When Chelsea Green made her surprise return at the 2023 Royal Rumble, she looked exactly like she had in WWE before and on the indies for Impact Wrestling, GCW, and others… at least until she didn't.
That's right, after making her way into the ring, and was promptly dropped by Rhea Ripley in five or so seconds, Green went on to call the elimination unfair, declaring that she would “report everyone” in a digital exclusive segment that effectively served as an introduction to her new “Karen” character first as a solo act and now teamed up with Sonya Deville.
Sitting down for an interview on Out of Character with Ryan Satin, Green explained how her new character came into being and how she took it upon herself to fully embrace the role.
“It was not an idea I had, and let me tell you something, I'm not shy, I will pitch 101 things, and the internet makes fun of me for it, and I don't care. My favorite thing to do is to come up with pitches that are so ridiculous and out there, but Karen was not my idea,” Green said via F4w.
“I've definitely come up with versions of this Karen, but no, I actually went to the Royal Rumble and was at the Royal Rumble, and I believe it was at about 1 p.m. that I saw on the internet that Chelsea is going to debut with a Karen character. And I went up to someone, I was like, what is this? I'm coming out tonight for the Royal Rumble, and I'm me.
“They came back maybe a couple hours later, and they were like, ‘Yeah, we'll deal with that once the Rumble's over, we'll sort out how your character's going to be.' And then I was kind of like, ‘Well, I want to start it tonight.' If I don't win this thing when I get out of the ring, I'm going to start being a Karen, and so I just did it.”
Though some initially wondered if Green's new character would have legs or get really old really quick, the act has actually proved very popular, with fans loving whatever wild antics “The Hot Mess” has up her sleeve next. Regardless of what the future holds for Green, at least this run has exceeded her first run, which lasted all of one match due to a broken wrist.
Chelsea Green explains the delay before her WWE re-debut.
Though it was widely reported that Chelsea Green had re-signed with WWE in late 2022, she didn't actually make it back onto television until January of 2023 in the Royal Rumble. Asked about what took so long to get back on WWE programming, Green explained that Paul “Triple H” Levesque and company wanted to wait for the right moment to get her back on the screen.
“I think so, and a matter of, ‘when is the perfect opportunity to put her in? Let's figure out a way to surprise people, and maybe they know it's going to be at the Royal Rumble, but how, they're never going to know.' I thought it was perfect,” Green said Fightful.
“The first month was great because the first month, I was so busy before signing to WWE that I was still in this place of trying to get the laundry done, trying to get the dishes done, trying to get my house figured out and keep up with life. The first month, I was like, ‘this is great. I'm getting paid, I know they're going to bring me back, and I'm able to think about what I'm going to do when I do go back' while also getting my life together. The second month, I was like, ‘Surely, this is the month. I'm going to make my comeback. I know what I'm going to be and who I want to be and the gear I want to wear.' By month three, I'm like, ‘What they h*ll is going on? I need to debut.' I started get antsy.”
Wrestling her final match on Impact all the way back in October of 2022 and appearing in an NWA Woman's World Championship match at Hard Times in New Orleans one month later in November, Green had to wait until the end of January to see action once more, with her first singles match coming one week later on the first edition of RAW in February when she lost to Asuka in 150 seconds. Fortunately, Green's debut was very well received, and she's now one of the more entertaining performers on the main roster. Good things come for those who wait, if you will.