WWE: The 'Ninth wonder' that never was

Chyna (right)

Wrestling has always been a men’s ‘sport’. Till the late 90s, women hadn’t really found a place for themselves in a business which was completely male dominated. Although there were few women wrestlers in the wrestling circuit, no one ever made it to the higher ranks.

Moolah, Medusa and Miss Elizabeth were probably the most known females at the time, with people of the idea that a woman should be like Miss Elizabeth; classy, and a true lady in every sense of the word. Many of us who grew up watching Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth couldn’t help but fall in love with her, with her gentle smile and her grace. She was the face of women in wrestling at that point of time.

In my last article, I had mentioned how wrestling has its own upsides. You have guys who are genuinely the best people to know, and the best people to interact with. Wrestling business always followed one rule – no matter who you are, if you paid your dues, you’d get your chance to shine in the spotlight. Many guys had toiled for years for their 15 minutes of fame, and it was worth it.

The business in itself commands respect, and has rich history and heritage. And when you’re in this business long enough, you find yourself admired by millions of fans worldwide, and everything you do or say is followed, for good or bad. That’s why being a role model is hard, and coming from a business which is often seen as a taboo, it only gets harder.

There are people who had made their careers in this business, but weren’t as lucky as the others. Most of the times, people only see the good in something, and in this case, the good in the business. I had once written about ‘Drugs, lies and death’ in professional wrestling. The person I’m writing about now is one of the victims, and not in the most common way. When you’ve made a name for yourself in the industry, you have to make sure you don’t ruin your reputation.

Wrestling business is unforgiving at times, and when you make a mess out of your personal life, you cannot be given another chance, as you are the person a lot of people look up to. And when you have made a terrible choice, that becomes the end of the line. Although in this case, you cannot help but feel bad for this person, and for once, might think she deserved better from the business.

Joan Laurer, better known, and now legally known as ‘Chyna’, gained fame in the World Wrestling Federation. She caused huge ripples when she made her debut in the WWF, with her frame and build, which was unheard of in the WWF.

Billed as the ‘Ninth wonder of the World’, she gained instant fame by becoming a part of the original DX, alongside HHH and Shawn Michaels, along with Rick Rude (Who left soon after the Montreal Screwjob and bashed HHH and HBK for doing a horrible deed to a fellow wrestler). What set her apart from the rest was her incredible strength, as she would even take on the male wrestlers and win!

She also held the Intercontinental title, along with the WWF Women’s title. She was also the only woman in the history of WWE to have held the Intercontinental title, and was the first woman entrant in the Royal Rumble. Other than that, she had victories over guys like Chris Jericho, and was undoubtedly the dominant female in the WWF. So what happened that made the business the villain, and her the victim? The answer is quite complicated.

Chyna now is a mess. Apart from her drug problem, which was sensationalized after she slurred her words on the Howard Stern Show, she is now in the movie business. Now, I have nothing against the movie profession. Who are we to condemn it, when we’re the ones who keep watching it? No, my problem is the reason why she got into the business in the first place.

Going back, she posed without clothes for Playboy when she was still with the WWF, but after she left, she made a sex tape with Sean Waltman, a.k.a X-Pac, and since then went into a downward spiral, breaking off engagement on more than one occasion, releasing another sex tape before entering into the adult business completely. This doesn’t portray a woman who needs to be in the public eyes in one way or the other, to be mattered. The problem is way deeper, and possibly stems from the business that made her the star she was.

Adding to this, her twitter rants when she was drunk, did not help her getting back to her senses; and in spite of having a second chance when TNA brought her in for a couple of shows, she couldn’t capitalize on it, and they had to part ways with her because of her new sex tape. The answer to all of this, is sadly the wrestling business. When Chyna made her way into the WWF, she was in a relationship with Paul Levesque, a.k.a HHH.

They were in a relationship for more than 3 years, when HHH started having an affair with the boss’s daughter, Stephanie McMahon. This virtually led to her quitting the WWF, and the wrestling business. Sadly, sometimes the past haunts us, no matter what we try to do, and the case was same with Chyna. One can only hope that her story won’t end up like Sensational Sherri’s, for the wrestling industry will also have a role to play in the outcome.