Joanie Laurer, who studied Spanish literature and trained with the Peace Corps before gaining fame as the professional wrestler Chyna and as a reality-television star, was found dead Wednesday afternoon at her home in Redondo Beach (Los Angeles County) She was 46. An autopsy was planned in the next few days.
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A statement posted Wednesday night on her website reads, “Today we lost a true icon, a real life superhero”.
After a brief stint entering fitness competitions, Chyna – real name Joanie Laurer – entered the pro wrestling business by training under the legendary ‘Killer ‘Kowalski. “She will live forever in the memories of millions of fans and all of us that loved her”.
Laurer was one of WWE’s leading attractions in the late 1990s while part of D-Generation X, grappling alongside Shawn Michaels and Triple H. Chyna also became the first woman to ever wrestle in the Royal Rumble, a marquee WWE pay-per-view event.
Chyna made a strong impact on the public consciousness by her convincing foray into a male-dominated world.
“I would bet the house that she’ll go in”, he said. She also studied foreign languages and can speak English, Spanish, German and French. Chyna’s manager said she was on prescription medication for sleep deprivation and severe anxiety, but stated he was not sure if that played a role in her death. This ushered her into her into the then-lucrative porn industry and she starred in films such as Backdoor to Chyna and the WWE-themed Chyna Is Queen of the Ring.
Professional wrestlers on Twitter expressed their sorrow at the news of Chyna’s death, E! reported.
The 45-year-old was pronounced dead days later. The Fabulous Moolah was a star in her time, but women’s wrestling all but died in WWE after the departure of Alundra Blayze, after she famously dumped the WWE Women’s Title in a garbage can on WCW Monday Nitro.
Outside of wrestling, Chyna embraced her femininity and sexuality: She appeared in “Playboy” magazine twice, and in six adult films, one of which was with fellow wrestler Sean Waltman. “Further details of the death investigation are not being released at this time”.
Near the end of 1999, Chyna became the first woman to hold the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
The unidentified friend concludes that Chyna likely died from an accidental overdose as she had “seemed under the influence” in recent weeks.
He credited her with being a pioneer for women’s wrestling and how she drew money for WWE.
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Laurer also said in her 2001 autobiography that she was raped by football players at The University of Tampa.
