10 Things You Didn't Know About Chyna

6. Her First Match Was Against A Man In Drag

Chyna Women's Champion
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Laurer's first official match came in 1995, and she was billed as Joanie Lee. In a harbinger of things to come, her first opponent wasn't a woman but a chap, a chap dolled up in drag nonetheless. Not much is known about the match, her opponent or what the outcome of this legendary battle was, but the story has stuck over the years to the point where it may as well be gospel now.

Still using the Joanie Lee name, Laurer did the rounds on the independent circuit, with the legendary Fabulous Moolah arranging a lot of the matches. Laurer experienced a decent amount of success immediately, being voted the PGWA 'Rookie of the Year' for 1996.

It was at an independent show that she met Triple H and Shawn Michaels. The duo saw some tapes of her matches, and recommended bringing her in to Vince McMahon. The Chairman of the Board wasn't particularly enthused by the idea in the first place however.

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Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.