Chelsea Green Felt Nothing but Love the Night She Broke Her Ankle [Exclusive]

Chelsea Green wasn't wearing a walking boot this past Thursday when WWE 2K26 was hosting Creator Fest at the WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, but she later admitted that she should have had it on.

The first and fourth ever Women's United States Champion was working the red carpet, and looked to be doing quite well, but she told The Takedown on SI that she's not ready to get back into a wrestling ring just yet.

"I'm hurting, I am hurting. I'm limping, I'm hurting, but it goes on and off. Right before I came out I was doing amazing. I wasn't limping at all."

DOWN BUT NEVER OUT! @WWE #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/UI65BlrPsw
— CHELSEA GREEN (@ImChelseaGreen) February 21, 2026

For what it's worth, Green showed no signs of discomfort as she served the main floor of Creator Fest on her way over to the red carpet. This despite suffering a broken ankle less than two weeks before during her Elimination Chamber qualifying match against Tiffany Stratton and Lash Legend on SmackDown.

Not only was Green able to finish the match, but she did so without missing a beat and nearly pulled out the victory. One of the reasons why is that she genuinely had no idea when the injury actually occurred.

"I don't know, and I think that's the funny thing about wrestling. There's so much adrenaline going on at any given moment and the stakes were so high in that match, I just wanted it to be amazing. You know, I just wanted it to be so good. I didn't know until I got to the back and I took my boots off and my ankle was like an orange."

Fans are still able to pledge their allegiance

Chelsea has taken precisely zero time off since she was hurt. She's appeared during the last two episodes of SmackDown, albeit in a wheelchair with her foot propped up in a walking boot. Regardless, it's provided her the opportunity to keep her recent momentum with the fans trending upward.

A large portion of the WWE Universe did not react kindly to comments made by producer Michael Hayes during season two of WWE Unreal.

The Fabulous Freebird member and WWE Hall of Famer strongly suggested that Chelsea was not on the same upper card level as Charlotte Flair or Tiffany Stratton, and fans responded by loudly rooting for Green to qualify for the Women's Elimination Chamber Match.

While she didn't ultimately earn a spot in the chamber, the outpouring of love and support from the fans inside the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, was well received from the leader of the PatriHOTS.

"It felt a lot like the triple threat that I had with Bianca [Belair] and Michin when I qualified for Money in the Bank. Which was very similar to when I won the [Women's United States Championship] in Long Island. I really feel the love when I go out there and the crowd is loud, and they're chanting and they're like participating in the match so deeply. It makes all the difference."

Green theorizes that the energy of the crowd that night was part of the reason why she had no clue she had broken her ankle until well after the match was over. She was just so present in the moment and happy to be there. The Takedown on SI wishes Chelsea a speedy recovery.

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