"It's so unfortunate" – Former WWE star on the reality of Chyna's final years (Exclusive)
WWE legend Chyna passed away on April 17, 2016, at the age of 46, following an overdose of alcohol and prescription drugs. In a recent interview, former WWE Superstar EC3 gave his thoughts on The Ninth Wonder of the World's perception in wrestling before her death.
Chyna looked set to make a permanent return to wrestling in 2011 with IMPACT/TNA. However, Bruce Prichard allegedly decided that her appearance for the company should only be a one-off due to her previous adult movie roles. Former WWE writer Vince Russo also recommended the two-time Intercontinental Champion to Lucha Underground, but the suggestion was immediately dismissed.
On Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws show, EC3 expressed his feelings about Chyna being unofficially blacklisted from the industry towards the end of her life:
"Sometimes that impression you make is the one that lasts over you, and nothing that you do can get you past it. It's so unfortunate because obviously there were hard times, there were dark times that caused her to maybe go that route. To come out of that clean, healthy, happy, ready to work, and then that to be thrown back on you, there's nothing you can do about what happened in the past, and you cannot get past that past, what are you supposed to do besides regressively fall into an even darker time?" [6:36 – 7:10]
Watch the video above to hear Vince Russo explain what happened when the former WWE Women's Champion appeared in TNA.
EC3 explains how wrestlers can learn from Chyna's situation
Many up-and-coming wrestlers are willing to do whatever it takes to get to the highest level in the business. At 40 years old, EC3 is in a position where he can help younger wrestlers adopt the right mindset with regards to their careers.
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Elaborating on Chyna's story, the two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion said talents should avoid becoming too reliant on wrestling:
"I tell a lot of aspiring wrestlers, [they want to wrestle] so bad, 'This is all I want. This is my dream. I'll do anything to do this,'" EC3 stated. "And I get it, and I feel the same way, but it is so crucial and imperative for you to have something outside of this, like a group of friends, family, just something you can have that is accepting of you that you can fall back into that you're not constantly thinking about what's happening here [in wrestling], because when it's great, it's the best, but when it's bad, it's the worst." [9:43 – 10:15]
Three years after her passing, Chyna was posthumously inducted into the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame as a member of D-Generation X.
Do you agree with EC3? Let us know in the comments section below.
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