chyna

Wrestling career

Joanie Laurer trained at Wladek "Killer" Kowalski's wrestling school in Salem, Massachusetts, where she briefly dated Perry "Saturn" Satullo. She debuted in 1995 and worked for various independent promotions as Just Joanie and Joanie Lee. Her career reached new heights when she met World Wrestling Federation employees Hunter Hearst Helmsley (Triple H) and Shawn Michaels in a bar in 1997. Struck by her appearance, they helped her get into the WWF. She made her WWF debut on February 17, 1997 at the Pay-Per-View In Your House. Her original role was as Chyna, the laconic bodyguard of D-Generation X, often getting physically involved in Triple H's matches.

The day after the 1999 Royal Rumble, Laurer turned heel by betraying Triple H and aligning herself with his enemy Vince McMahon and especially with the man that would face Triple H at Wrestlemania XV; Kane. She was a thorn in the side of Triple H until he too joined McMahon's stable at WrestleMania XV. The duo became part of The Corporation, and later Shane McMahon's Corporate Ministry, feuding with heroes and anti-heroes such as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Kane, X-Pac and The Rock.

In late 1999, Laurer became a face again she had a long feud with Jeff Jarrett, at Unforgiven 1999 she had a match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship but lost by DQ the next night Chyna & Debra took on Jeff and Tom Pichard for a re-match at No Mercy Chyna and Debra won and Chyna was awarded her rematch for the Intercontinental Championship, allying with The Kat and feuding with Jeff Jarrett over the WWF Intercontinental Championship. She defeated Jarrett for the title in his last WWF match on October 17, 1999 at No Mercy, in the process becoming the first and only woman to win the Intercontinental Championship. She claims that Jarrett demanded (and received) $250,000 from Vince McMahon in order to lose the title cleanly to a woman (his contract had expired on October 16, 1999 and he was therefore not contractually obligated to appear on the pay-per-view. If he had not appeared, the WWF would have been criticised for false advertising, and the lineage of the title would have been broken). Laurer would go on to hold the title two more times.

In 2000, Laurer briefly teamed with Chris Jericho before becoming the on-screen girlfriend of Eddie Guerrero. Guerrero and Laurer became very popular during the summer of 2000, with Guerrero dubbing her his "Mamacita". They split in the autumn of 2000 after Eddie was found cavorting in the shower with two of The Godfather's "hos", Mandy and Victoria. At the same time, Laurer's appearance in Playboy attracted the unwanted attention of Right to Censor, a strait-laced group of wrestlers who lampooned the Parents Television Council. Laurer was announced as injured after a vicious double team piledriver at the hands of Ivory and Val Venis.

Laurer returned a few weeks later and began a feud with Ivory over the WWF Women's Championship. This culminated in an angle at the 2001 Royal Rumble where Laurer appeared to re-injure her neck while performing a handspring back elbow. In order to sell the injury, color commentator Jerry Lawler left the commentators' booth and entered the ring to check on Laurer's condition, something he had not done since the in-ring accident in 1999 that killed Owen Hart. The highly publicized return of Laurer from the "injury" culminated in her winning the Women's Championship from Ivory at WrestleMania X-Seven in a squash match.

Laurer was an extremely dominant champion, defeating challengers Lita and Trish Stratus with little problem. However, during her contract re-negotiations, Laurer was unhappy with the pay she was offered and the fact that she was expected to compete principally in the women's division rather than against men. It was also rumored that the relationship between Triple H, her former boyfriend, and Stephanie McMahon, with whom Laurer claims he had an affair then left Laurer for, was a factor in her departure. She left the company on November 30, 2001, several months after negotiations had broken down and she had been taken off television.

Laurer's in-ring career since then has been very limited. She has sung and wrestled at a Ultimate Pro Wrestling event, and was scheduled to appear on a talk show hosted by Jonny Fairplay on a Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) pay-per-view, but did not appear, supposedly due to a dispute over travel costs. It was later revealed Laurer had told organizers that she would not wrestle at the event and so she was not informed of plans to have her wrestle Fairplay, which Laurer had refused to do previously. She also made several appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling and in a celebrity boxing tournament.

• Jackknife Powerbomb (release powerbomb)
• Pedigree (double underhook facebuster)
• Sleeper slam
• DDT
• Gorilla press slam
• Handspring back elbow
• Kneeling low blow (from behind)
• Testicular claw

Wrestlers Managed

• Shawn Michaels
• Triple H
• Billy Gunn
• X-Pac
• Shane McMahon
• Kane
• Eddie Guerrero
• Chris Jericho
• The Kat
• Debra (3 Weeks)

Modeling and acting career

Laurer has modeled nude, notably for Playboy; the first issue which featured a pictorial of her was one of the ten best selling issues in the magazine's history. In 2002, following her departure from WWF/WWE, Laurer also appeared in a Playboy Adult documentary, entitled "Joanie Laurer Nude", with the sub-title "Wrestling Superstar to Warrior Princess", the documentary followed Joanie on-set of her second Playboy nude pictorial.

In her top selling autobiography, If They Only Knew, Laurer revealed that her breast implants were custom made after she complained to her plastic surgeon that their largest implants didn't suit her frame in the way she desired. Laurer's custom implants became the model for the Chyna 2000s, a model of breast implant marketed to large framed women and female bodybuilders. Later in the book, Laurer revealed that the structural integrity of the Chyna 2000 prototypes was relatively weak, and that one of them ruptured during a wrestling match, necessitating surgery.

Since 2003, Laurer has carried on a love-hate relationship with wrestler Sean Waltman (X-Pac / Syxx / Syxx-Pac). They were engaged for a period in 2003, then broke up, then became engaged again, a pattern which continued for the next two years. In 2004, it was claimed that Laurer and Waltman made a sex tape during a vacation to China earlier that year but Laurer did not go to China with Waltman. Eager for a repeat success, the company that released Paris Hilton's celebrity sex tape obtained the footage, edited it, and released it under the name 1 Night in China. The video sold over 40,000 copies.

Laurer admitted to making the tape but said Sean did the tape behind her back. It later became clear Laurer wanted nothing to do with the material. To this date, she has never accepted money from the sale of the sex tape.

Laurer has made numerous guest appearances on television series, including 3rd Rock from the Sun, Pacific Blue, Relic Hunter, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Tracker, and Fear Factor. She also boxed Joey Buttafuoco on a Celebrity Boxing special (Buttafuoco won the decision) and auditioned for the role of the female Terminator in Terminator 3. Internet rumors claimed that Arnold Schwarzenegger personally endorsed Laurer. In the end, the part was awarded to Kristanna Loken. Laurer has appeared in a TV series called "Tracker" in which she played the role of an alien fugitive and thoroughly beat up the main character. She also appeared in a Touchstone picture called Frank McKlusky C.I..

She also appeared on the celebrity game show, Hollywood Squares where she was introduced as 'Joanie Lauerer' of New Japan Wrestling.

In March 2005, Laurer re-appeared on The Howard Stern show, where Howard noted that not only did Laurer look better, but her entire general appearance and attitude was much better. In late 2005, Laurer signed to star in a new movie entitled Illegal Aliens.

In April 2006, Laurer went out to Vegas to film for a new VH1 TV series called Fame Games which debuts in the fall and has done promotional work for her new movie Illegal Aliens which comes out in theaters on September 15. Joanie is currently working on her next film project with Faye Dunaway called Cougar Club according to alivingwonder.com.

In August 31st of 2006, Chyna appeared in the Jimmy Kimmel Show as a singing barber singing with three other veterans, her face appeared a little bit bigger than before during her appearance.

Chyna can also be seen at tomgreen.com as a frequent guest and also on the ondemand section.

Movies

• Chyna Fitness" (2000)
• Alien Fury: Countdown to Invasion (2000)
• Frank McKlusky, C.I. (2002)
• On the Line" (2002)
• Joanie Laurer Warrior Princess" (2002)
• Hunter: Back in Force (2003)
• 1 Night in China (2004)
• Just Another Romantic Wrestling Comedy (2005)
• Illegal Aliens (2006)
• The Last Guy on Earth (2006) (post production)
• Cougar Club (2006) (production)

Championships and accomplishments

Joanie Laurer is the only woman to have held the WWF Intercontinental Championship (which she held three times), and the first woman to compete in the Royal Rumble match and King of the Ring tournament. She is also the first woman to become the #1 Contender to the WWF Championship, though she lost that title before she could get a match.

Before joining the World Wrestling Federation, Laurer held the International Wrestling Federation Women's Championship.

Chyna first won the Intercontinental Championship on October 17, 1999 when she defeated Jeff Jarrett in a Good Housekeeping match at No Mercy 1999. Her first reign ended when she lost to Chris Jericho at Armageddon 1999 on December 12, 1999. Her second Intercontinental Championship reign was disputed. The title was held jointly between Chyna and Chris Jericho after an unresolved match on RAW is WAR on January 3, 2000 until Jericho regained complete claim of the title in a triple threat match between Chyna, Jericho, and Hardcore Holly on January 23 at the 2000 Royal Rumble. Her third and final reign began on August 27, 2000 when she pinned Trish Stratus in an intergender tag team match pitting her and Eddie Guerrero against Stratus and defending champion Val Venis on August 27 at SummerSlam 2000. She lost the title to Guerrero on RAW is WAR in a triple threat match with Kurt Angle on September 5, 2000.

Chyna's only reign as WWF Women's Champion came after she defeated Ivory at WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1, 2001. She successfully defended the title until she left the promotion later that year following a contract dispute, vacating the title in the process.

Trivia

• Has size 10 feet - says she gets complimented on them a lot.
• Chyna is the only female in WWE History to win the Intercontinental Championship and have an undefeated reign as WWE Women's Champion.
• To this day, Chyna keeps a close friendship with Surreal Life castmate Adrianne Curry.

Books

• Chyna: If They Only Knew, Harper Collins, New York, 2001 ISBN 0-00-712765-0

References

• Joanie Laurer at Gerweck.net
• Joanie Laurer at ObsessedWithWrestling.com
• Joanie Laurer at alivingwonder.com

External links

• WWE DX member profile
• Joanie Laurer at the Internet Movie Database
• Rotten Library's article (NSFW)