There are simply those certain kinds of people we meet or are lucky to see or hear about that stick with us for our lives. Sometimes it’s something strange and disturbing, other times it’s something or someone that’s simply so awesome we want to see them again and again. Chyna, the 9th Wonder of the World, was one that fit into the latter category, and on this day in wrestling history, April 20, 2016, we remember Chyna.
One of a kind
With the physical appearance on an Amazon and a gentle soul, Chyna symbolized a lot of things for different people. She started out in the WWE as Triple H and Shawn Michaels’ bodyguard amid rumors that Vince McMahon didn’t think anyone would believe a woman could beat up a man.
There are different versions of this story, including her reportedly being offered a spot in WCW as the nWo’s sole female member, but she signed with WWE and carved out a memorable career for herself.
In the past year, Tessa Blanchard made news for defeating Sami Calihan for the Impact World Championship and break gender boundaries in a sport that known know more for beautiful pin up woman than athletic women. And while it’s great she did that (she is a personal favorite), she wasn’t the first. In fact, the first (and this could be debated if anyone has any knowledge of another time please let us know) time a woman challenged and held a championship.
In fact, she had a few firsts in WWE. In 1999 she was the first woman to qualify for the King of the Ring tournament, and became the first woman to be the number one contender for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship before losing her spot to Mick Foley in that year’s SummerSlam.
She then began a feud with Jeff Jarrett and faced him for the WWF Intercontinental Championship at Unforgiven but lost to Jarrett. She later defeated Jarrett in his last match with the promotion at No Mercy. Later, Chyna claimed that Jarrett demanded and was paid $300,000 to lose the title cleanly to a woman.
Leaving the WWE
A lot has been made of what happened with the accepted story being she wanted more money and Vince McMahon said no and let her walk after her match against Ivory at WrestleMania 17.
According to Bruce Prichard, who filled in for Jim Ross at the meeting, and as reported by ringsidenews.com, things were a bit different than we heard about.
According to him, she wanted four times what she was making and she didn’t want to work around Stephanie McMahon and Triple H (for those that don’t know, Chyna and Triple H were a thing until Stephanie came along.), so McMahon made her a more generous offer than she would’ve received normally, but she turned it down and her contract ran out.
While she continued to work for other promotions, she never stopped being a fan favorite throughout the remainder of her life until she passed away from an accidental drug overdose.
Whenever someone leaves us, we wonder what could’ve been had things been different? Like most of us, she had her personal demons that she wasn’t able to overcome, but that doesn’t mean she’s any lesser of a person. She inspired so many during her life and career, it’s hard to imagine that stopping anytime soon. But more than her accomplishments, we remember her heart and the kindness she showed to everyone she met.
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