10 Wrestlers Who Broke Typecasting In The Most Epic Way

4. Chyna

Trish Stratus Then And Now
WWE.com

Spotted by Triple H and Shawn Michaels (and used by her then-boyfriend Hunter to get over altogether) Chyna's initial appeal was undeniably because she looked as if she could deck any man on the roster with ease.

Positioned against the tiny Marlena was a masterstroke in its own right at that point, but only when she moved into fighting males full time did WWE's faith in the 'Ninth Wonder Of The World' pay off.

The nickname itself was of some prestige - Andre The Giant claims the eighth wonder in wrestling circles - but Chyna's own pedigree was briefly more powerful than Triple H's untouchable finisher. The silence behind the violence of DX broke out proper in late-1999 and became the first female Intercontinental Champion.

The normalisation process was such that her brief shift to the Women's division shortly before her acrimonious 2001 exit was harder to parse than the wars she'd waged against Chris Jericho, Jeff Jarrett et al.

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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