Alright, let’s talk about this Chyna girl, the wrestler. I saw her on TV once, that big ol’ gal, strong as an ox, I tell ya. Heard folks talkin’ ’bout her before and after, like she was two different people. Well, lemme tell ya what I know, pieced together from what I heard and seen, mind ya, I ain’t no expert or nothin’.
Before Chyna was Chyna, she was just Joan Laurer, somethin’ like that. A regular gal, I reckon. Lived in some place called Rochester, then started workin’ out in a gym, pumpin’ iron, gettin’ all muscly. Said she wanted to be somethin’, an entertainer, they call it. Started dancin’, wiggling her belly, then showin’ off her muscles in them fitness shows. But that ain’t where she made her mark, no sirree.
She found her way into that wrestlin’ world, that rough and tumble business where they pretend to beat each other up. That’s where she became Chyna. And let me tell ya, she was somethin’ else. Big and strong, she was, not like them other girly wrestlers. She wrestled with the men, she did, and held her own, too. Won a big ol’ belt, they called it the IC title. First woman to do it, they say. Folks were shocked, I tell ya, a woman wrestlin’ with the men and beatin’ ’em. She was tough as nails, that Chyna.
- She started as a belly dancer.
- Then she got into fitness competitions.
- Finally, she found her calling in professional wrestling.
Now, they say she was good, real good. A pioneer, they call it. Did things no other woman wrestler had done before. She was strong, she was tough, and she wasn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with the fellas. Folks loved her, cheered for her, but that wrestlin’ world, it’s a hard life, I hear. Lots of travelin’, lots of pain, lots of pressure.
But then somethin’ changed, somethin’ went wrong. I don’t know all the details, mind ya, just bits and pieces I picked up. Seems like she had some troubles, relationship problems, maybe. Heard somethin’ about a fella named Triple H and another gal, Stephanie somethin’-or-other. Sounds like a mess, like them soap operas my daughter watches. Anyways, Chyna left that wrestlin’ world, and things got kinda murky after that.
Folks say she had a hard time after wrestlin’. Said she struggled with some demons, drinkin’ and pills and such. It’s a sad story, it is. All that muscle, all that strength, couldn’t save her from herself, I guess. They found her, poor thing, gone too soon. Said she took too many pills, mixed ’em with booze, and that was it. A real shame, she was so young. They cremated her, they did, and scattered her ashes in the ocean. Just like that, gone.
So, yeah, that’s what I know about Chyna. Before, she was a strong woman, a fighter, a pioneer. After…well, after, it’s just sad. A reminder, I reckon, that even the strongest folks can have their struggles. Life’s a tough business, wrestling or not, and sometimes, it just gets the better of ya. That’s all I know about that Chyna gal, God rest her soul.
Tags: Chyna, Wrestler, Before and After, Transformation, Career, Wrestling History, Tragedy, Joan Laurer
