Chelsea Green Bio
Chelsea Anne Cardona, born Chelsea Anne Green on April 4, 1991, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to WWE. Performing on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Chelsea Green, she is recognized for holding the WWE Women’s United States Championship and for leading the stable known as The Green Regime. She also competes in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), where she is one-half of the reigning AAA World Mixed Tag Team Champions alongside Ethan Page.
Across her career, Green has performed for several major promotions, including WWE, Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor (ROH), the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), World Wonder Ring Stardom, and Lucha Underground. She has worked under multiple ring names throughout her career, including Jaida, Laurel Van Ness, Megan Miller, Reklusa, and Princesa Gate, demonstrating her range as a performer across North America and Asia.
Early Life and Background
Chelsea Anne Green was born on April 4, 1991, in Victoria, British Columbia, a city located on Vancouver Island in western Canada. Victoria is the capital of British Columbia and is known for its strong athletic and community programs, providing an environment that shaped her early interests in sports and physical performance. Green grew up in a Canadian household and holds dual nationality, having later confirmed that she also holds British citizenship.
From an early age, Green developed an interest in professional wrestling, an influence she has publicly attributed to watching WWE performer Kelly Kelly during her childhood. That early fascination with sports entertainment helped set her on a clear path toward pursuing wrestling as a profession. By her late teens and early twenties, Green was training and preparing for a career in the ring, ultimately making her professional debut in 2014 at the age of 23.
Standing 170 centimeters tall and competing at around 57 kilograms, Green has consistently worked in a lighter weight class throughout her career, a build she has used to her advantage with quickness and agility inside the squared circle. Her Canadian roots and bilingual wrestling identity have remained central to her character work in WWE and beyond.
Path to Professional Wrestling
Green began her professional wrestling career in 2014 on the Canadian independent circuit, working under the ring name Jaida for Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW). Her first official match took place on May 31, 2014, at an ECCW event, where she teamed with other ECCW performers in a losing six-person tag match. She quickly advanced through a Women’s title tournament, defeating opponents including Kaitlin Diamond and Kate Carney before her run was interrupted.
In 2015, Green appeared on the sixth season of the re-launched WWE reality competition Tough Enough, finishing in fourth place among the female contestants. Although she did not win a WWE contract through the show, the experience raised her profile and connected her with WWE officials. By 2016, she had joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), later rebranded as Impact Wrestling, where she was rebranded as Laurel Van Ness and rose to become a one-time Impact Knockouts Champion. Her championship win there marked her as a main-event level performer on a major American stage.
Chelsea Green Career
Early Career (2014-2018)
Green’s earliest in-ring work came in Canada with ECCW, where she competed in singles and tag team matches while still learning the craft. She expanded her horizons in 2016 with two tours of Japan for World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she was undefeated in singles bouts prior to challenging for the Wonder of Stardom Championship against Kairi Hojo. A broken collarbone cut her first Japanese tour short, but she returned later in 2016 to team with Santana Garrett in the Goddesses of Stardom Tag League.
In 2017, she joined Queens of Combat (QOC) and, alongside Taeler Hendrix, won the first QOC Tag Team Championship tournament. By September 2018, Green had graduated to the high-profile independent show All In, where she competed in a Four Corner Survival match against Britt Baker, Madison Rayne, and Tessa Blanchard in front of more than 10,000 fans. Earlier in 2018, she debuted in Lucha Underground under the ring name Reklusa and also appeared on WWE television as the character Megan Miller, building her name recognition across multiple promotions.
Impact Wrestling Breakthrough (2016-2018)
Green made her Impact Wrestling debut in January 2016 under the name Chelsea, then was rebranded as Laurel Van Ness later that year. As Van Ness, she developed one of the most memorable characters in Impact history, beginning with a deranged wedding-gown gimmick that led to her becoming Impact Knockouts Champion. She defeated Rosemary in a tournament final on November 8, 2016, which aired on December 14, 2016, to win the vacant title, and successfully defended the championship against Allie and Kiera Hogan before eventually losing it back to Allie.
After her Impact release in January 2018, Green returned to Impact in July 2021 alongside her fiancé Matt Cardona, defeating Brian Myers and Tenille Dashwood in an intergender tag team match at Slammiversary. In her second run, she and Deonna Purrazzo formed the duo VXT and won the Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship at the Emergence pre-show in August 2022. Their reign ended 56 days later at Bound for Glory.
WWE Breakthrough (2018-2021)
Green signed with WWE in August 2018 after a successful tryout and reported to the WWE Performance Center in October of that year. She debuted in NXT, where she suffered a broken wrist during her first television match in March 2019. After recovering, she returned to NXT and aligned herself with manager Robert Stone before being called up to the main roster.
Green made her SmackDown debut on November 13, 2020, in a fatal four-way qualifying match, but suffered another broken wrist in the process. After months of inactivity, WWE released her from her contract in April 2021. During this initial WWE run, she also competed in the 2020 Women’s Royal Rumble match and challenged for the NXT Women’s Championship opportunity, establishing herself as a dedicated performer despite multiple injury setbacks.
Return to WWE (2023-Present)
Green made a surprise return to WWE at the Royal Rumble on January 28, 2023, entering the Women’s Royal Rumble match at number 20 and being eliminated in five seconds by Rhea Ripley, setting a Royal Rumble record. She aligned herself with Sonya Deville and adopted a comedic “Karen” gimmick, and the pair won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship on July 17, 2023, making history as the first Tough Enough female competitors to capture the titles.
After Deville’s injury and the arrival of Piper Niven as her new tag partner, Green was drafted to SmackDown in 2024 and entered the tournament to crown the inaugural WWE Women’s United States Champion. She won the title by defeating Michin at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 14, 2024, becoming the first champion in the title’s history. After losing the title to Zelina Vega in April 2025, Green regained the championship on November 7, 2025, by defeating Giulia, beginning a record-setting second reign.
Style and Strengths
Green is known for her sharp character work, comedic timing, and ability to reinvent her persona across promotions, from her chaotic Laurel Van Ness run to her “Karen” and “head of state” gimmicks in WWE. Inside the ring, she relies on speed, leverage, and calculated storytelling rather than power, using her 170-centimeter frame to outmaneuver larger opponents. Her partnership with allies such as Piper Niven and Alba Fyre has allowed her to extend matches and protect her in singles competition.
Notable Events and Milestones
Green holds the record for the fastest elimination in Women’s Royal Rumble history at five seconds, set in 2023. She also became the first WWE Women’s United States Champion and, alongside her husband Matt Cardona, the first married couple to hold both the men’s and women’s United States Championships. Her tag team title victory in 2023 marked the first time female Tough Enough alumni won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.
Chelsea Green Career Wins
Chelsea Green has captured championship gold across multiple major promotions, including WWE, Impact Wrestling, AAA, and the independent circuit. Her victories span singles and tag team competition and reflect a career built on persistence through multiple injuries and releases.
WWE Highlights
Green is a one-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion, having won the titles with Sonya Deville on July 17, 2023. She is also a two-time WWE Women’s United States Champion, having won the inaugural championship in December 2024 and the record-setting second championship in November 2025. Her most recent singles title defense came in early 2025, when she defeated Michin in a rematch on SmackDown.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond WWE, Green is a former one-time Impact Knockouts Champion as Laurel Van Ness, a former one-time Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Champion with Deonna Purrazzo, a former QOC Tag Team Champion with Taeler Hendrix, and the reigning AAA World Mixed Tag Team Champion with Ethan Page. Her 2018 appearance at the All In pay-per-view, in front of more than 10,000 fans, is also widely regarded as a milestone moment for the independent wrestling scene.
Chelsea Green Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Chelsea Anne Green was born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, and has spoken publicly about how watching WWE performer Kelly Kelly inspired her to pursue professional wrestling as a career. Her Canadian upbringing and British citizenship have shaped her dual nationality, which has become a recurring element of her character work, including a notable storyline during her Impact Wrestling run.
Personal Life
Green began dating fellow professional wrestler Matt Cardona in January 2017, and the couple became engaged on her 28th birthday, April 4, 2019. They were married on New Year’s Eve 2021 in Las Vegas. Cardona, who previously performed in WWE under the ring name Zack Ryder, has appeared alongside Green on multiple occasions, including at AAA Day of the Dead in November 2025 where they won the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship. In January 2024, Green announced that she had obtained a United States green card.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season has been one of the most eventful of Green’s WWE career. After defeating Michin to retain the WWE Women’s United States Championship in early 2025, she competed in the Women’s Royal Rumble match in February, lasting more than 26 minutes and eliminating Lash Legend and B-Fab before being thrown out by Piper Niven. She successfully defended the title in a Philadelphia Street Fight against Michin in March 2025 before losing the championship to Zelina Vega on April 25, 2025, ending her reign at 132 days.
Green failed to recapture the title at Saturday Night’s Main Event XXXIX in May 2025 but continued to feature prominently on SmackDown and NXT television with The Green Regime. She and Ethan Page also expanded into AAA, where they captured the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship at Day of the Dead on November 2, 2025. Her momentum peaked again on November 7, 2025, when she defeated Giulia on SmackDown to win her second WWE Women’s United States Championship, cementing her place as a central figure on the SmackDown brand heading into 2026.
