Ex-WWE Star Details How Chyna Felt About Triple H-Stephanie McMahon Dating
Chyna was forced out of WWE due to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon according to a former WWE Superstar who claims Vince McMahon fired her to protect his daughter.
In 1997, Joanie Laurer appeared on WWE Television for the first time under the name Chyna. Billed as the Ninth Wonder of the World, Chyna was the on-screen bodyguard for Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
Soon the pair would join forces with Shawn Michaels and Rick Rude to form D-Generation X and go on to become the leading faction during the Attitude Era.
In October 1999 Chyna became the first female to secure the WWE Intercontinental Championship, defeating Jeff Jarrett. Chyna would go on to gain further in-ring success due to feuds with Chris Jericho and Hardcore Holly.
But during her WWE career, Chyna and Triple H did not just have an on-screen partnership they were in fact dating. Something that came to an end in early 2001 after she found out that Triple H had begun an intimate relationship with Stephanie McMahon.
Terri Runnels worked closely with Chyna throughout her WWE career and also had experience of being in a relationship with a wrestler as Runnels was married (and divorced) to Dustin Runnels, then known to WWE fans as Goldust.
Runnels was a part of WWE from 1996 to 2004, experiencing first hand the changes backstage between the future Chief Content Officer and former Brand Officer.
The WWE legend appeared as a guest on Monte & The Pharaoh to discuss her career and opened up about how Vince McMahon fired Chyna to stop her from beating up Stephanie McMahon after she had found out that Stephanie had started a relationship with Triple H.
“We were in a locker room together, just she [Chyna] and I. I said, ‘What the f**k?’ She goes, ‘Yeah, he’s been f***ing Stephanie, and I told Vince I was gonna f***ing kill her.’ She goes, ‘That’s why I don’t have a job anymore.'”
“She believed with every ounce of her being that she was gonna be his wife and she was gonna be the top dog in our business, and then in one fell swoop she found out that he was f***ing Stephanie, and her world went from 100 percent, ‘Everything’s going to be great going forward,’ to, ‘Holy f***ing s**t, what do I do?'”
Chyna was released from WWE in 2001 despite huge success and never returned. In 2019, Chyna was inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame as part of D-generation X and remains the only female to ever hold the Intercontinental Championship, lifting the title twice.
New Brutality As Rhea Ripley Showcases Inner Chyna
Chyna laid down a path few will be able to follow but her work in putting women front and center of professional wrestling opened up opportunities for todays talent to embrace.
Rhea Ripley has been compared to Chyna due to her physicality, look and for stepping in front of male Superstars during her time with the Judgment Day.
Following the successful defense of her WWE Women’s World Championship at Payback, fans will wonder who Mami could face next.
Both Ripley and Dominik Mysterio play tribute to Eddie Guerrero in matches and it appears Rhea Ripley has paid homage to Chyna in her overall style, and with such a dominant year across the women’s division there could be a possibility of seeing Ripley step in the ring with male opponents.
H/t to Sportskeeda