Chyna
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The WWF Wrestler
No girlie scratching for this tough lady - she tangles with the boys (FHM)
Chyna, 25, first squeezed into a WWF leotard three years ago. Before that she was Joanne Lee, singer with The Brass Sound, a covers band that toured the clubs of the USA. She's still on the road 250 days a year, but now she's grappling the likes of The Undertaker and Sone Cold Steve Austin.
Why wrestle against men rather than women?
Women wrestlers don't do what I do. I don't roll around in my underwear. Women's wrestling is basically tits and ass, and I don't want to be involved with it. They don't train like the guys. We need to integrate women into the more exciting men's matches, have catfights, stuff like that. Before I started wrestling, I was going to become a boxer; I sparred with men because there were no women my weight - 205lb - who could box properly. I wanted someone I knew could kick my ass, so that I could get better.
Were you tough-looking when you sang in a band?
Sure! I was a big, muscular woman in an evening gown singing all these oldies. I did singing telegrams too. I've always loved entertaining people.
Were you a body builder when you were young?
I was always a big-boned girl, and I wanted to be stronger than other women. I found so many women to be weak, emotionally and physically. I lifted weights, but I consider bodybuilding to be an extremely unhealthy sport - all the extreme dieting before contests. I want to be in permanently great shape, not 30lb heavier one month than the next. I want to be awesome all year round!
How did you get into the WWF?
When I decided to wrestle, nothing could stop me. I'd go along to the contests and hassle the promoters to let me try. Then I went to wrestling school with the men - they threw me around and vice versa. I was there for two years. I trained with Killer Kowalski, a wrestling legend.
Did wrestling audiences take to you immediately?
The older men didn't like me at all, but the younger guys behind the scenes thought it was a unique idea, having me do more than just being a valet, which was all women had done before I came along. They really pushed me, but it was still a big chance we were taking. We didn't know which way it would go. Come on, how amny big women do you see on TV? And the audiences were horrible at first, really horrible.
What sort of things did the fans do?
They called me a freak, they got furious, they threw bottles and coins. There's nothing ruder than when someone spits in your face, and I got a lot of that. They's heckle and cackle and there would be riots, but see, I was playing the bad guy, which is an easy role for me, so I had to expect that kind of response.
You once considered boxing as a career - wouldn't you prefer to be doing proper, non-choreographed fighting?
I wouldn't even be tempted right now. If I was in boxing I could be earning good money, but I would be hit hard in the face every fight. I was new to boxing, but if I hit you with that left hook, you were going down - no question. But why would I want to get my face hurt? What we do is fake, if you will - it's sporting entertainment - but our bodies do take a beating. Yes, it's choreographed fighting, but when you watch a movie, you don't say, "He didn't really shoot him!"
You're 6ft tall and weigh 14-and-a-half stone. What sort of men try and pull you?
It has to be a really secure kind of guy that can be in a relationship with me. Men are extremely intimidated by me. That's okay, I encountered that even before I started wrestling because of my physical size and attributes. It's true, I have found dating difficult, because so many guys become insecure around me. Funnily enough though, I never thought of myself as a tomboy at school, even though I was big.
Chyna was first well known in pro wrestling as the valet to HHH, then known as Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
Chyna's e-mail address? Click to see!
