Impact Wrestling News: Laurel Van Ness reveals origins and evolution of her character

Laurel Van Ness is pretty high on her 'Crazy Bride' character

What’s the story?

On a recent edition of the McMahonsplaining by With Spandex Podcast, Laurel Van Ness revealed the origins and evolution of her Impact Wrestling character.

Van Ness asserted that an impromptu promo at the end of one set of Impact Wrestling tapings helped her ‘Crazy Bride’ gimmick take off, following which she was allowed to portray the gimmick by management from the next set of tapings. Laurel also spoke about her character’s makeup and winning the Knockouts Championship.

In case you didn’t know…

Laurel Van Ness, whose real name is Chelsea Green, is one of Impact Wrestling’s top female stars today.

Although her ‘Crazy Bride’ gimmick in Impact Wrestling is considerably popular, Van Ness reportedly asked for her release from the promotion immediately after winning the aforementioned Knockouts title—something which is said to have been hushed up until all Impact Wrestling episodes featuring her have aired and her character is properly written off Impact’s TV storylines.

The heart of the matter

Laurel Van Ness recalled the time she was left at the altar by Braxton Sutter, as part of an Impact Wrestling storyline, following which the segment where she has an emotional breakdown was shot. Van Ness elucidated that Dutch Mantel (WWE’s Zeb Colter) urged her to enact a crazy scene portraying a jilted bride, something she did while having legitimately downed not one, but two bottles of champagne.

Van Ness added that the segment was successfully shot, and when she returned for the next set of Impact Wrestling tapings, the promotional higher-ups wanted her to present the ‘Crazy Bride’ character. Van Ness continued that she gladly accepted, and would often take inputs from a few co-performers so as to constantly push the envelope on her gimmick’s craziness. She added that her Crazy Bride gimmick has no boundaries, and the character is such that it shouldn’t be questioned irrespective of the level of unpredictable, strange stuff she does. Van Ness also spoke about her character’s makeup, stating:

"Oh my gosh, it's my favorite thing ever, (and) it's so funny, because I go in the morning and I get my makeup done. I'm looking good, I take selfies. Then they're like, 'Okay, Chelsea. You're on in three matches,' and I'm just like [smearing] makeup all over my face. My lipstick's going everywhere, and smudging my makeup.”.

Furthermore, Van Ness, a proud Canadian wrestler, emphasized how life came full circle for her as she won the prestigious Knockouts Championship in her native of Canada after several years of going through the grind in professional wrestling.

What’s next?

The vast majority of pro-wrestling experts believe that Laurel Van Ness is set to leave Impact Wrestling—the announcement of which is likely to be made over the next few days.

Author’s take

Laurel Van Ness is a very talented young woman, and is sort of a big fish in a small pond right now.

Here’s hoping Van Ness signs with a more stable promotion such as WWE or NJPW at the earliest, given the current financial problems Impact Wrestling is going through.