Chelsea Green’s first televised match since winning the Interim Women’s Championship ended with the new champion eating the pin, and fans immediately ripped WWE for the decision on social media.
Green appeared on the August 7 SmackDown to celebrate the title she won five days earlier at SummerSlam, defeating Charlotte Flair, Jade Cargill, Lash Legend and Tiffany Stratton in a Ladder Match. She called Stratton to the ring for the celebration, but Fatal Influence crashed the party, setting up a last-minute WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match.
In the closing stretch, Jacy Jayne pulled Stratton off the apron. Green shoved Stratton out of the way of a Rolling Encore and took the move herself. With Tiffany down on the outside, Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid capitalized, hit the Fatal Flaw and pinned the champion.
Having the new champion take the fall days after the biggest singles win of her career did not sit well.
“Why are you making Chelsea Green eat a pin already???”
Another fan questioned how WWE expects to build its champions:
“How do you want us to care about these superstars when you pin your champions a few days after winning?”
The loss was not clean, and the post-match angle gave Green her first real threat as champion. Nia Jax and Lash Legend jumped Green and Stratton after the bell, with Jax standing over Chelsea holding the title to close the segment.
There’s also the question of what to call the title. Green officially won the championship as interim champion due to Rhea Ripley’s absence, but Joe Tessitore introduced her on SmackDown simply as “Women’s Champion,” and Green herself wore a shirt reading “Permanent Champion.” WWE, however, still uses the “Interim” designation in some of its official material.