10 Times WWE Wrestlers Went Into Business For Themselves

7. Chyna Gave Zero Sh*ts About The Women's Division

chyna ivory
WWE

Joanie Laurer was a trail-blazer whose influence is felt in the wrestling world to this very day.

As Chyna, Joanie became the first woman to compete in the men's Royal Rumble and the only female to have become Intercontinental Champion or enter the King of the Ring. So, when the Ninth Wonder of the World entered the then-WWF's women's division in late-2000, the intention was to use Chyna's star power to make that division feel like a bigger deal.

The former IC Champ was kayfabe lured into the division as part of her feud with Right to Censor - and, in particular, Women's Champion Ivory.

Laurer would take Ivory's prize at WrestleMania X-Seven, but it was done in a way that set the women's division back in a major way. Poor Ivory got a legit 20 seconds of early offense in (after a pre-match belt shot) before getting decimated as Chyna hit her Chynabomb finish, stopped the count at 2, then hit a Gorilla Press Slam and got the W with the most nonchalant of covers.

It made Ivory, the Women's Championship and the division look like trash. Even worse, in the aftermath of this victory, Chyna went on to beat Trish Stratus (in one minute), Molly Holly ( in two minutes), Ivory and Molly in a handicap match (in two minutes), and Lita (in a more reasonable six minutes) - before vacating the Women's Title and exiting the company, leaving a ruined women's division in her wake.

From numerous sources over the years, Joanie had no interest in competing against her fellow females. Instead of elevating those ranks, she sh*t all over the division.

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Senior Writer
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.