Jim Ross Reveals Chyna Wanted To Be Paid Like Top WWE Star
Jim Ross has named the top WWE star that Chyna would mention when she talked about wanting to be paid more.
During her WWE career that started in 1997 as a bodyguard for Hunter Hearst Helmsley (Triple H), Chyna was a history maker that was the first woman to enter a Royal Rumble match, the first woman to be the Intercontinental Champion, and also one of the most dominant Women’s Champions ever that never lost the title.
Jim Ross is a WWE Hall of Fame announcer that was also the EVP of Talent Relations for many years, including the much-celebrated Attitude Era that she was a part of.
In 2001, it became well-known that Triple H had started dating Stephanie McMahon after being with Chyna (Joanie Laurer) for several years. Joanie didn’t take it well, then when her contract was up in 2001, she apparently made some big contract demands that Ross has discussed many times in the past.
On a recent episode of his Grilling JR podcast covering Judgment Day 2003, Jim Ross spoke about having issues trying to make a deal with Chyna in 2001.
“I had a lot of issues trying to negotiate a contract with Chyna. Chyna was demanding that she make the same money as (Steve) Austin. I thought that might have been a little far-fetched. That ended up being the straw that broke the camel’s back, if you will. It’s just that you’re not gonna get a $1 million guarantee, and she didn’t understand why.”
“She actually thought she was a bigger star than Austin. Because she was female, and had that advantage, uniqueness, and a one-of-a-kind deal.”
Chyna passed away in 2016 at the age of 46. Three years later in 2019, WWE inducted her into their Hall of Fame along with the rest of the D-Generation X group.