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Don't treat me like a woman |
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Joan Marie Laurer, better known as Chyna (December 27, 1969-April 20, 2016), was one of the most prominent Divas in WWE history. She is remembered for her unusual strength and for being the only female wrestler to hold an official male title; namely the Intercontinental Championship. Laurer served as a bodyguard to Hunter Hearst Helmsley and was one of the pioneer members of D Generation X.
After a brief return to TNA's Sacrifice PPV in 2011 (as Kurt Angle's mistress), Chyna returned to the adult film industry, where she made four more films before her death in 2016.
As usual, The Other Wiki has a complete rundown of her life and career.
Chyna provides examples of the following tropes:
- Amazonian Beauty
- Badass
- Bastard Girlfriend
- Bodyguard Crush: Towards Triple H back in the day.
- Brain Bleach: Her 2004 porno film, "1 Night in China". Here's a recap of the film. (NSFW warning, although the pics are [thankfully] censored)
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"Its her with a friend of mine [X-Pac], I've not seen it, and I'm not interested in seeing it. She didn't have pimples on her ass when I was dating her." — Triple H, at his appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Dec. 15, 2004 |
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- Brawn Hilda: When she first debuted.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: She is recognized as the strongest female wrestler in WWE history.
- Chickification: Many WWE fans consider her run as Eddie Guerrero's valet as such, as well as her demotion into the women's division and feud with Lita.
- Continuity Nod: Her nickname was a big one for the WWF as she was the 9th wonder of the world while Andre the Giant had been named the 8th.
- Dark Action Girl
- Girliness Upgrade: Around 2000 she started wearing more makeup and was seen in dresses more often. This eventually crossed over into her ring gear in 2001.
- Groin Attack: Chyna is notorious for doing these.
- Hot Amazon
- Huge Schoolgirl: She felt a little self-conscious about it growing up. In her autobiography, she recalls a specific event in a fitness competition. She was 5'10" and around 150 pounds at the time, while the rest of the girls were petite little things all under 5'5" and around 100-120 pounds. She recalls a wide shot they filmed with all the contestants in a row, and said she looked like an adult trying to sneak into a children's matinee.
- I Was Quite a Looker: Depends on what period you're talking about. Inverted around the time of her Playboy cover where she was at her finest, and played straight now after her excessive plastic surgery.
- It Got Worse: After her release in WWE, things kinda hit the shit for her.
- Positive Discrimination: A brilliantly done aversion. Booked on equal enough terms with the male wrestlers so that she could be considered a legitimate competitor in their division, without being a God Mode Sue.
- Progressively Prettier: Chyna when she debuted in 1997 [dead link]. Compare that to Chyna now, after the plastic surgery [dead link].
- When she debuted alongside Triple H, lots of viewers were probably thinking, "Who's that big, ugly man?"
- It should be noted that she's gone both ways with this, she started off somewhat mannish-looking, then refined her looks through plastic surgery, and becoming quite pretty, posing for Playboy and being considered very attractive. Unfortunately, she kept getting plastic surgery, and between that and losing a lot of her muscle tone (making her parts that were surgically enhanced for her muscular physique out of proportion), she's since approached what a few people have called a plastic train-wreck.
- When she debuted alongside Triple H, lots of viewers were probably thinking, "Who's that big, ugly man?"
- Rapunzel Hair: Was known for having long tumbling black hair that reached her waist.
- Red Baron: The Ninth Wonder of The World.
- Screwed By Stephanie McMahon: According to Chyna, if she's to be believed.
- Ship Tease: With Billy Gunn around 2000/2001.
- Small Name, Big Ego: She first saw signs of this in her 2001 autobiography, Chyna: If They Only Knew, and her ego became even more inflated after her 2001 release.
- Something Completely Different: The first Diva to hold a male-designated championship, and the first to regularly compete against men.
- Statuesque Stunner
- Stripperiffic
- The Stoic
- Villainous Cheekbones
- What Could Have Been: Chyna was supposed to have a WWF title shot during 1999.
- Woman in Black
- Woman Scorned
- Would Hit a Girl: Superstars were reluctant at first but she credits Stone Cold Steve Austin for kickstarting her career by making it ok for men to hit her.
- Writing Around Trademarks: After leaving the WWF in 2001, she changed her name to Chynna Doll, as the WWF owned the Chyna name at the time. After the WWE's trademark on "Chyna" expired, Joanie legally changed her name to "Chyna" in 2009.
- Also, the title of her porno film, "1 Night in China", a play on Paris Hilton's sex tape, "1 Night in Paris" (also produced by the same studio as Chyna's sex tape). To help get away with it, the producers flew X-Pac out to the Great Wall of China and interviewed him there.