Wait, did WWE just turn Chelsea Green babyface? | Opinion
WWE’s great Chelsea Green babyface experiment has begun.
Yes, Green is a good guy now.
I’m not saying that based on the reaction the Barcelona crowd gave to her on Friday’s SmackDown. We’ve seen Green get babyface reactions while being a heel character plenty of times.
But what we saw on Friday was different.
WWE wants us feeling sympathy for Chelsea, relating to Chelsea, and connecting with Chelsea.
What happened on WWE SmackDown on Friday?
For the most part, up until Friday’s show, Chelsea’s storyline with Tiffany Stratton was something similar to what you would see The Miz do. It’s entertaining and funny, but Chelsea was still a heel in that funny and entertaining role.
But there have been little hints dropped along the way that maybe we’re supposed to start relating with her a little bit.
There may have been earlier instances, but the first thing I picked up on was two weeks ago on SmackDown during Blake Monroe’s “SmackDown debut.”
Green walked up to Blake in the back and sort of posed face-to-face with her before Blake rebuffed her and walked out of the scene.
I thought to myself, wait a second, do they want me to feel sympathy for Chelsea Green?
Then on this week’s SmackDown, Green was backstage with Tiffany Stratton and had assumed that Stratton would accompany her to the ring for her match with Nia Jax later. However, Tiffany, in a polite manner, explained that this wouldn’t be happening.
And Chelsea looked sad.
So why are we seeing all these instances of Chelsea Green wanting to be friends with people only for those people not to want to be friends with her?
Then we get to the match against Nia Jax. Green is doing missile dropkicks, smiling up at the crowd, and wrestling in a very babyface manner.
After Lash Legend got involved, Tiffany Stratton had to do what was right and come out to help poor vulnerable Chelsea win the match.
But after Chelsea picked up the win, was her focus on how she had just pinned a former women’s champion? No, she only cared that Tiffany had come out to help her.
She wasn’t as excited about winning the match as she was that Tiffany was going to be her friend.
All of this is meant to make us feel for Chelsea, want what’s best for her, relate to her, and turn her into a big babyface.
Did Chelsea Green’s babyface run start with WWE Unreal?
Not long ago, there was a big brouhaha after Michael Hayes said on WWE Unreal that Chelsea Green is not a main eventer.
I have a theory, and perhaps others do as well, that this could have been a narrative WWE was pushing to see how fans would react. If there was backlash to Hayes’ comments and fans were like, “No, we love Chelsea, she could be a main eventer,” then it would let the company know that pushing her in that way could be successful.
And I think they got the reaction they were looking for, too.
Green as a babyface may be surprising to some because I think she is seen as similar to The Miz, and The Miz’s babyface runs have never lasted long. But I think it’s a little bit different with Green.
WWE fans en masse seem to recognize that she has been one of the most entertaining people on the WWE main roster ever since she’s been there. I’m certain she has haters on social media, but how often in real life have you ever heard someone say, “Man, enough with all the Chelsea Green already”?
That’s why when WWE goes to markets they are not in often, Green frequently gets a babyface reaction no matter how heelish she’s being at the time.
Will Chelsea Green ever win a world title?
If Chelsea Green is going babyface and she’s about to enter a new stage in her WWE run, the next question is whether that run could result in a world title.
Now, what that means for her or her fans, I’m not sure. It’s not like if Green never won a world title in her career, you would ever think to call her unsuccessful or something.
But if a babyface Chelsea Green catches fire in the way I think is at least possible, I don’t think a world title win within the next year is out of the question.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.