{"id":276559,"date":"2021-06-16T23:13:46","date_gmt":"2021-06-16T20:13:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/chynas-side-of-tragic-post-wwe-fall-will-finally-be-told\/"},"modified":"2021-06-16T23:13:46","modified_gmt":"2021-06-16T20:13:46","slug":"chynas-side-of-tragic-post-wwe-fall-will-finally-be-told","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/chynas-side-of-tragic-post-wwe-fall-will-finally-be-told\/","title":{"rendered":"#Chyna&#8217;s side of tragic post-WWE fall will finally be told"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Chyna&#8217;s side of tragic post-WWE fall will finally be told<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Joanie \u201cChyna\u201d Laurer\u2019s side of her story is finally getting the chance to be told.<\/p>\n<p>The new documentary about the WWE legend\u2019s rise and fall, \u201cVICE VERSA: Chyna,\u201d will air Thursday at 9 p.m. on VICE TV \u2014 the same network known for its \u201cDark Side of the Ring\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a>. The film, directed by Marah Strauch of \u201cSunshine Superman,\u201d gives a deep and emotional look into Laurer\u2019s career, upbringing and the factors that led to her life spiraling out of control before her deadly 2016 overdose at the age of 46.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of things that have come out about her in the past were from other people\u2019s point of view,\u201d Strauch said in a phone interview. \u201cSo as much as possible we really tried to use her voice, which even in this doc within a doc, people are trying to take over her voice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The film revolves around the final year of Laurer\u2019s life. The first woman to win WWE\u2019s Intercontinental championship returns to the U.S. in 2015 after three quiet years in Japan \u2014 during which she was an English teacher \u2014 with the intent to make a documentary. She and her inner circle hope \u201cThe Resurrection of Chyna\u201d will fuel a comeback and her induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"CHYNA (Documentary Trailer) | VICE VERSA\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7Z27Xng0Q6s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cChyna\u201d executive producer Daisy Hamilton was able to acquire the footage from that unreleased documentary for VICE. Included in what they were given were interviews with Lauer\u2019s manager Anthony Anzaldo and \u201cThe Resurrection of Chyna\u201d director Erik Angra that were supposed to be used in the original film.<\/p>\n<p>The VICE documentary uses it to put into context what Laurer was battling at the end of her life and it also shows members of her inner circle dealing with their own toxic issues while trying to help her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a mix of emotions because the footage can be really difficult [to watch] as well,\u201d Strauch said.<\/p>\n<p>The VICE film leans heavily into the old clips along with interviews they did with Laurer\u2019s family, close friends and wrestling colleagues, including ex-boyfriend Sean Waltman, Mick Foley and Billy Gunn.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"655\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"Chyna documentary WWE\" class=\"wp-image-18544136 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/Chyna-WWE.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/Chyna-WWE.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/Chyna-WWE.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/Chyna-WWE.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=655 655w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/Chyna-WWE.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1310 1310w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 655px\"\/><figcaption>Former WWE star Chyna at SummerSlam in 1999.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Star Tribune via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At one point during the documentary Vince Russo, WWE\u2019s head writer for most of Laurer\u2019s time with the company, says, \u201cI believe she would say, \u2018I just wanted to be loved.\u2019 That\u2019s what she was always searching for. It was the love and the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roval and the acceptance.\u201d It was a quote Strauch fought to keep in because she felt it summed up one of Laurer\u2019s lifelong struggles.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was a line that people kept wanting to take out of the film,\u201d Strauch said. \u201cI kept saying, \u2018but it\u2019s like the whole film.\u2019 I think she was a person that was an entertainer and a people pleaser and a person that really wanted to be liked and she really wanted the love and approval of pretty much everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The groundwork for that was laid in Laurer\u2019s family relationships, which the film explores through interviews with her mother, Jan LaQue, and her sister, Kathy Hamilton. LaQue talks about a time Laurer saw her father, Joseph, who LaQue says was an alcoholic and drug addict, stab LaQue with a butcher\u2019s knife.<\/p>\n<p>The two divorced early in Laurer\u2019s life, she moved in with her dad at 16 and that was the last time her mom saw her. The two were supposed to meet again in person during the final year of Laurer\u2019s life, but she died before it could happen. Hamilton believes all of it left a lasting impact on her sister because she was so young at the time. Family trauma can be an underlying factor in addiction.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Chyna&#039;s greatest moments: WWE Playlist\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dVCF4sL2VYE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThere is a lot of generational trauma that occurred and it can\u2019t be denied that she didn\u2019t have a stable foundation, and I think that\u2019s really hard when you\u2019re famous or getting all this stuff to kind of hold your own,\u201d said Strauch, who noted she pursued Laurer\u2019s family for months to get them on board.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Laurer, who was trained by Killer Kowalski, found a second family and a passion in professional wrestling. The documentary includes rare footage of her wrestling and cutting promos prior to joining WWE (then WWF) and talks about her love for entertaining. Strauch hopes it gives people a look into Laurer\u2019s young, \u201cscrappy\u201d side.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s been shown since it was taken, so it\u2019s really to me some of the most pure footage of this person that you can find,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignleft\">\n<blockquote><p>\u201cShe didn\u2019t have the stamina to have a comeback one more time, to rise above one more time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><cite>Marah Strauch on Chyna shortly before her death<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Laurer debuted in WWE as Chyna in 1997. She was the bodyguard for eventual boyfriend Paul \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trip<\/a>le H\u201d Levesque. She was known as \u201cThe Ninth Wonder of the World\u201d and became a vital member of the legendary D-Generation X faction before making a name for herself as an in-ring performer unlike anything seen before in WWE as she often wrestled the male superstars. She became the first woman to enter the Royal Rumble, a WWE women\u2019s champion and was one of a number of the company\u2019s female performers to appear in Playboy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWrestling her and wrestling guys was no different, she just hit a lot harder than guys,\u201d Gunn says in the film. \u201cShe was the main thing. She was the \u2018Stone Cold\u2019 [Steve Austin]. It was Chyna, like that was a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her contract was not renewed by WWE in 2001 after she is said to have had a meeting with Vince McMahon about Levesque\u2019s romantic relationship with McMahon\u2019s daughter Stephanie, whom he eventually married. Jim Ross, WWE\u2019s head of talent relations at the time, has said Laurer refused to sign a contract with less than a $1 million downside guarantee \u2013 believing her popularity and crossover into the mainstream was as valuable as any of the company\u2019s top male stars.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" alt=\"Chyna WWE Triple H\" class=\"wp-image-18544245 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/Chyna-WWE-Triple-H.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/Chyna-WWE-Triple-H.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/Chyna-WWE-Triple-H.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/Chyna-WWE-Triple-H.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/Chyna-WWE-Triple-H.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2000 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Chyna with then-boyfriend Triple H in 1999.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>WWE distanced itself from Laurer for many years, especially after she got into the adult entertainment industry. She was eventually inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019 along with the rest of DX and appeared as a playable character in the WWE 2K20 video <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Levesque was not interviewed for the documentary and Strauch said she did not reach out to WWE about the chance to talk to him or anyone else working for the company. In her eyes, it defeated some of the purpose of what she was trying to accomplish.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt just didn\u2019t feel like the right choice for this documentary,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause we really wanted it to be more Joanie\u2019s point of view. We would have been happy to speak to Hunter but I think more than anything it might have been difficult to get to speak to people in the WWE.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"704\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"Chyna WWE\" class=\"wp-image-18544402 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/Chyna-documentary-WWE.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/Chyna-documentary-WWE.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/Chyna-documentary-WWE.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/Chyna-documentary-WWE.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=704 704w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/Chyna-documentary-WWE.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1408 1408w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 704px\"\/><figcaption>Joanie \u2018Chyna\u2019 Laurer in 2012.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">FilmMagic<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>She did little in wrestling after WWE \u2013 outside of short runs in New Japan in 2002 and Total Nonstop Action in 2011 \u2014 and no longer had the family of co-workers around her for support. Laurer, who also did some reality TV, began to spiral and battle the drug and alcohol addiction that ultimately led to her dying from a combination of muscle relaxers, painkillers and alcohol.<\/p>\n<p>In Laurer\u2019s final interview for the original documentary, two weeks before her death, she said if she had to go back and do it again she wouldn\u2019t have wrestled. Strauch sees that as her being a contradiction because she loved wrestling, the wrestlers and her time in WWE. She had just lost the will to fight to get some of it back and needed help,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo for her to say that, I think was said in a moment where she was done, if that makes sense,\u201d she said. \u201cShe didn\u2019t have the stamina to have a comeback one more time, to rise above one more time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The film potentially gives Laurer a chance to do that with what Strauch feels is \u201cthe truth.\u201d It gives people a chance to see a new take on who Laurer is, what she accomplished and what led her down a toxic path.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s this big, strong, amazing person in the ring and then she\u2019s what people kind of portrayed as kind of a train wreck or this person that has all these demons,\u201d Strauch said. \u201cI\u2019d say that she\u2019s also just a person and a person that was super intelligent and really had a lot of strengths besides wrestling. I hope that people can kind of humanize her.\u201d\n            <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/06\/16\/chynas-side-of-tragic-post-wwe-fall-will-finally-be-told\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Chyna&#8217;s side of tragic post-WWE fall will finally be told&#8221; Joanie \u201cChyna\u201d Laurer\u2019s side of her story is finally getting the chance to be told. The new documentary about the WWE legend\u2019s rise and fall, \u201cVICE VERSA: Chyna,\u201d will air Thursday at 9 p.m. on VICE TV \u2014 the same network known for its \u201cDark&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":276560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/Obit-Chyna.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[109557,109628,65799,75757,25019],"class_list":["post-276559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-6-16-21","tag-chyna","tag-documentaries","tag-pro-wrestling","tag-wwe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}