Working Stiff: Wrestling's History With Playboy Magazine
Ironically, the more Chyna mixed it with the men, the more she converted into a typical WWF Diva. Extensive cosmetic surgery drastically altered Laurer's features, and despite holding titles and competing in matches designed for men, she gradually became a sex symbol like Sable before her.
The story followed an almost identical path: Chyna was approached for Playboy in November 2000, with the issue repeating the barnstorming success of the April '99 edition. And like her precursor, the attention soon got to Chyna's head.
Though she was more of an identikit 'Diva' now than ever, the 'Ninth Wonder of the World's heightened status placed her on a platform above wrestling other women - at least in her estimation. Her attitude was already proving a problem, but when ex-boyfriend Triple H - the same Hunter Hearst Helmsley who had introduced Sable to WWF viewers - began a relationship with the chief executive's daughter, Stephanie McMahon, the wallpaper couldn't be seen for the writing.
Like Sable before her, Chyna left the company, expecting opportunities to be just as prevalent beyond the difficult confines of the WWF. They were, for a time - Playboy came calling again in 2002 - before the unravelling of her personal life saw the release of a secret sex tape and her entry into the adult industry full time, as her demons began to mount up. Despite joining the business as a new symbol of powerful femininity, Chyna was ultimately shattered by its culture of exploitation.
Though their first two had left in acrimonious circumstances, so long as WWF had 'Divas', the company would enjoy a prosperous working relationship with Hugh Hefner. After the runaway success of Sable and Chyna, Vince's group began hiring women with the specific objective of putting them on the top shelf. This was wrestling merchandising brought to its most tawdry conclusion: bring them in, build them up, then pimp them out. Though the women were unquestionably objectified, the new circumstances brought unparalleled financial opportunities. There was no overt pressure to bare all - but those who would, prospered. The expectation was implicit.
Torrie Wilson became the next WWF star to appear in the pages of Playboy, rescued from the burning embers of the collapsed WCW. Her all-too familiar buxom blonde looks even coaxed Sable back into the fray, who later appeared quite literally cheek-to-cheek with Torrie in an issue of the blue paper.
From 2005 onwards, the company began to churn out unclothed centrefolds at an industrial rate. The invention of the 'Diva Search' contest finally dismantled the flimsy pretence of 'women's wrestling', giving the promotion a viable excuse for drafting in an array of beauty queens and lingerie models.
Dozens of women earned work in Stamford based on nothing but looks alone. The era of titillation over talent made lucrative careers for many an individual, but left the status of women's wrestling as a respectable contest at its lowest ebb. Equality wasn't even an illusion.
[CON'T. P7/9]