a totally different stage of your life as well. I know. So much has changed. So, I mean, I think about like the first interviews I did 10 years ago because it's now, I've been wrestling 10 years as of this January. And just the thought that 10 years ago, I thought I was going straight to WWE. I was going to be on total divas.

I was going to be Eva Marie's tag partner, and that was it for me. And then, you know, I was on Tough Enough and in Impact, and in NWA, Ring of Honor, Lucha, stardom in Japan, went to Mexico, went to Australia, and now I'm back. That season of Tough Enough turned out a lot of people. Yeah. More than any other season, I think. 100%. Yeah.

But it's just, you know, people nowadays have a crazy amount of athletic ability. Like it's just different. When you see kids coming out of college now, they look like they're 30 and they can do 10 backflips. They're different now. You know, so that season of tough enough, it was like all those unbelievably athletic humans. And then me. And then me.

This goes back to what we're talking about at the start. Did you play sports? Yes. Were you good at sports? Yes. Yeah. I was. Just, you know, these people nowadays are like, dang, they'd be running 10 seconds flat and stuff.

Yeah. I don't know what the difference is. Yeah, well, I was 13 seconds, so. So I end every conversation with gratitude. Because I say out loud three things I'm grateful for when I wake up. I do it before we go to bed as well. What are three things that you're grateful for? I am grateful for my green card and the stability that that provides.

I am grateful for my friends and family who don't give a shit what I'm doing in wrestling. They just support me and they just keep my head down here on my body and not up in the clouds. And I am grateful for my relationship and where we're going to go with it and our future family. Your future family. Yeah. Well, congratulations in advance on that. And congratulations on everything. I have to, you know, stop being so entertaining before I have a family.

Well, that's never happening. I can't be entertaining the masses. I got to stop that and then I'll have a family. You are far too entertaining. No, thank you. And so good to be able to catch up with you. And I always selfishly love seeing Canadians that are just crushing it. I feel the same way.

I really am like, you're Canadian. Yes, you do that. You don't succeed. Love talking about other Canadians who are doing the thing. It's so true. Like, how many times are you watching it, movie. You're like, oh, did you, Ryan Reynolds, did you know? No. Every time, and I love to point out. Seth Rogen, did you know he's Canadian?

Yes, I love to point out every single time I turned the Disney channel on that I went to high school and then every time I see a Hallmark movie, I actually had a date with that guy. Oh. Okay, Chelsea, we know. Every time a Sean Mendez song comes on, I tell my wife, I'm like, he went to my high school. Not at the same time, obviously. But I'm like, wait. He went to Pine Ridge Secondary School in Pickering, Ontario. That's iconic. I love Sean Mendez.

There it is. Remember that documentary? Yes. So I think it was aware he was from Pickering. I knew he, actually I knew he went to my high school. He's laying in this field that's right next to my high school. And I knew the second he was laying there, I'm like, oh my gosh. I've been there.

That's like the thing he's doing now, I've done. And yeah, I don't know. Well, just so you know, my island has produced Nelly Furtado, Steve Nash, Pamela Anderson. I mean, I'm not going to keep going on, but the list. goes on. Wow. Yeah.

Who do I got for you? Durham Region, where I'm from, has produced some 41 in addition to Sean Mendez. Amazing. Those two right there. I think Test was from Oshawa. Okay. Yeah. I think that's all I got for you.

That's pretty good. Many other people around the GTF course, Tristratus and Edge, Christian, Valvinus, the list goes on and on and on. No, we can't. No. You know what I mean? The circle's getting too wide. Lots of Canadian. Cheers to be in Canadian.

Cheers. All the way across, there it is. Well, there we go. I just love her attitude when it comes to wrestling. She's all about making the moments and making the audience feel something, which, I mean, really at the heart of it, we talk about acting here. That's what acting is all about. It's about making people feel something through your performance.

And I'm excited to see the work that we're going to see from her in her acting career. I mean, we're seeing her just crushing in the WWE, but I'm very curious to see where things go in her acting career, because that's really like her background. And then wrestling came about and she's doing her thing, but really excited to see what happens with wrestling. Snap a screenshot. Let us know that you were listening to this.

Tag us so we can share it out as well. She's at I'm Chelsea Green on Twitter. She's at just Chelsea Green on Instagram. Chelsea Green. Isn't it great that she's, that's her intro again. Like that was taken away for a few weeks. That was Samantha Irvin's way of saying it. It's back now. I love that it's back. I'm Chris Van Vleet across social media. And I will leave you with this quote from Oscar Wilde. To live is the rarest thing in the world.

Most people just exist. Be great. Be grateful. We will see you on the next one. We're going to do another Ask CVV tomorrow because of everything. going on right now with the rock and we want cody and russomania 40 on the horizon so if you have a question for ask cvv tweet it to me send it on instagram or facebook we will see you tomorrow for another one here on insight the hammer alley podcast an 80s flashback mockumentary back in the 80s there were a thousand bands trying to make it in the world of rock but there was one band that had it all hammer alley whatever happened to him Hammer Alley.

How did they go from top of the rock? I'm looking for a music video. They're a band from 1987. Hammer Alley. Ever heard of them? To Rock Bottom. Dude, I was born in 1987. I can't believe he's doing this.

Hammer Allie. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.