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MINNEAPOLIS — “What am I?”That’s what Chelsea Green thought going into SummerSlam 2026. In an Interim WWE Women’s Championship ladder match full of talent and experience, Green was an outlier, trying to figure out her place.This is the woman fired from WWE multiple times. The one who was publicly doubted by WWE executives. The one who survived simply off doing everything asked of her, being the butt of all jokes and taking the brutality of everyone else so they could pass her up the hierarchy of the women’s division. For so long, Green endured just to stay afloat. On Sunday, Aug. 2, she finally stood above everyone else.Green outlasted Charlotte Flair, Jade Cargill, Tiffany Stratton and Lash Legend to become the Interim WWE Women’s Champion, finally capturing the top prize in wrestling in the crowning moment of her career – and it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person.It really was a moment that didn’t seem possible with the career she’s had. Green’s first appearance in the company was in 2014 as "Megan Miller," portraying a physical therapist that was having an “affair” with Daniel Bryan in a storyline. She made it through “Tough Enough” and had to grind in NXT and through SmackDown, but was eventually fired.She came back in a five-second appearance in the 2023 Royal Rumble that set the path her career was on. Green epitomized clown, on the receiving end of getting thrown in dumpsters, getting smashed in the face by cake or just about anything for a laugh. She admittedly loved it, but it felt wrong she was just being trotted around for everyone’s pleasure.Then, everyone learned who she really is. She became the darling of the Netflix “Unreal” documentary when it was clear how much she loved the business, and was willing to do anything for it at her expense. You couldn't help but want to root for her, and it paid off with the first reign of the Women’s United States Champion.Still, that felt like it was it for her – and WWE admitted it. Producer Michael Hayes said in the documentary that Green wasn’t meant to be a top competitor; she was meant to help others get there, and nothing more.There was outrage over how they viewed such a hard worker. Even though Green had said plenty of times she loved that the company “relies on me to elevate other women,” you couldn’t help but feel bad. If you did all that work, wouldn’t you want it to be paid off and rewarded. Despite just hoping one day it could happen, it didn’t feel possible – until the opportunity was there at SummerSlam.“I think just walking down the aisle will be a win for her. But hopefully, she pulls down that championship,” WWE star and Green’s husband Matt Cardona told USA TODAY Sports hours before the match. “I saw her getting rejected by WWE multiple times. I saw her get fired by WWE. Now she's back in this spot. A spot that not only she deserves, but she has earned.”Even when the chance was there, it didn’t feel possible. With the crowd fully behind her, the first real shot to grab the title in the match was foiled when Michin and B-Fab came out to stop it, and that felt like it was it. A moment that felt wiped away.But Green was finally in the right place at the right time. Everyone else wiped themselves out, and there she was all alone. She climbed that ladder with the decibels rising, each step representing every setback, every struggle, every doubt casted on her.All the way until it was all erased, as she finally snatched the title and the crowd erupted in celebration as she held it high above the ring.Interim or not, it doesn’t matter. Green is the WWE Women's Champion. Rhea Ripley will be waiting, but who cares? The girl that wasn’t meant to be here earned her spot above the rest of the roster. In a time where it feels like there’s always questionable booking, this one was a no-brainer. No one deserved this achievement, in this high stakes of a moment, than her.Green had done everything, and it was about damn time she was rewarded for it. Of course, there was only one person this could be for.“I am gonna dedicate this title to Michael Hayes,” she said with a smile in the post-show.When Green spoke to USA TODAY Sports in September, she said she was "creatively fulfilled” with her role, and she loved her job of making sure she was booed and her opponent cheered. But when asked about her goal for 2026, she didn’t shy away from wanting to just take that next step – even when it didn’t seem possible.“I would love to step in and show that I can be a top girl, that I can hold a top title,” she said. “I want to prove to the writers and Triple H and the viewers that, hey, a little comedy girly can also make it as a top dog.”Flash forward, and we do have the answer for “what am I?”Chelsea Green is the "top dog," with the Interim WWE Women’s Championship as proof.
