She was only with the then-World Wrestling Federation for 4 years (1997-2001), but Chyna made a lasting impression. She became the first (and so far, only) woman to hold the Intercontinental title, defeating Jeff Jarrett in 1999, then feuding with Chris Jericho over the title in the winter of 1999-2000. She can be considered the forgotten founding partner of DeGeneration X, since she was the 3rd part of that group when it was founded in 1997, having already been established as Triple H's new sidekick, and, at the time, his off-screen sweetheart. Their romance was made public thanks to an appearance on MTV's "True Life" in 1999.
However, the Cerebral Assassin was swept off his feet, in turn, by corporate heiress Stephanie McMahon, whom he married in real life in 2003, two years after he broke off his relationship with Chyna. The breakup was so bitter, the story was fodder for supermarket tabloids.
We all know what happened to Chyna after that. Quietly released in the summer of 2001 while still women's champion, she wrestled in Japan, began appearing in adult films, including a sex-tape with then-beau Sean "X-Pac/Syxx" Waltman, and wrestled her final match with TNA in 2011, teaming with Kurt Angle to defeat Jeff & Karen Jarrett. It seemed so fitting. Two of Chyna's signature matches involved Jarrett. One wonders if there was any legit heat between them off-stage. I guess we'll never know.
Away from the ring, Chyna began pursuing an acting career, and landed a supporting role on NBC's "3rd Rock From the Sun", an endorsement deal with Stacker 2, and a UPN TV-movie, all in the space of a couple of years. The heat between Chyna and the McMahons was such that anytime DX reunited in the last decade, it felt incomplete, as if the 9th Wonder of the World, wrestling's answer to Wonder Woman, if you will, had been excised from the WWE history books. The early fame she gained with DX led to a pair of comic books from Chaos! Comics---both were 1 shot specials---that put her in scenarios similar to Wonder Woman.
Now, in passing, and this comes as no surprise, WWE is acknowledging her contributions to the company's history, so a posthumous induction in the Hall of Fame is likely down the line. One wonders, though, how long it would take. It took less than six months after his passing for Eddie Guerrero to go in, for example. On the other hand, despite the pleas of what fans he has left, it doesn't look like Chris Benoit would ever be enshrined as long as Vince McMahon is running things. Owen Hart? There's still some heat between his family and McMahon, so it requires another Triple H miracle intervention for Owen to join his brother, Bret, and his late father, Stu.
Chyna's personal demons, if you will, had a lot to do with her career being cut short. If Tammy Sytch, aka Sunny, can be considered "The Original Diva" of the modern era, despite similar issues, then Chyna raised the bar. Sytch is in the Hall of Fame. It's a matter of time before Chyna joins her. And so her story will reach its final chapter.
