Chelsea Green just pulled a complete 180 on Michael Hayes. Not long ago, the new Interim Women’s Champion admitted she was frustrated after WWE Unreal showed longtime producer Michael Hayes questioning whether she was a true main-event player. Now? She’s thanking him.
Speaking to CBS Sports just days after winning championship gold at SummerSlam, Green revealed Hayes has actually been one of her biggest supporters behind the scenes since she returned to WWE—and she now believes the criticism that upset her ended up helping her career.
“That clip on ‘Unreal’ is part of why I’m sitting here with this title on my shoulder right now. But I want to make sure everyone knows Michael Hayes has supported me since the minute I got to WWE. He’s the only person that is so blatantly honest, so blunt that he always, always provides the truth, whether I want to hear it or not.”
That isn’t the only thing Green has changed her mind about. After dedicating her SummerSlam title win to Hayes during the post-show, many fans assumed she was taking one final shot at the WWE Hall of Famer. According to Green, that’s not what happened at all. She revealed she’d already texted Hayes after the show—and he found the whole thing hilarious.
“He can dish it, but he can also take it. I sent him a text this morning, ‘Have you seen that I dedicated the title to you?’ He loved it. He was laughing. He is such a good sport.”
Green also believes WWE Unreal only showed part of the conversation, making Hayes look far harsher than he really was.
“I wish that what he said wasn’t cropped and edited to make it seem like that’s all he said because I know in my heart that he probably had a million kind things to say about me.”
Then came the biggest surprise of all. Rather than insisting Hayes was wrong, Green admitted he was probably right. At least at the time.
“At the end of the day, what he said was the truth. It was the truth in that moment. It was his truth. It was Creative’s truth. It might have been Triple H’s truth, I don’t know. I’m totally glad he said it. No regrets.”
That’s quite a turnaround from where this story started. When WWE Unreal aired, Hayes’ comments quickly became one of the documentary’s biggest talking points, with Green later admitting it was difficult hearing someone so influential publicly question her ceiling. Just a few months later, however, she’s holding championship gold, laughing with Hayes about the controversy, and crediting the criticism with helping fuel her biggest WWE moment yet.
Do you think Chelsea Green’s success proved Michael Hayes wrong, or do you agree with Green that his comments came at exactly the right time? Let us know in the comments below.
