Chyna

For the river, see Chyna (river). For other uses, see Chynna and China (disambiguation).

Chyna
Chyna smiling at event wearing clear star necklace
Chyna at the 2007 Scream Awards
Born
Joan Marie Laurer

(1969-12-27)December 27, 1969
Rochester, New York, U.S.
DiedApril 17, 2016(2016-04-17) (aged 46)
Redondo Beach, California, U.S.
Resting placeAshes scattered into the Pacific Ocean[1][2]
Alma materUniversity of Tampa
Occupations
  • Professional wrestler
  • glamour model
  • actress
  • bodybuilder
Partners
Ring name(s)
Billed height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[4][5][6]
Billed weight200 lb (91 kg)[3]
Billed fromLondonderry, New Hampshire[7]
Trained byKiller Kowalski[3][8]
Inoki Dojo
Debut1995[3][9]
Retired2011
Signature

Chyna[10] (born Joan Marie Laurer; December 27, 1969 – April 17, 2016) was an American professional wrestler, fitness model, bodybuilder, actress, adult actress and television personality.

She first rose to prominence in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)) in 1997, where she was billed as "The Ninth Wonder of the World"[11] (André the Giant was already billed as the eighth). A founding member of the stable D-Generation X as the promotion's first female enforcer, she held the WWF Intercontinental Championship (the only female performer they wrote to do so) twice and the WWF Women's Championship once.[6] She was also the first woman to participate in the Royal Rumble match and King of the Ring tournament, in addition to becoming number one contender to the WWF Championship.[12] She is considered one of the biggest stars of the Attitude Era.[13] With singles victories over several prominent male wrestlers – including multiple-time world champions Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho and Jeff Jarrett[14] – she left what WWE called "a lasting legacy as the most dominant female competitor of all time".[12] After leaving the WWF in 2001, she wrestled sporadically, with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in 2002 and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 2011. The latter was her final appearance in the ring.

Outside of wrestling, Chyna appeared in Playboy magazine twice, plus numerous television shows and films. She was considered a sex symbol. In 2005, she was a cast member on VH1's The Surreal Life, which led to several other celebrity reality appearances on the network, including The Surreal Life: Fame Games in 2007 and Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2008. Chyna was also known for her tumultuous relationship with fellow wrestler Sean Waltman, with whom she made a sex tape released commercially in 2004 as 1 Night in China, which won a 2006 AVN Award for Best-Selling Title. She starred in a further five pornographic titles, including AVN's 2012 Best Celebrity Sex Tape, Backdoor to Chyna.

In 2019, Chyna was posthumously entered into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of D-Generation X, making her the first woman to be inducted as a part of a group or team.[15]

  1. ^ "After a long day & little planning this lackluster memorial. Here is the urn and picture with candlelight #ChynaLives". June 23, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2018 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Jessica, Schladebeck (November 20, 2016). "SEE IT: WWE star and Playboy model Chyna's ashes scattered at sea". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Cagematch profile". Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  4. ^ Laurer, Joanie. If They Only Knew, 5–6.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference fit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b "Chyna". WWE. 2016. Archived from the original on May 9, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  7. ^ Shields, Brian (2009). World Wrestling Entertainment Encyclopedia. Indianapolis: Dorling Kindersley. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-4053-4760-0.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference only145 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference only184 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Copy of Name Change Document" (PDF). November 7, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2007.
  11. ^ Gunier, Robert (November 29, 2022). "Is The Modern Day Chyna Moniker Accurate For WWE's Rhea Ripley?". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Top 25 Most Impactful Women: Chyna". WWE. Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  13. ^ "10 Wrestlers with the Best Claim to be on the Mount Rushmore of the WWE Attitude Era". July 15, 2022.
  14. ^ "Chyna: Profile & Match Listing". The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  15. ^ Solowrestling (February 18, 2019). "D-Generation X, primer nominado al WWE Hall Of Fame 2019". solowrestling.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2019.