10 Toxic Real-Life Wrestling Relationships

4. X-Pac & Chyna

Shawn Sunny
Fox

Sean 'X-Pac' Waltman and Chyna's romantic relationship began inauspiciously, with both dealing with spiralling drug addictions following their WWE releases in 2002 and 2001 respectively.

The duo had achieved huge success together just five years earlier as members of the white hot D-Generation-X, but had struggled to maintain footing in the industry outside of the McMahon bubble.

Their coupling was considered at the time to be an awkward situation thanks to their differing relationships with Triple H, but such indelicacies were rendered entirely moot following the shocking release of their packaged-up sex tape '1 Night In China'.

The couple approached Adult Distribution company Red Light District about the home video, which went on to shift 100,000 copies and direct Chyna towards pornography as a full time career choice. Conversely, X-Pac has spoke at length about his regrets whilst under a fog of drug and alcohol abuse, noting the film and other actions from the decade as lifelong low points.

Circumstances around the pair remained controversial after Chyna was arrested in 2005 for allegedly beating Waltman, but even after a split their affairs remained public. Following a confrontation during the 'Ninth Wonder Of The World's stint on VH1's 'Surreal Life' and numerous barbs in interviews and public appearances, their stereo descents were inexorably linked until Chyna's fatal 2016 overdose.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett