Chelsea Green has opened up about her reaction to the WWE Unreal footage involving Michael Hayes, revealing she initially did not see anything particularly harsh about the clip until messages from others started pouring in.

Green discussed the situation during an appearance on The Nikki & Brie Show with Nikki Bella on Friday, just hours before suffering a broken orbital bone during WWE SmackDown.

The conversation centred around the attention Green received following SummerSlam, where she publicly dedicated her Interim WWE Women’s Championship victory to Hayes. According to Green, fans and people around WWE were particularly interested in what she had said to him.

“Isn’t that hilarious? That’s hilarious. And just know that, first of all, I’m not an emotional person at all. I also don’t hold grudges. In fact, I forget, and a lot of times my girlfriends have to remind me, like we don’t like that person. And I’m like, oh yeah, sorry, sorry, sorry. I was momentarily, I forgot, and I was nice to them.”

Green explained that Hayes had actually offered her encouragement on the same day, adding another layer to the attention surrounding their interaction.

When Green originally watched the WWE Unreal footage, she said it did not immediately bother her. Her perspective only began to change once friends and others started contacting her about what had been shown.

“Back to Unreal, I watched it and I didn’t think anything of it. And then when I started getting flooded with texts, I changed my mind. Like, oh yeah, that was kind of mean.”

Bella suggested Green may have initially brushed off the comments because she had become accustomed to hearing similar things throughout her career.

“It was so ingrained in me. And they’re putting you in this box when you’ve constantly fought to get out.”

Green then revealed that her decision to mention Hayes during WWE’s SummerSlam post-show was less about settling a personal score and more about delivering the moment she knew viewers wanted.

“And so when I went on the post-show, I was like, I have to do this, even though I don’t feel any type of way about it. I have to dedicate this win to him because I’m the petty queen that I am, and the fans need to see that.”

She continued:

“Exactly, that’s what they wanted to hear, whether I cared about it or not. They needed the moment of me saying it.”

Despite the playful jab, Green made it clear there is no serious animosity between the two and praised Hayes for taking everything in stride.

“And Michael Hayes is such a good sport.”

Green joked that the story could now become permanently attached to Hayes whenever her championship victory is discussed.

“Poor Michael Hayes is never gonna live this down. It’s gonna be like me in the history book with a little picture of him beside it. My number one op, Michael Hayes.”

Green captured the Interim WWE Women’s Championship in a five-way ladder match at SummerSlam on August 2. Unfortunately, her momentum was interrupted just five days later when she suffered a broken right orbital bone during a tag team match on SmackDown.

No timetable has yet been announced for Green's return to action.