There’s always some kind of history being made and each company can lay claim to just about anything as they’ve all done something at some point, but the WWE broke new ground internationally on this day in wrestling history.
On October 17, 1999 Chyna went on to be the first woman, to our knowledge, to win a major championship in a promotion by defeating her male competitor.
While ground breaking and all, there was plenty of side stories to this match.
With a little help
One of the sticking points to intergender wrestling matches is how to make it believable. Tessa Blanchard beating Brian Cage and Sami Callihan, for example, is a bit much, but there’s always a chance.
In Chyna’s case, she was as big and strong if not more so than a lot of men walking around in general, as well as some on the WWE roster. So her beating anyone aside from the top talent is believable.
But there’s always a sticking point to these things and this one came down to financials. Jarrett refused to drop the Intercontinental Championship to Chyna unless he got a nice pay day.
The reported numbers vary with some saying it cost Vince McMahon anywhere from $200k to $800k depending on who is telling the story.
Jarrett wanted the bonus money for the No Mercy Pay-per-view early, but it was also reportedly for back money McMahon owed him. Basically, it was the same story as the Ultimate Warrior.
McMahon allegedly did to them what promotors have been accused of since the beginning — skimping on an agreed payout.
There’s support for this as it’s been reported that Jeff Jarrett had no problem losing to Chyna; he just wanted what he was owed and the various PR teams allegedly did the rest.
Jarrett also wasn’t under contract and didn’t have to perform as his deal ran out the previous day, but he showed up, dropped the title, and he’d never work for the WWE again.
Making history
However it was decided, there’s no denying that Chyna had a historic night as she became the first women to win the Intercontinental Championship on an international stage.
It was her crowning moment, and she’s never really received the recognition for this or the other ground breaking she was a part of during the Attitude Era.
On this day in wrestling history, Chyna made her mark as the 9th Wonder of the World and blazed a path for others to follow.
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