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One of the women who most changed the face of world pro-wrestling is undoubtedly the late Chyna, aka Joan Marie Laurer, who died in 2016 from accidental ingestion of drugs, tranquillizers and alcohol. Chyna's career in the ring is in fact one of the most memorable on a planetary level, with the girl with a mammoth physique who has in fact trod the McMahon rings for years, even competing for the most important men's titles in the federation, in an era where the Women's Revolution was still a utopia.
In her long WWF career, at one point Chyna had also become the number 1 contender for the world title then held by WWF Champion "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, with the federation's Hall of Famer refusing at the time. fight against the woman, rejecting the contest in every way.
Chyna’s final WWE year
To tell this particular anecdote, it was the historical voice of the WWF of those years, the current WWE Hall of Famer and voice of the AEW, Jim Ross, who during the last episode of his Grilling JR, in fact, told Conrad Thompson: "No, I think Stone Cold just didn't want to fight her.
Not a simple no but a sharp no. Steve was in the original trio of guys who were sitting and talking to Chyna at the beginning when this story began. I don't think they ever talked about it that much but Steve is old school enough to not do that." Although Chyna at that juncture had become the number 1 contender for the WWF title in Austin in 1999, in the end, it was Mankind who took the place of the girl in the match against the Rattlesnake, precisely at the behest of the then world champion.
It is not known for sure if Stone Cold's gesture was a gesture of chivalry, of fear or simply because a dispute against a woman did not go to the genius of the historic McMahon fighter. Ross clarified that Superstars often earned a lot more than their downside guarantee.
Chris Jericho, for example, used to have a downside guarantee of $350,000 per year, but he sometimes made up to $3 million. In April 2001, Chyna defeated Ivory at WrestleMania X-Seven to win the Women’s Championship for the first time.
Although she technically held the title until November 2001, Chyna did not compete in WWE during the last six months of her title reign. Her final WWE match came in May 2001 when she retained the Women’s Championship against Lita at Judgment Day.
