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Another Former Wrestler is Dead

News of music star Prince’s death rocked the world yesterday, and rightfully so, as an icon of the industry is now gone. Earlier in the day, however, reports were already coming in that former WWE star Chyna, whose real name was Joan Marie Laurer, had died.

Sadly, her death is too often a side of pro wrestling and her sudden exit from the business is still a major part of speculation between fans. Laurer’s went from the top of the wrestling world to working in adult films to posting rambling YouTube videos about vitamins and being a vegan.

At one time, Laurer was one of the biggest stars in the WWE. Then known as the WWF before a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund forced the name change. She rose to fame during the “Monday Night Wars” between the WWE and now defunct WCW.

Laurer, from Rochester, N.Y., began her professional wrestling career after working as a model and bodybuilder. She started, as most wrestlers do, on the independent circuit before meeting wrestlers Paul Levesque, better known as Triple H, and Shawn Hickenbottom, better known as Shawn Michaels.

Both Levesque and Hickenbottom were members of a group of wrestlers known backstage as “The Kliq” with Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman.

Laurer’s trainer, “Killer Kowalski,” also introduced her to the son of WWE owner Vince McMahon. She chose to join the WWE over WCW and, according to Laurer, a chance to join the NWO, whose members included Nash and Hall.

When she joined the WWE, she was paired with Triple H and Michaels when the duo started their stable called D-generation X, but she mainly played the role of Triple H’s bodyguard. Laurer was also billed as the “Ninth Wonder of the World” because Andre the Giant was billed as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” She stayed with DX after Michaels left the company due to back problems.

During her time with DX, she and Triple H began to have a romantic relationship in their real lives outside the ring. This relationship would later be a factor in her decision to leave the company.

Laurer broke several barriers for women in professional wrestling. She often fought against male wrestlers, and she also scored victories over the likes of Chris Jericho, Triple H, Jeff Jarrett and Kurt Angle, all of whom went on to become world champions.

She became the first woman to compete in the “King of the Ring” Tournament and the “Royal Rumble.” She is also the only woman to win the Intercontinental Championship. Laurer and Triple H split on-screen in 1999, and a year later, the couple separated in real life, with Laurer claiming that he had cheated on her with Stephanie McMahon, Vince’s daughter, before the two officially broke things off.

Triple H went on to later marry Stephanie and has since become an executive in the WWE. Laurer left the WWE in 2001, though both sides dispute the actual reasons behind her departure.

Former WWE employee Jim Ross said that Laurer decided to leave over personal issues, while Laurer claimed that she was fired by fax because of the relationship between Stephanie and Triple H.

She had a brief stay in New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2002 and then disappeared until a brief stop in TNA Wrestling in 2011, which was her final appearance in the ring.

After the breakup with Triple H, Laurer began a turbulent relationship fellow wrestler Sean Waltman. Laurer was arrested for attacking Waltman in 2005, and the couple would break up and get back together on and off until the relationship permanently ended shortly after her arrest.

Waltman had substance-abuse problems while wrestling, while Laurer began to have problems after leaving the WWE. In 2005, the New York Post reported that she stripped down and jumped into a fish tank at a New York nightclub. She then appeared on “The Howard Stern Show” admitting to drug abuse and slurring her words.

Laurer made television-film appearances during her time in WWE and also joined reality TV, including on “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.” She also posed nude twice for Playboy.

While with Waltman, the two made a sex tape that was later released as an adult film, though Laurer claims she never got paid for the film. She also briefly went into the adult-film industry, which is believed to be the reason that she is not included in the WWE Hall of Fame. She appeared in six films, including the film made with Waltman.

Meteoric rises and falls like Laurer’s are nothing new to professional wrestling. The pro wrestling industry has left a trail of shattered lives and dead wrestlers since the 1980s.

On Sunday, Laurer posted a 13-minute video, in which she spent the first minute just drinking juice and water, and then went on to ramble and become incoherent at times.

After a few days of Laurer not answering her phone, a friend found the former “Ninth Wonder of the World” dead in her home at the age of 45.

Police don’t expect foul play and believe the former WWE star died of an overdose.

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