Big Time Players Make Big Time Plays

I had the story the very second after it happened. I knew what I would say about this as well. The only thing I didn't have was a title, up until just now. I chose a very fitting one: "Big Time Players Make Big Time Plays." Two reasons. One, it's my tribute to the late, great Stacey King, who this Chicago Bulls fan remembers as part of our first three championships between 1991 and 1993. Of course, King went on to serve as the Bulls' color commentator for many years, and one of his many signature lines was "Big time players make big time plays."

Which brings me to my second reason. Stacey King's words definitely fit the main subject of this story: Chelsea Green.

I've watched Chelsea Green for over a decade in many different promotions. Indie promotions such as the North Carolina-based Queens of Combat, where she's a former tag champ. I watched her in Lucha Underground, where she competed as Reklusa. I enjoyed her time in TNA, originally under the Laurel Van Ness moniker, where she captured the prestigious Knockouts World Championship.

And then, there's Chelsea's WWE journey, which included this:

Hard to believe this was a full dozen years ago. Remember when Brie Bella and Stephanie McMahon were feuding in 2014? The feud happened to include Chelsea Green making an appearance as Megan Miller, a woman Stephanie basically paid to claim that she and Daniel Bryan (Brie's real life husband) were seeing each other. She would go from that to being a late add-on during the most recent season of Tough Enough, and that would turn into an amazing run on NXT--a run that actually included being a surprise entrant in the Women's Rumble in 2020, only lasting 12 seconds.

Green was called up to SmackDown later that year, but for some reason, she got released in 2021. I remember being so ticked over the release. Thankfully, WWE came to their senses and brought her back two years later, and I remember saying that WWE owed her big time. They listened. First off, Green captured the Women's Tag Team Championship with Sonya Deville, and that was amazing to see; a pair of Tough Enough alums as champions for the first time. Unfortunately, Sonya ended up injured and badly sidelined right after they won the titles, and was replaced by Piper Niven. And this ended up being another instance where unfortunate happenstances lead to a big angle, as Chelsea and Piper's partnership led to the early stages of Chelsea's current "Head of State" gimmick.

Even after the titles were lost, the partnership continued, which led to:

Chelsea Green's first golden moment came at Saturday Night's Main Event on December 13, 2024, when she defeated Michin to become WWE's very first Women's United States Champion. That match was the finals of a tournament to crown the first-ever champion, and fittingly, Chelsea's victory came at the home of her real-life husband, Matt Cardona, so she definitely had huge support from the fans. The "Head of State" gimmick started right after that, with Piper and Alba Fyre serving as Chelsea's "Secret Her-vice."

Before I continue, I have to mention this:

The awesome woman in this video is Samantha Irvin, and between 2021 and 2024, she was WWE's main ring announcer. If there's one thing I know, it's this: every ring announcer has that one wrestler whose name rolls of the tongue so well (or otherwise). For the late, great Howard Finkel, it was "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. For Lilian Garcia, honestly, it was Triple H. For Tony Chimel, humorously, it was Edge. Samantha Irvin gained a lot of attention for the way she introduced Chelsea Green, and as the video shows, it was in that beautifully over the top fashion that fit Chelsea's then-heel gimmick. Chelsea's been a babyface for a few months now, but that intro still would have fit her now. It's been imitated quite a bit, but it can't be duplicated.

Chelsea's big win took place on the second night of SummerSlam on August 2, 2026, which saw Chelsea in a ladder match to determine who would be the Interim WWE Women's Champion. Chelsea's competition included Tiffany Stratton, Jade Cargill, Lash Legend, and Charlotte Flair, and it looked bad for Chelsea, as she was down in the bottom of the ladder with no way out. But after the remaining four women canceled themselves out, Chelsea rose up, and with thousands of Minnesotans loudly cheering on Chelsea, she made the climb and grabbed the title, sealing her biggest win of her long career.

Imagine anyone thinking that Chelsea Green didn't belong in this spot. Imagine anyone saying that, “Chelsea Green is not built for, nor should she be in, the role of a Charlotte or Tiffany. Chelsea's job is to help make those people.” One clown did say that; the same one who is only famous because he happened to be next to a Hall of Famer who made one of the most iconic promos of all time 30 years ago. I repeat the words of the late, great Stacey King: "Big time players make big time plays." Chelsea Anne Green has been a big time player ever since she first stepped foot in the squared circle. What we saw on the evening of August 2, 2026 was more evidence of that fact.