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Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
'It's awkward!': Chelsea Green reflects on her last 2021 release from WWE
Image via WWE WWE superstar recently opened up about her experiences and shared an emotional and revealing account of her 2021 WWE release. Green is one of the famous antics and a top-tier wrestler, who managed to clinch WWE's first US Championship in December 2024. She has revealed her past experiences and why she was let go from the company. To bring some creative changes, WWE goes through a rigorous process of terminating and ending contracts with WWE stars. Chelsea Green was one of the wrestlers who had to face a similar kind of experience of being fired from the company in 2021. However, in a significant development for WWE's women's division, Chelsea Green has reportedly inked a new multi-year contract with WWE, cementing her place again in the company. Let's now take a look at what the WWE star had to say about her last release from WWE. Chelsea Green recalls her last release from WWE Green was fired by the company in 2021 due to the pandemic, but had made her return at the Royal Rumble 2023, and had signed a contract that is supposed to expire this year. Recalling this moment, Chelsea Green shared her experience after parting ways from the company for a brief period of time. WWE CHELSEA GREEN on Women's Evolution PLE, U.S. Championship, Piper Niven, and New Netflix Show Green shared an emotional and revealing account of her 2021 WWE release during an appearance on the Lightweights Podcast . by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Ductless Air Conditioners Are Selling Like Crazy [See Why] Keep Cool Click Here Undo During the interview, the US Champions title holder said, 'I called WWE and asked if I could be released from my contract early. Normally, we have ninety days, but I asked if I could be released on day sixty or seventy and forego my pay so I could get onto the indies earlier than the group (of other released WWE stars), so I could have more hype.' She further stated, 'That's the problem too, so we're all back on the same day, so a bunch of us would show up on the same show. We'd all be on a TNA pay-per-view, or a Ring of Honor pay-per-view, or whatever, and then who are they gonna talk about? They're gonna talk about the person who does the most flips – it ain't me! I don't leave my feet, so how am I gonna draw attention to myself? Okay, I'm gonna forego my pay, and then I'm gonna get on the indies two weeks to a month early, and everyone's gonna be shocked. It's gonna be truly surprising because nobody's ever done that and WWE said yes.' (source: TJR Wrestling) How did Chelsea Green's husband forewarn her? Moreover, Green revealed that she got the intimation from her husband, Matt Cardona, who warned her timely about the termination. "I got very lucky because Matt called me like three minutes before I was fired and said 'You're about to get fired,'" Green said in the podcast. 'I don't know how [he knew]. I'm so glad he did because it just gave me a split second in my kitchen – I was with Santana Garrett – to regroup and be like 'How am I going to handle this?' She further added, "It's awkward. I'm sitting there with one of my girlfriends, like, is she going to get fired? Is it just going to be me?" she continued. "Either way, it's awkward. If it's just me, that's awkward because now I'm fired in front of my friend who's sitting there having tea with me. Or are we both going to get fired? That's f***ing awkward too, then we're both fired and we both don't have jobs.' (source: WrestlingInc.) Also Read : WWE Night of Champions 2025 preview and streaming details (06/28/25): Full match card, show highlights, how to watch, and more However, overcoming all the odds, Chelsea Green joined WWE back in 2023, and since then, she has never looked back. She became the inaugural Women's U.S. Champion in December 2024 and is now the leader of the stable known as The Green Regime on SmackDown. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The D'Amore Drop: In defense of the John Cena heel run
The D'Amore Drop is a weekly guest column on Uncrowned written by Scott D'Amore, the Canadian professional wrestling promoter, executive producer, trainer and former wrestler best known for his long-standing role with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, where he served as head of creative. D'Amore is the current owner of leading Canadian promotion Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling. I know it's fashionable online to rip on John Cena's heel run, but I think the man is doing fantastic work. Advertisement Before I go on, I get that people were expecting nothing less than the new nWo — with Cena and Rock and their own 'third man,' going on a generation-defining run as the most powerful heels in the game. The historical comparisons to Hulk Hogan were obvious and unavoidable — no heel turn in 30 years has been so long in the making and so unthinkable when it happened. The Hogan/nWo turn is still the gold standard. It's the bar every heel turn has been measured against for the past 30 years. (Though old-timers still shudder when they remember Larry Zbyszko turning on Bruno Sammartino in 1980.) That said, it's not the fans' fault that The Rock was a massive part of Cena's heel turn — literally directing him to take out Cody Rhodes at the Elimination Chamber — and then just vanished and was barely mentioned again. Whatever the reason, Rock was central to the setup but absent from the execution. But if we focus purely on Cena's work, he's been a revelation as a villain. I've loved it — and then came Cena's own 'pipe bomb.' Fourteen years almost to the day after Punk laid out Cena and delivered one of the best promos in WWE history, Cena returned the favor by putting Punk through a table and getting some things off his chest while Punk was left laying, 'as uncomfortably as possible.' Advertisement I loved the promo. It was dramatic, believable and, like you have to be these days, it worked on two levels. Cena stayed fully in heel character, so the fans willing to suspend disbelief could enjoy it in-story. But he also mixed in just enough 'inside baseball' for the smart marks … the fans who like their wrestling with a wink and a nod. One of the first names out of his mouth was Claudio Castagnoli — formerly Cesaro in WWE — who is now under contract with AEW. That got everyone's attention. It was like, 'Whoa — he's not supposed to say that.' Leading with Claudio was genius. I really don't think that promo hits the same if he doesn't lead with the AEW guy. That was the key. Claudio made it feel like a one-off name drop. But then, bang — he follows it up with two guys WWE could actually use: Nick Nemeth, who wrestles for TNA and, of course, TNA has a relationship with WWE; and then he mentioned Matt Cardona, who is the ultimate free agent and has made no secret he'd like to return to WWE before his career is up. Advertisement What Cena did there was offer fantasy matchmaking. He gave fans one name that's impossible, followed by two that are technically very possible. That's genius. It's a tightrope walk to be an effective heel and still give just enough reality for fans who won't fully suspend disbelief but still want to feel something real. Overall, I think Cena's been fantastic in this run. I know that's not a popular opinion in some circles — but too bad. I like what I've seen. Cena's doing excellent work. Cena defends his WWE Universal Title vs. Punk in Saudi Arabia at Night of Champions this Saturday. It is yet another "Cena retirement tour dream match" WWE is delivering … just think of all the crazy things that had to fall into place for this match to actually happen in the middle of 2025. Advertisement Cena should go over. He's holding this title for a while yet. Will John Cena beat CM Punk and retain his title this Saturday? (WWE via Getty Images) I expect Cody Rhodes will win the King of the Ring and challenge Cena at WWE SummerSlam … with the wild card of Seth Rollins holding the Money In The Bank briefcase over the head of the champion. The Queen of the Ring finale pits Asuka — who only just returned from a year out with a serious knee injury — against Jade Cargill in one of her biggest singles matches to date. No prediction on this one, I am just rooting for both women to put on the performances that will elevate them both. Around about this time last year I invited several friends to a Zoom call. Advertisement None of them are names you'd be expected to know, but all of them were vastly experienced pro-wrestling guys — not on-screen talent but award-winning television producers and behind-the-scenes talent who'd done incredible work for WWE, AEW, WCW and even the UFC. They were all close friends of mine, but I started the meeting proper by introducing myself. 'Hello,' I began, 'my name is Scott D'Amore and I have an addiction — it is called pro-wrestling. You all know I am no longer with TNA … but I am not done with pro-wrestling.' In that meeting I told my friends I'd bought the rights to Maple Leaf Wrestling, the historic Canadian promotion, and planned to relaunch it in the modern era as Maple Leaf Pro-Wrestling. All of them wanted to join me, and I'm incredibly proud of the work we've done in the past 12 months — five sell-out shows, great results on pay-per-view and social media. Advertisement And our biggest event yet takes place July 5. After that Zoom call, one of my friends called me directly and asked me why I was prepared to spend (a lot) of my own money to get right back into the pro-wrestling business. At first, I deflected. I pointed out I was going to spend lots of my own money to buy TNA, only for its parent to decline. But the real, honest answer is that I love pro-wrestling and pro-wrestling people. I mean, in real life, what does someone like Don Callis — who's very educated — have to talk about with someone like Tommy Dreamer, a sweetheart who can barely count to five? And yet we are all the same in this one critical aspect: We love this crazy, so-called fake sport that most of the world can't imagine anyone being this interested in. Advertisement Wrestling came to me when I really needed it. In the early '80s my grandfather was in hospital for a while. I wanted to go see him, but hospitals are spooky to a kid, and seeing someone I loved looking so sick, hooked up to scary machines … it was tough. But there was a tiny — remember this was a public hospital in the '80s — TV in the corner, and my grandfather would put pro-wrestling on when I visited. We'd sit there and we'd be transported to a place with larger-than-life characters who weren't afraid, who overcame. It became our thing. Once he was discharged from the hospital, we'd watch wrestling together for the rest of his life. And that's part of what I love about pro wrestling — it brings people together. I always say, when we do what we do right in pro wrestling, we create moments. And moments are meant to be shared. It's parents and kids. Siblings. Best friends. The guy at work who you noticed wearing an nWo shirt. Wrestling creates this sense of community. You experience it together and for a little while, you just escape. Advertisement That's what got me hooked. That's what keeps me hooked. As I said on that Zoom: I am never, ever leaving this business. Have we really gone two whole months without naming Seth Rollins's faction? C'mon Trips, give 'em a name. (WWE via Getty Images) I am very excited to tune into AEW tonight, for Kota Ibushi's first AEW match since 2023 booked for "AEW Dynamite." He is a real-life and on-screen friend of Kenny Omega, and he takes on Don Callis Family member Trent Beretta. Speaking of Kenny Omega, he got a kick out of last week's column showing his uncle, the Golden Sheik, photographed next to Don Callis and his flowing mane of hair. It was interesting, booking-wise, that Jey Uso lost clean again on "WWE Raw," this time to Cody Rhodes. Advertisement Yes, Uso was protected in the loss — kicking out of three Cody Cutters and even giving Rhodes a Cross Rhodes for a near fall — but the fact is this is his second clean loss on the flagship show in two weeks, having lost his WWE World Title via submission to Gunther. You have to trust WWE has a plan for one of the most over performers on their roster. One direction they could go with Uso is for him to be the first major opponent for a heel Cody Rhodes. Cody himself said last week that he's 'coming to the end' of his run as a babyface. Talking to a reporter at the Fanatics Fest he said: 'There's only so much someone can like you. I would love to do it (be a face) until the end of my career but … at a certain point they want to cheer someone else. I get that and that's when you have to change as a character.' Pressed, Cody said he thinks the heel change is about a year or more away… Or maybe he turns heel in time to headline WrestleMania 42 against Jey Uso in Las Vegas next April?
Metro
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Wrestling icon, 51, is 'officially retired' as they reveal WWE future
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A wrestling legend has officially announced his retirement 21 years after his debut match. TNA Wrestling icon Abyss, who is making history as his character appears in WWE 2K25 as part of today's Dunk & Destruction DLC pack, hasn't had a match since 2019 when he joined WWE behind the scenes as a producer. Asked if he would appear in the Royal Rumble, Abyss – whose real name is Chris Park – exclusively told Metro: 'I'm officially retired. 'I'm so enthralled, and just intertwined with what I'm doing now as a producer, you know – I don't have any interests either. [Wrestling again is] not an option.' Park, 51, admitted that the punishment he put his body through over the years has taken his toll. 'I'm getting up there in age, I'm still a young man,' he quipped. 'But my the old 'bump card' is tapped out for me.' Instead, Park – who has never wrestled for WWE, but had a brief on screen stint as AJ Styles' statistician on SmackDown – is 'so focused on being the best producer I can be'. Since February 2019, the man best known to fans as 'The Monster' Abyss has swapped his reputation for bloody and violent wrestling in favour of a career helping today's WWE stars plan out their matches. He is grateful for his second career, and getting to work with and learn from the likes of Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, Michael Hayes, Ed Koski, Brian James and more. 'It's an incredible learning experience. There's some just amazing, brilliant minds,' he smiled. 'When you get three or four minds and three or four sets of eyeballs looking at something, and you get a collaboration – that's always when you get the best product, in the end.' In another unexpected twist, Abyss will become the first TNA character in a WWE video game, having never featured on screen for the company. He's in the newest WWE 2K25 DLC alongside Hall of Famer The Great Khali, and NBA stars Tyrese Haliburton, Shaquille O'Neal and Jalen Brunson. Park described it as a 'bucket list moment', especially seeing his iconic persona in a WWE game with his beloved theme music and signature weapon Janice. 'I never imagined in a million years that I would have the opportunity to be in a WWE video game,' he beamed with pride, before revealing he was given a full body scan to accurately bring Abyss back to life. 'It's been an incredible process, you know, from the scans and the different elements to make it happen, make it come to life,' he added. It's also been surreal for the 51-year-old former world champion to see the partnership between TNA and WWE. 'My entire run at TNA, which was a pretty significant amount of time, 2002 to 2019 … TNA and WWE working together, that wasn't an option back then,' he said. 'It's an incredible moment for TNA, for WWE. It's just been fantastic.' Over the years, Abyss could have become a WWE superstar, with Park previously confirming offers to work with The Undertaker at WrestleMania. 'There were options there,' he admitted. '[But] I was a TNA guy. I was a lifer. I had been there since the very, very beginning, since the doors opened. For me, it was just a loyalty thing.' Abyss gave TNA so many incredible moments while putting his body on the line in the name of entertainment. He may have built his reputation on being a hardcore wrestling, but the man behind the mask admitted even he got 'scared'. 'Being nervous is a good thing. It keeps you sharp,' he explained. 'Every risky spot that I ever did in wrestling, obviously there was a high risk to it, but it was calculated. 'I tried to be smart about it, and but I was always nervous, and some of them were scary. The Bubba and D'Von chokeslam off the side of the stage through the fire table is one I perhaps wish I had back.' Despite overtures from WWE, Park would have found it 'so incredibly hard' to leave, as his history 'weighed on him' as while making a decision. 'I was there for all the good and all the bad, and all the in between,' he chuckled. 'The friendships I forged there were just amazing.' More Trending WWE fans will have to play as Abyss in WWE 2K25 to bring dream matches to life, and Park has some in mind. 'You gotta do Abyss/Undertaker,' he said. 'Then Kane. I had the opportunity to work with Mick Foley in TNA, but that'll be up there. 'I've got to revisit the classics, Abyss versus AJ Styles. Maybe in WWE 2k25 I can actually beat AJ!' View More » Play as Abyss in the new WWE 2K25 Dunk & Destruction DLC pack. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Squid Game boss admits copycat shows like MrBeast's can 'leave a bitter taste' MORE: The completely free streaming service that boasts 10,000 shows and movies MORE: South Park faces major question in bitter battle over $900,000,000 deal
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Matt Cardona Makes John Cena Post After Getting Called Out During Smackdown
Matt Cardona Makes John Cena Post After Getting Called Out During Smackdown originally appeared on Athlon Sports. WWE Undisputed Champion John Cena and TNA Wrestling superstar Matt Cardona broke the professional wrestling fourth wall over the past two days. Advertisement It all started during Friday's episode of WWE's weekly show, 'SmackDown,' where Cena faced off against Ron Killings in the main event. Ultimately, Cena lost the match by disqualification because he hit Killings in the head with his championship belt. Then, CM Punk, a longtime rival of Cena's, came out to engage in a brawl with him that ended with Cena slamming Punk through a table. As Punk laid through the broken table in pain, Cena created his own version of Punk's infamous 'Pipebomb' segment from 2011, where he let his feelings be known about his longtime rival. As Cena's segment continued, he decided to give a shoutout to three former WWE superstars: Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro), Nic Nemeth (Dolph Ziggler) and Cardona (Zack Ryder). This caused the crowd to burst into cheers, and Cardona issued a response to the moment on X. Advertisement 'Hey @JohnCena,' Cardona posted on Friday along with an old photo of himself and Cena on Saturday from his time in the WWE. However, the callout is not a surprise because the WWE started a multi-year partnership with TNA Wrestling in January, allowing both promotions to have their wrestlers to compete in each other's companies. So far, the partnership has been primarily focused on WWE's developmental show NXT, where TNA superstars such as Joe Hendry and TNA Knockout World Champion Masha Slamovich have competed in several matches. Meanwhile, Punk is expected to challenge Cena for the WWE Undisputed Championship at the Night of Champions pay-per-view on June 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Advertisement Related: WWE Releases Unexpected Superstar After John Cena Match This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
'Give me all the titles' - Zelina Vega hints at TNA comeback
Zelina Vega is one of the most confident and stylish stars in today. But long before she became the WWE Women's U.S. Champion, she was a rising name in TNA Wrestling. Known back then as Rosita, she once held the Knockouts Tag Team Championship. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Now, with WWE and TNA officially working together, Vega is thinking about how her journey started and where it might go next. In a recent interview, she shared her thoughts about possibly returning to TNA and what it means to her personally. With this new partnership opening fresh doors, fans could see her holding titles in both promotions very soon. Is Zelina Vega returning to TNA as WWE-TNA crossover heats up? Earlier this year, WWE and TNA signed a deal that allows talent to appear across both brands. So far, most of the crossover has happened on NXT, where Trick Williams is the current TNA World Champion. However, as the partnership grows, more stars like may be involved. Speaking on the Lightweights podcast, Vega shared her excitement about a possible TNA return. 'That'd be super dope for sure, especially because I was one of the people that — again, people forget, but I started in TNA.' Looking back at her early days as Rosita, she said it feels strange but special. WWE INTERVIEW ZELINA VEGA U.S. WOMEN'S CHAMPION! Zelina on Aleister Black, Rhea Ripley, Queen Zelina 'TNA will always be a part of my story. I do look at Rosita though and go, 'Who is that person?' I feel like I don't know her. She's so far removed from who I am now, she was a baby.' Vega also reacted to the idea of winning titles in both companies. 'I didn't think about that. I think that'd be super dope for sure… Give me all the titles. I'll take everything, let's do this.' She explained how the TNA partnership creates new chances that never existed before. 'It's nice to know that there's opportunities, for that to even be a possibility. Same with [the Women's US title]. It was never an option. So it was like, well, yeah. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Let's do all of it.' Zelina Vega prepares for high-stakes SmackDown showdown Before she thinks about a TNA comeback, Vega has a tough challenge ahead. On June 27, during WWE SmackDown in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, she will defend her U.S. Title against , a former NXT Women's Champion. The match comes just one night before Night of Champions. Zelina Vega becomes the NEW Women's United States Champion: SmackDown highlights, April 25, 2025 Zelina Vega's journey from Rosita to champion has come full circle. With her past fueling her present, and new chances opening up, she's ready to take on whatever comes next. Whether it's WWE, TNA, or both, Vega is aiming high, and fans are here for it. Also Read:
