"She didn't want to be in the same place as her ex" - Bruce Prichard on a female superstar's WWE exit
The most recent episode of WWE Executive Director Bruce Prichard's Something to Wrestle podcast on AdFreeShows.com revolved around the King of the Ring 2001 event and all the top stories that year.
Chyna wrestled in her final WWE match against Lita at the Judgment Day 2001 pay-per-view before leaving the company. Prichard was asked about the reasons that surrounded Chyna's WWE departure. According to Prichard, Chyna did not want to be in the same company as her ex-partner Triple H.
Chyna and Triple H dated each other for almost five years before they split up in 2001. The Cerebral Assassin got into a relationship with Stephanie McMahon soon after his breakup, and Chyna must have felt that leaving WWE was in her best interests.
Prichard recalled that WWE even made an offer to Chyna, hoping that she would stay, but the former Women's Champion had made up her mind about leaving.
While Prichard suggested there could have been other reasons, he felt that Chyna's past relationship with Triple H greatly influenced her decision to quit the company.
"I just think it was a decision by Chyna at that point where she felt that she didn't want to be in the same place where her ex was, and she had the choice," Prichard explained. "She was made an offer to remain with the company, and she made her choice to go somewhere else and do something on her own.
"Her decision to do that was her own, but I don't know other than not wanting to work with the company where her ex was at the time; I think that probably influenced her decision, but only she knows that, and she is not with us anymore. That's where we were on the Chyna bit."
Chyna's impact on wrestling and her eventual WWE departure
Despite her unfortunate downfall, Chyna is considered a trailblazer in women's professional wrestling. During her heyday, the Ninth Wonder of the World changed how the masses viewed female performers, and WWE booked her in the same manner as her male counterparts.
Chyna's refusal to lose to other women and the demand for more money have been well-documented in the past. But beyond all the backstage differences, Chyna got sucked into a life of addiction and mental health issues.
She passed away in April 2016, and after years of being snubbed, was finally inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019 with D-Generation X.
If any quotes are used from this article, please credit Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling.