Bobby Cruise: Chelsea Green Wasn’t Denied Clearance, ROH Never Had Her Take A Physical Because She Would’ve Failed
Photo Credit: Ring Of Honor
Bobby Cruise sets the record straight on why Chelsea Green couldn’t wrestle for Ring Of Honor, but still returned to the ring with IMPACT Wrestling.
Chelsea Green made her IMPACT Wrestling return at Slammiversary, picking up a win in her first match in nearly a year. Green was sporting a cast in the match, the same injury that kept her from being cleared by Ring Of Honor the previous weekend, leading to fans speculating how Green was able to compete for one and not both.
Green previously said the Maryland State Athletic Commission wouldn’t let her compete and had a “zero-tolerance policy” when it comes to injuries in wrestling, and now ROH’s Bobby Cruise revealed why Green’s eligibility was never up for debate in the first place. Replying to a post on the ROH Experience Facebook page, Cruise responded to a fan that claimed Green’s status was a kayfabe story to keep her out of the ring.
According to Cruise, lead ring announcer for Ring Of Honor, Green didn’t fail a physical to get cleared because she never took one in the first place. Cruise explained the process for getting cleared by the Maryland State Athletic Commission, a group that is notoriously strict when it comes to pro wrestling rules. Cruise said ROH didn’t even try to put Green through the physical because she never would have passed it in the first place, and says ROH wasn’t trying to deceive anyone by holding her out.
Cruise’s statement is below:
“Everyday [sic] that a professional wrestler “competes” in Maryland they are required to go through a pre-match physical given by the MD State Athletic Commission. Not storyline, not kayfabe….a legit physical. No, Chelsea was not denied clearance. Why? Because we didn’t even try to put her through the physical because she would have failed because of her broken arm. Not only would Chelsea have to go through that daily physical, she would have also been required to take an “Annual Physical” given by the Commission, and that physical is more in depth. Again, she would have failed the physical so we did not bother. We knew this would come up with her appearing at Impact but the simple fact is that she couldn’t get cleared for us in Maryland. Different states, different rules. I hope this clears this up as ROH was in no way trying to pull a fast one with a storyline.
Read More: Chelsea Green Explains How ROH Arrival Worked Out In The ‘Most Perfect And Magical Way’
The Maryland State Athletic Commission still has authority over ROH’s events in Baltimore, but Tennessee doesn’t have a sanctioning body to worry about. Green took to the latest episode of her Green With Envy podcast and explained how it was a lot easier to make it work at Slammiversary because there’s no commission that needed to clear her.
“Slammiversary was in Tennessee, and they don’t have a health commission, so a health commission can’t ban me from wrestling with a broken arm. See what I mean? So, I fucking did it. YOLO, right? Obviously, last week I was upset that I couldn’t wrestle for Ring Of Honor in the Women’s Championship Tournament but I understood why. The Maryland [State Athletic Commission] wasn’t having it,” Green stated, “but Nashville, however, it is balls to the wall. We were good to go, so I took the opportunity and we ran with it, cast and all.”
Read Green’s full comments about her IMPACT return and wrestling with a cast, as well as working with Tenille Dashwood, at this link.