The 62-year-old former wrestler remembered the WWE star, who tragically died in her apartment in Redondo Beach, California at the age of 45, in a sweet message on Twitter. Joanie Laurer aka Chyna, the 9th Wonder of the World has passed away.
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“Officers arrived on scene and discovered a deceased female inside the location”, Sgt. Shawn Freeman of the Redondo Beach police department said in a statement. Aside from being born in Londonderry in 1971, she also previously lived in a home in Nashua with ex-boyfriend Triple H (born Paul Levesque), also a fighter with the World Wrestling Federation.
She also appeared on programs including “3rd Rock from the Sun” and “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch”.
She also battled addiction issues, which she addressed on VH1’s Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2008. “She had a storied career with the WWF (now, WWE) and the 5’11” 180-pound Laurer often squared off against male wrestlers. No cause of death has been reported, but she did have a lengthy history of substance abuse. According to their report, there were no signs Chyna meant to die but she had been dead for a least a day. More recently she was creating popular motivational workout videos for her fans.
Chyna hamming it up at a movie awards night [Photo by Carlo Allegri/Getty Images] According to CNN, Chyna started training in the world of professional wrestling after graduating from the University of Tampa. The sheer breadth and width of the figures commenting on her passing should demonstrate the enormous impact that Chyna had on pro wrestling. She broke the barriers in wrestling and considered a pioneer in the industry. She had tried to go the store on Saturday but “didn’t quite make it there”. “The last known contact she had with anyone happened on Sunday evening”, TMZ said. By starring in a series of adult movies that, by glancing at the titles, played up her famous pro wrestling character’s name, Laurer may have sealed her fate in that regard. Because of her exploits, it was odd to see her compete against the likes of Trish Stratus, Ivory, and Lita for the Women’s Championship.
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Laurer released an autobiography in 2001 entitled “If They Only Knew”. In a conversation with The Mirror Thursday, he touched on her chances of being posthumously inducted into next year’s WWE Hall of Fame class.
