10 Things We Learned From VICE's Chyna Documentary

6. Who Came Up With Her Name

Chyna VICE
WWE

Many theories have been thrown out there since the 90s about why Chyna was called well...Chyna. Did someone on the WWF's writing staff struggle to spell? Was this supposed to drum up images of the vast size of the country? Was it totally random and plucked from creative services? Not quite.

Triple H and HBK were responsible.

They loved the oxymoronic feel of the moniker. To them, it'd throw fans off - the name conjured up images of a porcelain 'China Doll'. Then, when people clapped eyes on Joanie, they'd see she was anything but fragile. This clever name apparently went some way to selling Vince on Laurer's new act.

He gave Hunter and Shawn the go-ahead to bring Chyna in and present her as the former's bodyguard. That, almost inevitably given their closeness as pals behind the curtain, snowballed into a three-person dynamic (four at first with Rick Rude) as D-Generation X.

Joanie had a lot to thank Trips and Michaels for there.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.