[6] She was also the first woman to participate in the Royal Rumble match and King of the Ring tournament, in addition to becoming number one contender to the WWF Championship.

[13] With singles victories over several prominent male wrestlers – including multiple-time world champions Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho and Jeff Jarrett[14] – she left what WWE called "a lasting legacy as the most dominant female competitor of all time".

Chyna was also known for her tumultuous relationship with fellow wrestler Sean Waltman, with whom she made a sex tape released commercially in 2004 as 1 Night in China, which won a 2006 AVN Award for Best-Selling Title.

In 2019, Chyna was posthumously entered into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of D-Generation X, making her the first woman to be inducted as a part of a group or team.

She said her first stepfather threatened suicide at one point,[16] while her biological father had a problem with alcoholism and once accidentally stabbed her mother in the thigh with a butcher knife.

[23] She originally wanted to use her knowledge of foreign languages to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation or Drug Enforcement Administration.

[26] After returning from abroad, she held several jobs: a cocktail waitress in a strip club, singer in a band, and a 900-number chat line worker.

Her original role in the promotion was as the laconic enforcer/bodyguard for D-Generation X, which was founded by Shawn Michaels and Triple H. She often helped them (then, a rising villain) cheat to win by physically interfering in matches by executing her trademark low blow to the groin.

[40] She was later given the ring name "Chyna", an intentionally ironic moniker; fine china is delicate and fragile, a sharp contrast to her character.

[63] They faced Val Venis and then-rookie Trish Stratus in an intergender tag team match at SummerSlam with the Intercontinental Championship on the line.

[73] In a 2002 interview with The Baltimore Sun, Chyna indicated that the breakup with Levesque had nothing to do with her leaving WWF, stating she left to pursue an acting career.

[73] Ross later confirmed this account, characterizing the demand for $1 million per year as "outrageous" and unrealistic, leaving WWF officials reluctant to negotiate with her despite her fan popularity.

Her first appearance was at the New Japan Thirtieth Anniversary Show, refereeing a bout between the Steiner Brothers and Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kensuke Sasaki.

[72] During the May 3, 2011, tapings of the edition of May 12 of Impact!, Chyna made her Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) debut, introduced by the returning Spike TV network consultant Mick Foley.

[82] She also filmed a Playboy adult documentary, Joanie Laurer Nude: Wrestling Superstar to Warrior Princess, which followed her on the set.

"[85] She also appeared in three epidsodes of 3rd Rock from the Sun as Janice, a police officer who briefly dated Harry Solomon, and in several commercials for Stacker.

[90] In early 2005, she debuted on The Surreal Life with housemates Da Brat, Jane Wiedlin, Adrianne Curry, Christopher Knight, Marcus Schenkenberg and Verne Troyer.

[95] Also in 2006, Laurer appeared in Just Another Romantic Wrestling Comedy and Illegal Aliens, the latter of which was the last movie featuring Anna Nicole Smith.

[94] On Cristina's Court, a syndicated court-themed reality show, Laurer appeared in an episode originally airing July 14, 2007, in a civil dispute against a breeder of teacup chihuahuas.

[105][107] On February 8, 2007, a visibly upset Laurer appeared on Larry King Live to speak about her friend Anna Nicole Smith, who had died earlier that day.

[107] That month, she made another appearance on The Howard Stern Show, where she was described as "slurring her words, contradicting herself and launching into random tangents that were impossible to follow.

Her manager Anthony Anzaldo was concerned when she did not post updates or content to her usual social media outlets for several days, and subsequently found her body in her apartment.

Among the attendees were wrestlers Melina Perez,[119] Rob Van Dam, Sean Waltman and Johnny Mantell; actors C. Thomas Howell and Barry Williams; Dennis Hof, owner of the Bunny Ranch; and singers Coolio and Baby Bash, who also performed during the memorial.

[2][123] A report of her autopsy was released in December 2016 which determined that she died on April 17 of an overdose of alcohol, combined with the anxiety drugs diazepam and nordazepam, painkillers oxycodone and oxymorphone, and sleeping aid temazepam.

[139] A short memorial article was also published on Howard Stern's official website, lamenting her death and describing her as "fan favorite [with a] great sense of humor about herself.

"[140] Columnist Mike Mooneyham of The Post and Courier stated after Chyna's death that it was "an oft-asked question" as to when she would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

[75] On February 9, 2015, during a WWE Network podcast with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Paul Levesque mentioned that Chyna deserved to be in the Hall of Fame but that her career in pornography prohibited it.

[127] In interviews shortly after her death, Levesque said that she "definitely warranted" a place in the Hall of Fame and Stephanie McMahon said she was sure Chyna would be inducted but did not know what year it would happen.

[141][142] Chyna was announced as an inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2019 on February 18, 2019, as part of D-Generation X. Levesque spoke to ESPN of the "complexities" he mentioned on the 2015 Austin podcast, but after describing her in-ring accomplishments he said she "100 percent deserves" the honor.

[144] On June 16, 2021, Vice TV aired the documentary with exclusive interviews from friends and family members and her manager Anthony Anzaldo.