SLAM! Wrestling Editorial: Chyna is out of line
By JOHN F. MOLINARO -- SLAM! Wrestling
For months now, no matter where I surf on the 'Net, no matter what
newspaper or magazine I read, no matter what TV network I watch, I can't
escape the fact that Chyna is everywhere.
And while 'Chyna-mania' may be running wild across North America, it
doesn't change the simple fact that Chyna is not a wrestler. She is a
phony. A talentless fraud. She is an affront to every woman wrestler
who ever laced up a pair of boots. She represents everything that is
wrong with pro wrestling.
And still, on top of all of this, somehow, she manages to find the time
to put her foot in her mouth, on national TV no-less. To wit:
"I think Trish Stratus is a prime example to me of somebody that was
hired with no ability and I think was hired strictly because of her
looks. In my opinion Trish didn't have to pay her dues."
And with that statement made to TSN's Michael Landsberg last week on
'Off The Record', Chyna wins the Unmitigated Gall award for the year
2000.
Chyna criticizing Trish Stratus's ringwork and saying she hasn't paid
her dues in the ring is akin to The Rock knocking somebody else for
referring to themselves in the third person... or Scotty Too Hotty
badmouthing another wrestler's signature move for being stupid ... or the WCW booking team trash-talking about another
promotion's storylines for not making logical sense.
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A pre-chin job Chyna is interviewed by SLAM! Wrestling's Greg Oliver in August 1998. -- Greg Henkenhaf, Toronto Sun
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Granted Stratus sucks, but who does Chyna think she is? Ric Flair?
What dues has Chyna ever paid? What four-star matches has she ever
had? What match has she been a part of where her opponent didn't have
to carry her? If not for the political stroke of HHH, would Chyna have
such a lofty spot in the WWF hierarchy?
Sitting in the 'OTR' hot seat, Chyna questioned Stratus's credibility as
a wrestler. Throughout the interview Chyna clearly displayed she has
some axe to grind with Stratus and any other woman posing a threat to
her position in the WWF. I guess that's why she used the forum granted
to her by TSN to go off on an understated, yet sanctimonious diatribe.
Well, allow me to do the same.
Chyna is not a wrestler. She has all the in-ring skills of a tree
stump. She is totally inept in the ring. She can't wrestle her way out
of wet paper bag. She couldn't have a good match if her life depended
on it. And frankly, she has no business being in the ring or calling
herself a wrestler.
Futhermore, and as much as loyal WWF fans and faithful readers of SLAM!
may not like to hear this, I'm going to say it anyway:
Chyna wouldn't last five minutes, (no, make that three minutes) in any
of the women's promotions in Japan. She'd be outclassed and outworked
by the best female wrestlers in the world. She'd get stomped on by
women half her size. She'd get killed and would be sent packing out of
Japan, the last bastion of real women's wrestling in this world, back to
the comfy confines of the WWF.
When asked by Landsberg why she was hired, Chyna responded "because I
wouldn't take no for an answer." Under further grilling and cross
examination, she admitted that it was possible that perhaps she was
hired because of her looks, too.
So it's okay for Chyna to be hired because of her looks, but it's not okay
for the statuesque Stratus? And her rationale is because her body-type
doesn't fit into the accepted mold of what passes for the desired female
form, and because she has more of an individual, freakish look.
What kind of inane logic is that? What difference is there with what her respective
look is? The fact is both were hired because of their looks. Chyna
knocks Stratus and the other women in the WWF for striving to maintain
the 'desired' female form and physical look that most men find
attractive.
Yet, wasn't it Chyna who agreed to have plastic surgery so as to smooth
out her rough jawline and had breast implants when asked by Vince
McMahon, thus allowing her to be more easily marketed towards men?
Can't that be construed as bowing to the rules of the patriarchial world
we live in? I thought Chyna's motto is 'don't treat me like a woman'?
I guess when push came to shove, Chyna wised up and realized if she didn't want
to have the surgery done that her spot would go to someone else. She
fell in line like the other women in the WWF and yet she still has no
problem knocking them for doing whatever it takes to get ahead.
Chyna also talked about feeling like sort of like a 'martyr' and opening
doors for other women like her to follow in her footsteps.
Please. Chyna is no 'martyr'. Between shaking her cakes on TV every
Monday and baring it all for a nude pictorial in Playboy, Chyna has done more damage to women's wrestling in North
America than possibly even Sable. She has set back women's wrestling 40
years. She has added nothing to the credibility of women's wrestling.
Nothing.
Manami Toyota. Lioness Asuka. Bull Nakano. Chigusa Nagoya. Aja Kong.
They weren't sports-entertainers. They were dedicated wrestlers who
took this sport seriously. They honed their crafts to perfection in the
rings of Japan. They wrestled. They bled. They made it on their
athletic ability.
They are the real pioneers. They are the trend setters. They are the
trailblazers. They are the true 'martyrs'.
Not Chyna.
In every news article I've read or TV broadcast I've seen, WWF
front-office officials from Stamford and Toronto continually say how
nice of a person Chyna is. Everybody from Linda McMahon, Jim Ross and
Carl DeMarco have characterized her as a 'butter in your mouth', sweet
woman who never has a bad word about anybody and isn't wrapped up in the
politics of wrestling.
Well, this 'girl-next-door' proved that she's every bit the political
player in the world or pro wrestling during her OTR interview. Asked if
Stephanie McMahon has paid her dues, Chyna answered that while she
hasn't paid her dues in the ring, she's paid them all her life by
growing up in this business.
Come on! Give me a break. Anybody else see how transparent that answer
is? Chyna is politically astute. Her answer is evidence of that. She
knows enough not to say anything critical about the McMahons. Kudos to
her for learning the rules of 'the game' so quickly.
Chyna's mystique has permeated into the mainstream culture to the point
where her name is a part of everyday language. She is a testament to
the marketing genius of Vince McMahon. She is a pop culture phenomenon.
BUT she is not a wrestler. Period. Let's not make the mistake of
calling her one. Because to call Chyna a wrestler does a giant
disservice to every great woman wrestler that came before her.
And as far as her judgmental, holier than thou rantings, might I suggest
she leave that to us journalists. We're the authorities when it comes
to that.
