This
past week one of the greats of professional wrestling passed away.
On
Wednesday, Joanie Laurer, known to wrestling fans around the world as
Chyna, died at the tragically young age of 45. She debuted back in
the Attitude Era as Triple H's bodyguard; was at one time in
consideration to become the first ever female World Heavyweight
Champion; actually was the only women ever to hold the
Intercontinental Champion; and, was the first of only two women to
ever appear in the Royal Rumble.
She
was a big, muscular woman (a professional bodybuilder, in fact)
working in wrestling when blonde hair and implants were basically
part of the uniform. She almost always held power in her storylines
and had dignity even when she didn't (with the exception of that...
rather uncomfortable angle with Chris Jericho). She was a part of D-X
in its most legendary form which alone makes her a major figure in
the Monday Night Wars. She competed on a level with, and even feuded
against, some of the best male wrestlers of her day. She even
competed in a few inter-gender matches that weren't horrible to
watch, even if one of them did seriously bring into question whether
WWE's bookers know how vaginas work.
Like
Trish Stratus and Lita she was one of those great female wrestlers
who was better than the women's division of their day ever deserved,
one of those who worked to elevate the form even as the industry
itself sank into valuing female competitors only for their looks.
She
was the Ninth Wonder of the World and we were privileged to have the
glimpse we got of her.
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