10 Times Ego Cost Wrestlers Everything

4. Chyna Wants “Stone Cold Money”

Shane McMahon Riddle WWE Royal Rumble 2022
WWE.com

This is a little bit different, and there are two sides to the story.

Chyna's personal life was rocked by revelations that Triple H and Stephanie McMahon had been seeing one another behind her back. This would clearly have a massive impact on anyone's mental health, but something else notable happened right before that in 1999/early-2000: Chyna asked for a pay rise.

Or, more accurately, she told Jim Ross that Vince McMahon should pay her "Stone Cold money". Steve Austin, as the biggest box office attraction in the industry at the time, was the company's biggest earner. JR scoffed at the suggestion, and said he could ask for more cash but couldn't demand the same as Austin.

Jim revealed, via his podcast, that this 100% worked against Chyna in the long run. Further, her aloofness around other women as the head of that particular division in 2001 didn't do much for Vince either. Everything fell apart for someone who once seemed to have it all.

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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.