8 Wrestlers Who Broke All The Rules

7. Chyna - The Female Muscle

Orange Cassidy
WWE

Joanie Laurer was an undoubted trailblazer of the professional wrestling business.

As Chyna, Laurer broke down so many barriers, did things never before seen in a mainstream wrestling promotion, and most certainly smashed through plenty of the established rules of the business that were once in place.

By the time of Chyna's arrival in the then-WWF in 1997, a women's division was non-existent in the company - with the WWF Women's Championship deactivated after Alundra Blayze had famously thrown said title in the trash on the 18 December 1995 episode of WCW Nitro.

Even if that title was still in circulation in '97, it seems doubtful that Chyna would've been in contention for it. Instead, WWF utilised Joanie Laurer in a way never before seen for a female performer. Going against the established fundamentals of the industry, Chyna debuted as the ass-kicking bodyguard of one Hunter Hearst Helmsley.

Continuing to throw the rules of the business up in the air, Chyna would go on to compete in the men's Royal Rumble match, competed on a semi-regular basis against male grapplers, won the Intercontinental Championship, and was even at one point seriously talked about as beating 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin to become the WWF Champion in 1999.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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 dayjob, 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, Jamie Hayer, 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.