Vice Versa: Chyna (2021) - full transcript
The rise and fall of wrestler Joanie Chyna Laurer, whose life was cut short in 2016. Her contributions to the WWE business and her pioneering work and her gripping tale of the "comeback" starting in 2015.
Announcer:
Hello, again, everybody,
and welcome to Monday Night Raw!
We're live from the beautiful
Nashville Arena.
Mick:
I vividly recall seeing Chyna
for the first time in Tennessee.
At the time,
I was the character Mankind
and not too many people
knew what I looked like.
I'd sit out in the crowd with my
family and not get bothered
a whole lot.
Announcer: She slapped Helmsley
right in the nose!
- At a certain point of the show,
here comes, out of the crowd,
this Amazon of a woman,
and begins shaking
Terri Runnels like a rag doll.
There's that moment again!
That moment, huge moment!
Just bear-hugging Marlena
and shaking her... Man down!
I remember my wife said,
"Oh, my God.
Who is this...
Who is this woman?
Is... Is she from the crowd?
She's going to tear
Terri Runnels apart."
Who is that person?
Through the arena, I saw her
and I went, "Holy cow!
That's probably the most
impressive girl I've ever seen."
Russo:
I'll never forget
the first time I saw Joanie.
She was stunning.
That was the only word
I could think of.
Stunning.
Mick:
No one had ever seen
the likes of her before.
In my mind, we haven't seen
the likes of her since.
I've wrestled men,
I've wrestled women,
and I beat them all.
And anybody else
that steps in that ring
is going to do the same thing
because I'm going
to leave them behind me
like the trash,
I left it out yesterday morning.
♪♪
Mr. Ass:
Wrestling guys,
and then, wrestling her
was really no difference.
She just hit
a lot harder than guys.
Announcer:
And look at Chyna, now,
with a forearm to Mr. Ass.
She was the main thing.
She was the Stone Cold.
It was Chyna.
Like that was a thing.
The Ninth Wonder of the World!
Chyna!
Everyone knew who she was.
My athletic ability
and love of entertainment,
I put the two together and Chyna
became a household name.
Announcer:
The Ninth Wonder of the World
making history.
I very much see myself
as the Wonder Woman 2000.
- Oh!
- Chyna!
As a woman who takes control,
is an equal athlete
to the men that she fights.
Oh!
You kind of make it
to the top of Everest,
air's too thin,
you can't live there,
so you got to go down.
Karen: Joanie was all
about trusting people,
being loyal.
[ Crying ]
Shame on Triple H.
He broke her heart.
There's no other way
to say that.
Mick: It's something
that the company's
actually very good at doing,
and they did it with Joanie,
which is that,
once she was let go,
it's like she was
completely erased.
[ Crying ] This is just
a... up business.
Diesel:
Nobody wanted her.
Everybody had had enough of her.
She needed help.
I have no family.
I have no friends.
Rob:
I could tell that
we were in for a wild ride
that summer.
Why didn't somebody
do something earlier?
Who the... are you
talking to?
I'm Chyna, bitch!
♪♪
I know my friend Joanie
as Joanie.
I don't want to know her
as Chyna because, in my opinion,
[ Crying ]
it was her being Chyna
that took my friend
into a dark place
that she could not come out of.
♪♪
It's hard to go back to L.A.,
kind of feeling like you know,
not so glamorous, I guess.
For the last three years,
I have been in Tokyo, Japan.
I felt like I was really
misconceived in the public eye.
Suddenly, I wasn't remembered
for all the great things
I did in wrestling.
I'd become this monster,
you know,
without, to me,
doing anything wrong.
♪♪
Yeah, it's weird,
the things that I'm thinking of.
I'm thinking
about the way I look
because it's hitting me now,
like how long I've been here
and how out of the, you know,
that bubble I've been
and I know everybody's going
to kind of be...
♪♪
you know,
looking at me, critiquing me.
♪♪
I spoke with my manager today.
Was really excited that we are
on the right track
and that makes me feel
really excited.
[ Sigh ]
It's all hitting me now.
♪♪
I'm feeling really nervous about
making it to the other side.
♪♪
We'll... We'll get
into the specifics
of what we're doing
for the next two weeks,
really kind of when you land,
because it gives us
something to shoot to,
but you're going
to be meeting the team,
two of which are with us now.
Hey, Chyna,
my name's Erik.
How are you doing?
Hi, Erik.
What we've got going,
what we're going to be shooting,
what we're going to be doing,
is going to be great.
I mean, you got to be you.
Only you know what you've
been through,
- Yeah, yeah.
- you know, but,
at the end of the day,
it's about just being happy
all. the. time, period.
♪♪
Hi, guys!
It's Chyna, here.
You know me
and I'm coming home to America.
Just my ticket home.
I'm about to embark
on this documentary
and I promise I'm going
to give you the whole story.
♪♪
[ Plane engines whine ]
Day 1 of the year-long
documentary
of "The Reconstruction
of Chyna."
By the end of all of this,
she's going to face her demons
and I think we're going to get
Chyna naked,
both figuratively and, trust me,
literally, at some point
throughout this process.
Right, so let's just get
a clean intro from you,
like, "Hi, I'm Rob
I'm the producer."
Just strike [indistinct]
- Yep.
Hey, what's up?
I'm Rob Potylo.
I am one of the producers
of "The Reconstruction
of Chyna."
I like that, but that with like,
"And a fan,"
like "I'm one of the producers,
and a huge fan."
Yes!
Let me know.
Okay, let's start
at the beginning.
The footage of you in the car.
You are so happy.
Yeah. I mean,
because there was something
about everybody putting
their best foot forward
at the beginning,
and the momentum.
It just seems right
because she's amazing.
This was going to be
a 365-day documentary
that showed
the total reconstruction
of her coming back from Japan,
being reembraced
by the culture
and the wrestling world,
and everything was going
to be beautiful.
And that lasted for about, yeah,
four to five days,
[ Laughing ] you know?
That's... That's going...
We're going to talk about that.
I'm excited to be on a road
trip with these guys.
This is an all-star team.
I'm not going
to call you out, Erik,
because you're
the documentarian,
but you are here.
I just really wanted
to connect you
with Anthony,
to bring Chyna here.
Anthony: [ Speaks indistinctly ]
Chyna: Okay.
♪♪
Anthony:
Do you feel like coming
back is going to trigger
you wanting to maybe go
back to that crazy life?
I hope not.
I think it's a matter of
managing what I'm doing
and having the support...
And the right people around.
Of course.
I'm going to try to do
everything I can.
I'm going to try to do it
the right way.
- Are you doing Xanax?
- No.
I have another
anti-anxiety medication
that they put me on in Japan,
which I have,
but I very rarely use, like.
What do you use when you sleep?
Halcion and Rohypnol.
Mm.
Also, that's where, you know,
a lot of the alcohol came
into play, you know?
I would be like so anxious
and hyped up,
you'd need a Mack truck
to put me down,
until I'd just work
all that out, you know?
All that energy and anxiety
and everything was horrible.
♪♪
We basically walked
around New York as a pack
and Anthony pretty much
explained to Chyna
how the whole process
was going to happen,
the reconstruction of Chyna.
Seemed like the clear directive
was getting her onto the
Comic-Con circuit again.
And me and Erik, the director,
are like,
"This is not the documentary."
It was weird.
My job, when Chyna came back,
was to help her spiritually,
to... to introduce her
to this way of thinking...
You don't have to live
with the glass half empty.
Everything's how you look at it.
♪♪
She was, "Well, does anybody
still know who I am?"
Girl, you're more popular today
than you were ever.
So, we'll be doing appearances,
crazy appearances...
Comic-Cons, backyard wrestling
brawls, all of it.
We'll put you on celebrity
reality television.
You're fresh meat again.
Sweetie, I got you.
I think I was the very happiest
when I started wrestling
and, every day, I would just...
I loved... I loved life
every day.
It was amazing.
And then, you know,
I experienced hardships
that I never could have
ever imagined in my life.
But I feel that
"there's something in the air"
type of thing,
[ Chuckle ]
that the timing is right
for whatever's going
to happen now.
♪♪
My name's Joanie Lee.
I've been training really hard
at the gym every day
and the reason for this is,
is because I feel that it's time
for a new breed
of female pro wrestlers.
♪♪
I was called everything
from a man to a lesbian,
to just extremely rejected
and extremely unaccepted.
Even at a very young age,
there was something different
about her,
but she hadn't identified
that, yet.
You know, she... she hadn't
found her... her people.
Especially through her teens,
her physical body
was a struggle for her
because I think she knew
that she had the capability
of being strong,
but she didn't know how
to embrace that.
I was always an athlete,
since the time
I was 15 years old.
I started lifting weights,
watching my brother
and his friends.
Mostly men who were
very supportive,
egging me on to lift
more weight every day
and who really made me
feel proud and cool.
In a lot of ways,
maybe, growing up,
there was a lack of control
and she could start to learn
what it was like
to manipulate her body,
to create what
she wanted to create.
She could control that.
I think it made
her feel confident.
Chyna:
That's when I decided that I was
going to become an actress.
I wanted to be on TV.
I wanted to be a movie star.
Being one to never take no
for an answer,
I would drive five hours
for a two-second audition
where I knew that I wasn't
right for the part.
When people would see me,
they'd go, "Wow.
She's different-looking."
- [ Laughs ]
- Anthony: Right.
Was realizing
that I was not going to fit
into the average role on TV.
But I still craved
that entertainment
and all of the things
that I had wanted
since I was a little girl,
that made me happy.
Was a period of time where she
was really sort of floundering.
I said, "Put everything
you own in your car
and just come here,"
because she didn't have any...
She didn't have a relationship.
She didn't have a job.
She had no money.
And I think we were really,
really, really close.
I had Joanie.
Joanie had me.
And so we hit the gym.
That's also when Gerry
entered the picture.
My role was specifically
to help her prepare
for a fitness competition.
For days to follow
that first, initial meeting,
I couldn't stop thinking
about it.
♪♪
I was extremely impressed,
more than I ever had done
for any other person.
We started seeing each other.
It evolved into a relationship.
Everything that she did
was something to better herself,
to be that one thing she knew
she was destined for,
but she didn't quite know
what it was, yet.
You're spinning that wheel
of occupations
and what made... "Wrestling.
That's what I want to do"?
I watched it on TV one night
and I was not a wrestling fan.
Each person was such a character
and there was lights
and people clapping
and screaming.
And I said to my sister, I said,
"I can do that.
That's how I'm going to do it.
That's how I'm going
to make my mark."
Kathy:
That is what planted the seed.
She said,
"I'm going to explore this.
Do you want to do it with me?"
And I said, "Nope."
And that's how
she eventually ended up
finding "Killer" Kowalski.
♪♪
I walked into an old,
rickety gymnasium
and there's this guy sitting
like humped over.
I'd say, "Mr. Kowalski?"
And he said, "Yes,"
and I said,
"I want to be a wrestler."
♪♪
Man:
How long have
you been a wrestler?
About six months
and it feels like a lot longer
because I have found my element,
so I feel like
I've been doing it forever.
- Man: Oh! Ooh!
- 1!
Kathy:
She was there
every single day.
She had black and blue
marks everywhere.
She was exhausted.
[ Crowd screaming ]
Oh!
And she loved it.
Oh, God!
And, eventually, he said,
"You're ready."
Yes, I came
all the way from Boston,
under the tutelage
of Killer Kowalski,
to kick some butt down here.
And let me tell you something.
Ladies, I'm going
to get your belt
and, guys, I'm going
for your belt!
You hear that?
I remember going to Marshalls
and buying a bathing suit,
getting some big
volleyball pads.
I didn't really know
what I was doing.
I didn't know what it was like,
you know.
Five people in the audience
and I was thrilled, of course.
Man:
Get the hair.
Look at that, just throwing
her like a rag doll.
There's just nothing there.
You know what I'm saying?
Karen:
I met Joanie in 1996
in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
Okay, ladies.
If you're ready, let's do it.
♪♪
I'm a tall, big girl.
Here's another tall, big girl
and I'm like,
"Yes!
We're going to have fun."
Ahhh!
She would like throw
a forearm in my back
and I would just stand up
and look at her and smile at her
and I'm like, "Hit me."
Ahh!
She hit me and I hit the mat,
so I think she understood
what I was saying.
She wanted every little girl
that was not of a normal size
to understand it's okay to be
athletic and be muscular.
She wanted to take the pain
that she had felt for so long
and make something good
about it.
She felt like she could fit in
in pro wrestling...
Ooh.
When, honestly, it wasn't
the place she should've been.
Joanie had no idea
what the professional
wrestling underbelly was about.
♪♪
Rob:
I-I thought this was
the beginning of so much good...
[ Laughing ]
but she was showing signs
that she wasn't ready.
And Anthony was more like,
"This is how she's going
to be, alright?
I kind of knew
it was going to be like this.
We got to get her
to this Comic-Con
and we got to make sure that
[ Striking ]
she does the job."
Erik:
So, the past few days
have been pretty crazy.
How are you feeling today?
I'm feel pretty tired.
Jet lag is starting
to set in now,
but I'm hanging in there
and it's been going like great
and super excited about this.
And what are we at today?
So today we are at my first
autograph signing.
Let's go.
Get over here.
You're the first person
to see Chyna
in America in four years.
Hi!
Oh, my God.
[ Laughs ]
And that sort of became
a microcosm for the big picture
of how we were going
to run things with Chyna.
Anthony:
Come see Chyna!
Woman:
Waited two hours...
Come see Chyna!
The fan support
that I have been getting...
You guys, if you guys
wouldn't mind
moving back a little bit
for one second.
After everything
that's happened,
I come out here
and I get all the love,
you know,
and I pick up some money.
And I can pay my rent
and be back in the States
and say, "I'm going to be okay
because you know what, Chyna?
You're Chyna."
♪♪
Are you going to hug me?
[ Laughter ]
Hi, Joanie.
How are you doing?
You okay?
Tearing up
is a good thing, right?
- I'm really happy to see you.
- [ Laughs ]
Thank you. I'm happy
to see you, too.
Welcome home.
- [ Laughs ]
Manchild:
Being a wrestler is
about trust.
You trust people with your body
and, when the trust isn't there,
the matches just don't work.
I mean, I never would've known
that someone smelled so good.
This is really enjoyable.
That same trust
that allows you to flourish
inside the ring
can hurt people outside of it
because you go from this
wild world of pro wrestling,
where, at least,
there's an understanding
that I can trust you
with my life,
and then, you go
to the outside world,
where everybody wants
a piece of you.
And everybody wanted
a piece of Joanie.
I've always had
a lot of love for him
and he's always been
a special person to me,
so, it's just really
great to see him
and I know like, you know,
just one look
would sum up like a whole past.
It's many years
since I seen him.
♪♪
Manchild:
I think she trusted a lot.
I think it came back
to hurt her quite a bit.
Let's sign some autographs
for the people!
After I saw her
and had such
an emotional moment with her,
I remember thinking like
I wasn't sure if she
was ready to go back
and be part
of some provocative stuff.
I wasn't sure that was
what was best for her.
♪♪
Here's this billion-dollar
business, right?
Like this whole
trendset, like this whole...
Wrestling is part of culture,
right? In a sense.
Don't you want a success story?
I want to be one of those
people. [ Laughs wryly ]
I want to be a success
out of the wrestling
and I would think that...
- Wait a minute. First of all,
let me clarify
something for you.
You are a su... What?
"I'm going to be
a success story"?
You are a success story!
There was one Chyna, one!
I've seen the wrestling business
destroy the lives of dozens
and dozens of people.
I could've been one of them.
It's cold.
It's heartless.
And I remember
having conversations
with her about this
when she was over in Japan,
but, when she was back
in the United States,
I really believed everything
was going to be okay.
I really, honestly,
believe that,
but, obviously,
that wasn't the case.
Ah!
Man:
Got her by the hair again.
Gerry:
She had such a presence
in the ring
and was so good at it.
It was like something
[ Clap ] natural
just took [ Snaps fingers ]
like that.
Announcer:
Joanie Lee.
She used to constantly tell me,
"Gerry, there's something
good coming my way.
I can feel it.
I know this is going
to be something big."
There was nothing like it
at the time.
They had women
coming out as valets
and they were all coming out
all pretty-looking.
And she says, "I have this idea
that I would come out
as the bodyguard
of the wrestler,
but, I would get in the ring
and I would mix it up
and throw the other wrestlers
on my own, like I'm a wrestler."
And she said, "I'm going
to approach Paul Levesque
and see if he thinks
the idea is good,
that I become his bodyguard."
Chyna:
I knew Triple H because
he was from my hometown.
I ended up running into
Shawn Michaels and Triple H.
We clicked right away
and started talking
about how they
could integrate me
and something new
that they thought,
something different
they saw in me.
They saw that she was just this
amazing physical presence
and they felt that she
could be a contributor
to the success of their story.
Chyna:
Hunter would tell me, "Well,
we've got to get you hired.
I need this for my career
and Vince just doesn't like it.
He doesn't like the idea
that this is now
a woman's business."
I knew that Vince
ran the company,
but I didn't really know
that professional wrestling
was pretty much Vince McMahon.
Vince McMahon is part desperado,
part tycoon,
and all showman.
He's the founder of the
World Wrestling Federation
and the man responsible for some
of the most controversial
television programing ever.
Announcer:
The Godfather
and his California Hos.
The more publicity,
quite frankly,
be it good or bad, that we get,
increases viewership.
♪♪
Vince McMahon is brilliant
and he's stubborn
and he's a man's man.
I would do anything
for you, Mr. McMahon.
I've heard many times,
and Joanie had even
told me this... that Vince
didn't like the big girls.
He didn't like her look.
He didn't want that in WWE.
When her role as my bodyguard
was first being brought up
to Vince,
it was heavily resisted.
"No one's going
to believe in that
and no one's going to buy it,"
and Shawn and I had
to push really hard
to get that done.
I want the guys,
but I'm going to be the first,
the biggest, the baddest,
the new role model,
for female wrestlers, got that?
[ Crying ]
She called me and said,
"They've accepted me
and I'm going to be Chyna."
♪♪
Chyna:
Triple H and Shawn Michaels
liked "Chyna."
They thought that
it was kind of an oxymoron.
It represented this tiny,
petite china item
and I was so opposite from that.
Announcer:
And his opponent,
being accompanied
to the ring by Chyna,
Hunter Hearst!
Kathy:
She just kind of hit pay dirt.
I think she was in shock.
20,213 fans.
To be thrust into the limelight
like that, overnight,
she went from being at home
to being on the road
immediately.
Gerry:
From the first time
she started going on the road,
she was with Paul.
Ten days at a time,
home for two days.
I know she was coming home
and staying with him
for a couple of days.
Chyna:
We really gravitated
towards each other
and became very serious
with each other
six months later.
Gerry:
I knew I had to let her go,
to go off and do
what she wanted to do.
I needed to not be selfish.
She needed to go be famous.
♪♪
Right in the kidneys!
I remember putting together
the original DX.
Obviously,
Hunter brought Chyna in
because he wanted
to do something with him.
Hunter and Sean were friends,
and all of a sudden we had this
threesome known as DX.
- Triple threat no way through.
- The show stoppers!
Russo:
As the head writer of the show,
DX had a very big part.
They had to be cool,
they had to be cutting edge.
Diesel: At that time,
it was the attitude era.
So everything was, you know,
about that to the man.
The stuff before
the attitude era,
if you look very low key,
very, I would say,
probably less than PG,
but then once the attitude era
hit, it was all on.
Let's get rid of this sucker!
♪♪
Joanie finally
had found a family.
Now she's got a couple
of dozen brothers
that would
take a bullet for her.
Diesel: What they were was
the Generation X, you know,
So, I mean, that just fit.
Like we're such badasses,
our cooler is a female.
On top of it, you're buying it.
This is a new beginning for
D-Generation X.
And we're here to rip ass!
When I first met Chyna
while she was with Hunter,
Chyna was somebody that
doesn't drink
or do drugs
or anything like that.
And the rest of us,
after the show,
all we did was drink
and do take pills.
And I would be
traveling with them.
And, you know, Hunter
and Chyna's relationships,
seemed good, like,
on the surface.
Joanie and Triple H were
together for quite a while.
Joanie was loyal to him,
she loved him.
She was very much
in love with him.
Hamilton:
I remember the first time
they walked into my house,
it was almost bigger than life.
But they were perfect together.
I think he loved her
just the way she was.
Man: Honestly, was Hunter
the love of your life?
Very much so. I was very, very
much in love with him. Yes.
Russo:
I don't think it was a secret
that they were together.
I think people were just taken
back that somebody like Paul,
for whatever reason,
would choose
to have a relationship
with somebody like Chyna.
She got a lot of flack
for the way that she looked,
not just because she was huge,
but because she had
a certain sense of masculinity
and the fans love to hate her.
Put it down on her knees
where she belongs.
Man: Oh, come on.
Russo:
I've definitely seen pressure
of losing weight,
getting implants,
taking steroids.
I've seen that way
too many times.
Hamilton: She definitely wanted
to have more of a feminine
appeal.
And I think that she felt
that the only way she could do
that was surgically.
Man:
You had your jaw reconstructed
to look more like a woman.
True or false?
- Now, what is that all about?
I had reconstructive
surgery on my jaw
for an underbite that I had.
Oh, I see. So it isn't about you
looking more like a woman?
No.
Hamilton: I think she felt like
that was the last piece
that she had to take care of
in order to get to
a sense of self acceptance,
that not only was she big
and strong and muscular,
but that she was very feminine
and could be sexy.
Chyna: I think I display
an enormous amount
of femininity, opportunity.
And I happen to be...
Oh, yeah, I'm not saying that
but the look is one of...
The look is strength.
And I think to me,
what it demonstrates...
"Strength" is a male word.
A male word.
Strength is a male word
because I think that
women are afraid
to show strength
because they get
chastised for it.
And society
likes beautiful women.
And so she did
what she needed to do.
That's kind of when her career
just sort of skyrocketed.
Well, well, well,
what do you know?
The opportunity to talk?
Because that's what it's all
about, guys, right, opportunity,
DX wanted to get ahead,
you know how they did it? Me.
I was the force behind DX,
because I carried those
four degenerates on my back
for almost two years.
Announcer:
Chyna has grabbed Gillberg
and is now beating the daylights
out of him all the way out.
Man: At what point did you
realize how big you had gotten?
You know, there was no more DX
and they wanted me
to wrestle by myself.
I didn't want to do it.
They were like, no, no, we want
to go this direction with you.
Terry, I've never seen
the Ninth Wonder of the World
so intense.
I was the one who thought,
"That's not going to work."
She has earned the right
to be the number one contender.
I was always under an enormous
amount of pressure
to be perfect and not screw up.
Man #2: What'd she have to do
to win a match?
You cannot have
an inter gender match
if it's not believable.
The beauty with Chyna
was it was believable.
Men are dominant
and women are weak!
Joanie was the one
who seemed most likely to win
an intercontinental
championship from a man.
Like, that was
completely believable.
Announcer:
Chyna's got the guitar.
- Look out!
- Oh, man!
Announcer:
Chyna with a guitar!
- [Indistinct speech]
- It certainly is.
I guess it is.
I don't know.
Announcer #2:
We have a K.O.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Announcer #3: The new World
Welter Weight Title, Chyna!
Announcer #2:
Chyna has made history!
Chyna, the first woman to become
the Intercontinental Champion!
Chyna: After that, it was like
just like this phenomena
of the magazine covers
and all the interviews.
And then I became kind of
like more of a spokesperson
for the WWE to being this
female phenom.
I felt like it was
expanding the business.
We could just feel it
starting to grow.
Didn't know anything
about wrestling
and I see this video
and here was this gorgeous woman
coming out onstage
in this silver costume
And I'm like,
"Wow, is that Joanie?!"
I mean, I knew it was,
but it was like, "Wow!"
That just was like [ Gasp ]
It's kind of really surprising.
I mean, you know,
there's your kid onstage.
I hadn't heard from her
for almost 27 years.
♪♪
Yeah, man, that that trip, like
we within the first week,
like we all saw sort of
our true colors.
Chyna, did you remember Eddie?
- Hey, Eddie.
- Oh, my God.
And I felt like Anthony was
treating me like a cameraman.
It was my film
and I was paying for it.
- I'll come in with...
- And he was like,
"Go over here
and shoot this and shoot that."
And there was a couple of times
that he didn't get his way
and he yelled, we found out
he was the kind of person
who was very calm and shill.
But then when he would get to a
certain point, he would yell.
Angra: Sorry, man,
we gotta do the asphalt,
otherwise we're gonna
lose light.
Okay, well, we've I think al...
Did we...?
Oh, we're starting
that all over again.
Angra:
And so he started yelling again
after we spent the whole day
filming these things that I feel
were important.
And then he starts yelling about
how important this guy is
for Chyna's career.
And then I got really pissed
and I just started
screaming at him and I said,
like this was my show
and him and Chyna could
go... themselves
and I didn't need them.
I start throwing his stuff
out of the van, my van,
and and then he apologized
and everything was cool.
And that was the beginning of
like all of our relationships.
All of our characters
are a little bit of ourselves.
Chyna is a powerful,
strong woman.
She's attractive
and she holds her own
in male-dominated environment.
She was a household name.
She was just everywhere.
It was an inundation of Chyna.
She did the Playboy thing.
Chyna: When I did my Playboy,
I made more money
doing one Playboy
than I had in five years
cumulatively of working
for the company.
Hamilton:
She did feel a lot of insecurity
because she'd say,
"Oh, my God, I just do not fit
in with these beautiful women."
But they all thought
she was awesome.
Chyna:
If you do happen to pick up
an issue of Playboy
after you see my ass,
you can kiss it, too.
[ Laughter ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
Eddie Guerrero and coming by
Mamacita for the title...
Landsberg:
You wanted storylines that
involved you wrestling men,
right,
and Vince, for the most part,
wanted you to wrestle
against women,
was that at the heart
of one of the problems?
Yeah, my character was going
backwards.
For six years, I had wrestled
men and then all of a sudden
I wasn't supposed to fight
the guys anymore
and I was supposed to be
this women's champion.
And who was I going to fight as
and what was I going to do?
But is it possible
that the public
does not want to see
men losing to women?
Yeah, but there was
nobody there at that point
that didn't want to wrestle me.
How was I going to step
backwards and wrestle women
that didn't have the experience
from the guys
that I was wrestling everyday?
Simpson: They're taking this
woman, 5'9",
muscular
and turning her into a Diva.
Although they couldn't chisel
her down into a 5'5"
size 2 they did the best
they could to make her a Diva.
Strauch: I mean,
it seems like a big turning
point in her story.
- I think that was it.
She's so full of everything
that you want to be around
to somebody that just I would,
in a sense,
completely goes dark.
Joanie was all about trusting
people being loyal.
In pro wrestling
you don't have that.
Shame on Triple H.
He broke her heart.
There's no other way to say
that he broke Joanie's heart.
We had a huge house
in New Hampshire.
His career was moving up
and therefore
he was having a lot of meetings
with Vince and Stephanie
and like the crew there.
You know, I should not be
like the jealous like wifey
and get on his case
about being too friendly
with the boss's daughter
or with the boss,
just let him do his thing.
I was so proud of him.
Stephanie:
By the time, you know,
Triple H and I started our
on-screen storyline,
we just sort of had
great chemistry
and it just went from there.
Hunter I take thee
as my husband.
Our storyline was, you know,
that we were married
and we took over the business
and drove my dad out.
One time when when I was
standing around the ring,
he sort of curled around me.
He was on the floor
and he felt my leg.
And I was like,
that's definitely flirtation.
Woman:
That's not part of the script.
Chyna: I would ask Hunter
time and time again,
I figured it's better
just to address the problem
and ask him honestly.
So we got into
a heated argument.
I told him,
I know something's going on.
Don't tell me
something's not going on.
He swiped my hand.
I swiped his hand.
I knew at that point
I had to leave,
but I needed
some sort of closure.
And I found a love letter
from Stephanie
that had dated a year back.
So the whole time
they were doing the storyline,
basically they were together.
When I found out
I was devastated. It hurt me.
I'm a human being and nobody,
whether you're a celebrity
or whether you're not,
likes to be cheated on,
especially when it's with
the boss's daughter.
- It's Vince's daughter.
- Sure.
- As long as you keep her happy.
- It's a hell of a cash upgrade.
- And also, she's very feminine.
- Right.
I mean, you would call her
a feminine woman.
Woman:
Certainly not like Joan.
Hamilton:
I think when she met him,
she found somebody
that she really loved.
And I think she was devastated
when that relationship ended.
Chyna: Love can't stop love.
But I was like,
how then do I deal with
the emotional side
of this happening
and keeping my job
and, like, moving forward?
Tell me whether your
relationship with Triple H
and now his relationship
with Stephanie
sped up your departure
from the WWF?
Well, officially, you know,
I could say no,
but I don't think I'll ever know
the answer to that.
In the back of my mind.
I'd like to say, "Of course."
Ross: Well, we decided
not to renew her contract.
Her deal to me was
Chyna is as valuable to WWE
as Stone Cold Steve Austin is.
Chyna: Because I did feel
that I was top talent there.
And I was included
in every other aspect
as far as top talent
was concerned,
except for financially.
Ross:
She wanted to be cut loose
or she would've demanded
a million dollars a year.
Announcer: Summer Slam this
Sunday is history in the making!
Russo: When the WWE decides to
part ways with somebody,
there's always the excuse.
Oh, they got too big
for their ego.
They they got hard to deal with.
They wanted more money.
Out of the thousands
and thousands of people
I worked with, she'd be
the last one to have an ego
when she had
every right to have an ego.
Chyna: I was sitting in a
Jerry's Deli eating lunch
and a fax mysteriously went
to Jerry's Deli
and it was from the WWE
and they said they wouldn't
be needing me anymore.
Shane:
It's something that the company
is actually very good at doing,
and they did it with Joanie,
which is that
once she was let go,
it's like she was
completely erased.
I know a lot of shit
about the wrestling
Wanna, please,
I could kill them.
But I loved it every day
in my life, I had a great time.
I loved it.
I love them for making me Chyna.
Man: Did they make you Chyna,
or did you make you Chyna?
Both. Both.
They can't do without my talent,
there is not another Chyna.
And there never will be.
Announcer:
The Ninth Wonder of the World
Chyna!
Russo:
You've got to think about
having it all, losing it,
knowing you are never going to
achieve that again,
then it's like you got to be
at the point of asking yourself,
what's my purpose?
Hamilton:
When she left the WWE,
she got an apartment
out in Santa Monica.
She went from having that family
at the WWE to really
being on her own.
Chyna:
Nobody would take my call,
nobody would answer my letters.
Literally pulled the rug out
from underneath me
because I went from,
like this billion dollar
commodity right on the street.
Hamilton: She could no longer
use
the Chyna name.
That name was owned by the WWE.
When she left,
she had to give it up.
Stern: Course, we can't call her
"Chyna" or else she'll be sued.
That's right.
That's Vince McMahon's name.
But we could use
officially Chyna Doll.
Right.
You're Chyna Doll.
Right, Joanie Chyna Doll Laurer.
Russo: If I'm Vince McMahon,
I own that brand,
but can we make an exception?
Let her use her name.
But that that that would
ultimately come from Vince.
I assumed that I would just deal
with the heartache
of the breakup
and make a like a lateral move,
so I went knocking on doors
in Hollywood and I thought,
oh, I'll get a sitcom
or I'll get another show.
Chyna: I got three big movies
coming out.
One is "Just Another
Romantic Wrestling Comedy"
where I actually do some
some of my last wrestling.
She had some other acting gigs,
nothing substantial.
And I think at that point
she kind of
started to panic a little bit.
- It's going to hurt.
- Is there a point, Joanie,
when drugs come into play,
you know,
maybe you're taking something
to get your head off
of what you're going through
to ease the pain.
Chyna: I found myself on the
bottom of a vodka bottle
on many occasions.
I was self medicating for sure.
Hamilton:
She was, again, feeling lonesome
and not sure what to do.
That's when she became involved
with Sean,
when he sort of
came into the picture.
He showed up on my doorstep
one day and I was like,
"Oh, my God, you know,
we've been friends for so long."
He said, "I got a divorce
from my wife"
and he was happy to see me.
And it was instant love.
She was a very comforting
and felt
like a safe place for me.
Diesel: And she seemed
really comfortable.
And I just got...
The two just kind of meshed.
But I think at the same time,
those two weren't good
for each other.
X-Pac: I just was happy
to have somebody that wanted me.
There's a bad person
in there somewhere
and there's a... wonderful
person in there somewhere, too.
Chyna: It happened so quick.
That's when I started noticing
like a lot of the drugs
and like a lot of the crazy
stuff thinking like,
oh, my gosh, here we go again.
I'm getting into
another situation.
How do I deal with this?
I just started dabbling in using
crystal meth at the time.
I was hiding my drug use
from her.
And I didn't realize at the time
that she was hiding hers
from me as well.
Hamilton:
It's almost like they were
on a boat that was sinking
and there was not a lot anybody
could do to stop that.
Joanie found it incredibly
fascinating to go to Japan.
They had a different sort of
respect about wrestling there.
When I was there in 2002,
wrestling was huge,
within Ojisan.
That was with New Japan
Professional Wrestling.
Yasuda:
New Japan is the biggest pro
wrestling organization in Japan.
It was originally founded
by Mister Inoki.
And he's more like mix of a
Muhammad Ali and Vince McMahon.
[ Speaking Japanese ]
[ Speaking Japanese ]
Yasuda: The style was called
Hardstyle.
Like you really hit the guys,
slam the guy as hard as you can.
So Chyna had to learn.
Chyna: If you were going as
a foreigner,
you're getting beat up, right?
It's a scary world.
Chyna: We trained every day
for like 10 hours a day,
which ultimately led
to the big fight
with Masahiro Chono in the Tokyo
den with 80,000 plus people.
Announcer: Joanie Laurer!
[ Speaking Japanese ]
[ Crowd roars ]
[ Speaking Japanese ]
[ Laughs ]
[ Speaking Japanese ]
Chyna:
It was the most physically
demanding achievement
I've ever done in my life.
Let me wait till everybody's
in here to tell you
that I didn't lose that match
because I beat his ass
in front of all of his fans.
Chono: [ Speaking Japanese ]
Didn't expect that
did you, Chono?
[ Camera shutter clicks ]
Chono: [ Speaking Japanese ]
Yasuda: She was already
into a relationship with X-Pac
and then drug things
started to happen.
X-Pac:
I ended up going with her.
I brought coke and meth
into Japan with us.
I carried on me.
Little by little,
it started to affect her.
Like, okay, she's late.
So she became flaky.
So they had to fire her.
Chono: [ Speaking Japanese ]
Stern: Are you now
into alcohol big time?
Are you having
a problem with it?
- No.
- You're not having a problem?
I want to party and I don't want
to be the designated driver.
Angra:
That's great, and if you turn
a little bit
like you're facing towards the
mountains a bit?
There we go. That's great.
Beautiful.
Alright, just stay right there,
I'm going to get a wide shot.
You're up.
[ Wind blowing ]
Ow!
Anzaldo: I was not living
in a world of denial.
I knew her.
She was taking
prescription medication,
so I knew that that wasn't good.
Things were going well
for the most part,
it was just, more frequently,
She was bingeing,
but it wasn't
affecting the work.
And we knew we were going
to have to get to the rehab.
We knew that that was coming.
We knew she was going
to have to get off.
But she she wasn't
she wasn't ready.
She didn't want to do it.
She felt like she had it
under control.
Potylo: That's when I really
started noticing Chyna
was starting to hit the sauce
and hit the pills.
And it was
it was a real battle for her.
Hamilton: I, too,
am the queen of denial.
And so to talk about this
means that I have to admit
the fact that she had a lot of
problems
that I just could not...
Nobody could control, right?
Sean called me and he said,
you need to get here now.
I went into her apartment
and she was combative.
She was under the influence.
And I said, "I love you.
And I think you got to go
get help or you're gonna die."
And she said,
"I don't have a problem."
And she was very angry with me.
This went on for hours
and she finally agreed.
We got to the rehab
and we walked in the door
and Joanie said, "I don't know
what the... we're doing here,
but I'm out of here,"
after like 10 or 15 minutes.
She basically was telling me
she hated me.
She never wanted
to see me again.
I knew it was, you know, the end
of our relationship, basically.
Joanie went her own way,
and that was the last time
I saw her.
I was heartbroken.
She was my best friend.
And I was really the only one
that she had for family.
Right? [ Chuckles ]
So I think
she really felt alone.
I just spent six days in
Twin Towers of LAX.
Stern: Right.
And that's not a very fun
prison to be in.
Alright.
You went to prison because
you beat up your boyfriend.
I didn't beat him up.
I slapped him in self defense.
- You bitch slap.
- I bitch slapped him.
Her relationship with Sean
was extremely toxic
because both individuals had
their own demons to deal with.
And I think it's because
she was so desperate to be loved
that she would take
these relationships
and just hang in there.
Chyna:
The weird thing with this
relationship was I was dealing
with a very unstable person,
which made me unstable.
I was just a pathetic... wretch
when it came to her.
Stern:
I saw your porno.
- Now is he the guy in the porno?
- Yeah.
Okay.
That was your boyfriend.
Chyna: And then we
talked about the tape
and I thought it was funny.
And it's not like I had a gun to
my head or anything.
X-Pac: It was such a... up,
co-dependent, volatile,
almost unhealthy
relationship in the world.
No matter how many times shit
would happen,
we would always
come back together.
She she was the one who had
to make a decision to move on.
Potylo: Vegas definitely was
the big telltale sign
that none of her demons
had left.
As a matter of fact,
if anything,
Vegas encouraged those demons.
She was in a celebrity
poker tournament.
She didn't know
how to play poker.
I mean, this was
all of these ideas.
Reporter: Are you feel
more acclimated to the U.S.?
Chyna: No, I'm not feeling
acclimated at all.
Coming back to all this,
it's kind of making me feel
pretty detached, actually.
Potylo:
And at this point, Erik was
starting to hang with her more
and they would party.
And Erik would come back to the
hotel room, be like,
"This is great. We talked about
what pills we like.
What we have in common
and stuff." I'm like, "Really?"
Angra: A couple of times
I'd done Ativans
and Klonopins
and things with her.
I wanted to do drugs with her
so badly.
I wanted to bond with her, you
know, like, I wanted to, like...
I knew she was doing
the same things I was doing.
And I felt like
I understood her.
I knew she knew, I knew.
And I knew that she knew.
Potylo: Erik just seemed
like at worse at that time,
which I later found out
was probably attributed to him
snorting heroin a lot
and also blowing meth.
And it's like, Jesus,
what is this?
What are we doing here?
♪♪
Anzaldo:
When I met her, she was flying.
She ran away from X-Pac
and showed up
on the "Surreal Life"
set with the clothes
on her back.
It's going to be great.
I'm going to own that house.
If they don't like it,
I'm going to boot their ass
right back out.
Anzaldo: I could definitely see
that she was using
and I took a liking to her.
And I said I would,
I would take her on.
Announcer: Under way.
The first round of Joanie Laurer
against Joey Buttafuoco.
Anzaldo:
We started working together
and she was
a she was a train wreck.
But I loved her
and we had a great time.
- She's not even here right now.
- Yeah.
He's checking you out
there, Joanie.
Russo: When you watch
the reality TV shows,
you saw somebody
that was out of control.
And just out there on her own.
Simpson: Seeing her on
"The Surreal Life."
I knew that was the start
of something bad
because it
just escalated downhill
even further from that point on.
And I guess she just said,
"Oh, well, screw it,
let's go ahead
and do porn and make money."
♪♪
I don't care if you're
a porn fan
you're a wrestling fan,
you're a reality fan,
you're going to love this movie.
Russo:
She's trying to get work.
A company comes along,
an adult film company
treats her with respect,
puts her high up on a pedestal,
gives her money.
I understand that.
What's wrong with it,
if I do it in
a sexy safe environment
where I have control
and they're going to
make me feel beautiful?
And, you know, maybe mentally
I couldn't go any worse.
I just feel like
I lived in a hell forever,
I just want to...
- You did.
It was just a spiral down that,
like, nobody could stop but her.
Potylo: We made it across
the whole damn country.
Chyna: It's home.
And the smell,
I can feel the ocean.
All my life,
I always wanted to be in L.A.
and I made that happen
and now I'm returning to L.A.
And it's just, I am
so excited right now.
♪♪
Every morning. Wait till you
get it in the morning.
If you cannot be happy here,
you're dead.
[ Laughs ]
Chyna:
♪ Welcome to California ♪
Potylo: By the time we got
to California,
we knew that there was
a lot of problems, man.
♪ I tried to warn ya ♪
♪♪
♪ Welcome to California ♪
She had a wonderful,
I feel like, child-like spirit
that always was with her.
But she obviously needs help.
- Very good.
- Oh, thanks.
Dr. Pinsky: Trauma is the rocket
fuel for drug addiction.
I always said,
"If you have bad enough
addiction that you need to
see me."
I treated only
the most serious cases.
You had a hundred percent
probability of childhood trauma.
Woman: Can you tell me
about her as a little girl?
Laque:
From the time I can remember,
she'd like to entertain.
And she would put on
puppet shows.
Hamilton: Lots of dancing.
She was really happy,
fun little girl.
Joanie, they had
a lot of her dad's traits.
Oh, Joe was so charming.
He was charming
and good looking,
and Joanie was, too...
Charming and good looking.
Hamilton: My mom and dad
were going through
a lot of marital problems
while we were young.
Laque: The major difficulty was
living with my husband,
who was an alcoholic
and a drug addict.
She saw some pretty
raucous fights between us.
There was an incident where Joe
stabbed me with a butcher knife.
I don't really know
how much effect it had on her.
Hamilton: Eventually, that
relationship ended permanently.
But I think there was probably
a lot of lasting impact
emotionally on Joanie,
especially since she was
younger.
Chyna:
There was lots of stepmothers,
stepfathers coming in and out,
and my mother was very,
very dysfunctional.
I would go get away from all
the yelling and screaming,
really kind
of separating myself.
I believe she would just say,
"I just wanted to be loved."
That's what she was
always searching for,
was the love and the approval
and the acceptance.
Maybe a couple of months
before her 16th birthday,
her personality really changed.
She was out of control.
I always thought
it was like the aliens came down
and snatched her.
And put a different personality
in her body
because she wasn't
the same Joan anymore.
Her grades are plummeting.
I was told that
she was hanging around
with a bad crowd of kids
that were using drugs.
I think we could
have handled that
if it hadn't been
for her father,
who was now on the scene
telling her,
"You can come and live with me,
you won't have to follow any of
the rules."
When she turned 16,
she made the choice to go live
with her father.
That's the last time I saw her.
♪♪
♪♪
Anzaldo: I'm happy,
happier than I was yesterday,
not quite as happy
as I'm going to be tomorrow.
That's how I live my life.
There are moments, but you catch
yourself because you're trained.
It's a lifestyle.
And that's the spiritual aspect
of where I was going with Chyna.
So make amends with your family,
that'll make you stronger,
will make you feel better.
It'll make you happier.
Yasuda: The one thing I remember
about the documentary, she said,
is Anthony was making her do
things she doesn't want to do.
She said that to me,
that she didn't want to go.
She didn't want to do it and
that he was making her to do it.
Chyna:
So now we're in Miami.
And I didn't want to go first
and then...
I think there's just
some closure that I need.
Dad was like a chameleon,
you know, like,
he's sort of a stockbroker,
and he'd wear the coat every day
and then two months later
he was a Hell's Angel.
So it was like that movie
"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."
And I know it sounds mean
I'm almost relieved
that he died because.
I feel like I would have
been over in Tokyo
waiting for dad to come through,
still.
So we're going to go
to the grave
and I'm just going
to say my goodbyes.
It was very difficult day
for her,
very, very difficult day.
But let's keep
this process going.
[ Sniffles ]
♪♪
Blais: The documentary she was
doing was getting her
to finally open up,
and I think that put her
in a state of depression
and it ended up pushing
her further into darkness.
[ Sniffles ]
Hey, man. See you around.
[ Sobs ]
I was doing my third movie
for Vivid
and I was getting painted in
this green paint like every day.
Green on my hair
and green up my nose
and green on my crotch
and like green everywhere.
Then I was like
picking up the bottle.
And I was like, "I'm going to,
I'm going to die.
I want to die."
I didn't have any work
in Hollywood or wrestling.
And so I was like, that's it.
I've had enough.
You know what?
Everybody's cut off.
You don't get me anymore.
I'm leavin'.
♪♪
Russo:
She picks up, she goes to Japan,
she becomes a schoolteacher.
Yasuda: She was looking for
who she was again
as a person who just wants
to have peaceful, normal life.
Chyna: The last three years,
I've been highly inebriated
and bad [Laughs] and miserable.
So here's different.
[ Sighs ]
Living my own life,
doing my own thing,
I have to travel
across the world to do it.
I'm going to be
one of those success stories.
Brian: I'm standing outside
the bishop's office,
and this woman was there
who I hadn't seen before,
so I introduced myself and, and
she said, "Hi, I'm Chyna."
And she said that she had
kind of a sketchy background
and she'd done a lot of things
in her life that she regretted
and she wanted
to have a new life.
In the back of my head,
I recognized the name Chyna
as a wrestler,
I thought, "It can't be."
This is the most famous
female wrestler in the world,
was just in my bishop's office.
She wanted to get baptized
because she wanted to put
some of those bad decisions that
were in her past behind her.
Blais: For like three or four
years, she was living in Japan
and I was in communication
with her through e-mail.
She went from dysfunctional
growing up
and not having support
in a family setting
to many, many years later,
now she has the family
of the WWF
and now she leaves that
and now she's alone again.
Now here she is many,
many years later
with this Mormon family
that's taking care of her.
Even though she was over there,
not really
in the business anymore,
the gossip and the rumors
still circulated about her.
Following this Monday's RHOA,
there was an interview
on the WWE Network
where Stone Cold Steve Austin
interviewed Triple H.
I brought up Chyna. Man,
she had a hell of a run here.
- Absolutely.
- Will she ever go into
the Hall of Fame?
- From a career standpoint,
shouldn't she be
in the Hall of Fame?
Absolutely.
Bit difficult, though.
And this is the flip side of
the coin that nobody looks at,
I got an eight year old kid
and my eight year old kid sees
Hall of Fame and my eight year
old kid goes on the Internet
to look at, oh, there's Chyna.
I never heard of her.
I'm eight years old.
I've never heard of that.
So I go take that in,
I punch it up and what comes up.
And I'm not criticizing anybody.
I'm not criticizing lifestyle
choices, everybody has...
He's referring to Chyna's
adult career.
Do we really want to go down
the list of felons
who are in the WWE Hall of Fame,
people that have been
accused of murder?
Does he have any idea where she
was at that point in her life
when she had to make
that decision?
Somebody who has yet to hire me,
and they hear Hunter
saying, "Google her,
she can't because of this."
That affects my career today.
So it still goes on.
And I have a problem with that.
That's why I'm in Japan
working as an English teacher.
Blais:
She wanted to make it known
that she earned
to be in that Hall the Fame.
You're still, you're still
putting the sword in my back.
There you are sitting married
to Stephanie McMahon
and in the McMahon empire
set for life, how dare you?
There was a lot of things
that she was carrying
on her shoulder from the past.
And then she didn't know
how to get back to the U.S.,
her visa ran out.
She didn't know
how to make a living
because she was not working.
Laque: I was searching
for her for years.
I just kept searching for her,
you know,
and I couldn't find her.
I don't believe
she wanted to be found.
The first time we had contact
was when she called me
from Japan,
but it had been 30 years.
I couldn't believe it was her
and I'm like.
"Joanie, is that really you?"
She did most of the talking,
telling me about
her life in Japan
and what had happened to her,
the work visa situation
was such that she was
breaking immigration laws.
And so she had to come back
and I said,
"Well, if you do,
don't go back to California."
She said, "Well, mom,
what else am I going to do?
It's not like
I can get a job at McDonald's."
I said, "Sure you can.
You can get a job at McDonald's,
you know, flipping burgers
until you can find
something else."
Just get me out of here, man.
All she wanted was to be
re-embraced by the only family
that made sense to her,
which was the WWE
that's all she wanted.
- Look at that.
You're talking about,
the greatest woman wrestler
of all time, this woman who
stretched the language
of what you can do
in sports entertainment.
Announcer:
takes on Jeff Jarrett...
Mankind: I talked to her about
the WWE Hall of Fame.
You know, not to put
so much weight on it.
♪♪
We knew there was
a bad relationship,
but nobody said
we can't go there.
We're going to ask for Hunter,
we're going to ask for Vince,
we're going to ask for business
and legal and economy.
And hope that we don't
get escorted out.
You know, we're going to get her
into the Hall of Fame.
Anzaldo:
We're on a campaign to get her
into the Hall of Fame this year.
Well, we were not
greeted favorably.
So I guess nobody's available
at the WWE
to speak with us at the moment,
but we're going to keep trying.
You know, we'll make it happen.
We'll figure it out.
Chyna:
When Anthony was at the desk
and I was standing there
next to him,
I could see people
getting on the elevator
and everybody was staring
right at me.
I got a couple smiles,
but that type of thing.
♪♪
♪♪
Potylo: By the time we got
to California,
she was really happy
and I lived with Chyna
for three months there.
Oh!
Well, hello.
To wake up in the morning with
Chyna to be like,
"Wake up Rob, we're going to
have apple smoothies."
I mean, she was so fun. She had
a fabulous sense of humor.
[ Laughs ]
And like, we had so much
freakin' fun.
And that way we leave
on a high note.
We shot funny videos together.
We did yoga on the beach.
Turn to the camera and just say
random things slowly and
dramatically now.
I mean, we were two outsiders.
And breathe.
And we found much peace
and happiness
just being around each other
for those three months.
My name is Robbie.
This is Chyna.
Another episode of WWY, WW Yoga.
We just had our own world,
and I never wanted
to let that summer go.
It was amazing.
One day we will
be walking in fields of gold.
There will be no more rude
awakening, no more illusion.
Tap out.
Tap if you hear me.
Mankind: I'm so happy to hear
that she felt healthy
and she was beautiful place,
you know, overlook the ocean.
It was like, "Wow,
she's in a place where she can,
you know, feel good."
And I have the best unit
because it's a corner
And all the windows are,
like, out.
Plug my lights in.
Potylo:
I tried to be the voice on the
other end that would be like,
"Hey, you
okay, what's going on?"
And and then I moved
to Hollywood and then that's
when things really started
coming off the rails.
Angra: So I'm just going to
knock on the door in a second.
[ Knocks ]
Alright, go for it
and then, you know. Yeah.
Hey, what's up,
come on into my crib.
Anzaldo: At night,
she was out of control...
cheap wine and her Valium
and whatever other
funky pill she had from the day
back in Japan
or whatever that
I was unaware of.
So beautiful.
I'm the luckiest woman in the
world just for today.
She sent me an e-mail when she
was in Cincinnati at a Comic-Con
and she was sick
and Anthony was pushing her.
I sort of started
to get the feeling
that he was kind of controlling
things at that point.
I know this is, you know, I
signed up for this for the doc.
And the only reason I'm
sharing these small bits here
and there is because,
you know, it all looks
like unicorns and rainbows.
And for the most part,
every day...
I gonna get [Indistinct speech]
for really, really.
But I did want to show you that,
you know,
that I am putting in the work
and and what is happening here.
Well, it seems that I think
it's going to be
an amazing story and...
♪♪
Potylo:
He cared about the movie,
he cared about how he was going
to look like the provider
in the movie,
just didn't quite plan on how he
was actually going to fix her.
And I don't think
he really cared too much.
Dr. Pinsky: People have this
grave lack of understanding
about trying to heal the past.
It's a low priority.
The here and now is what counts.
And we have a deadly illness
we got to treat that
and then we have to build the
capacity to regulate emotions.
And then maybe there's
some opportunity to, you know,
continue inside to continue
looking at what the things were
that set you up if they want.
It doesn't really do anything to
magically confront your abusers
nothing except maybe stir you up
more and make you want to use.
We are going black market
on some Ambien, right?
Some Ambien 10?
- Ambien and the Diazepam.
We're probably... Oh, and we did
the Diazepam, too?
- No, we have to do the Diazepam.
- I was going to say so.
Should we do that today?
Let's do that now. Okay.
And I think we'll keep that
from Dr. Drew for the moment.
There's a part of me that
doesn't want to
give him information
he would rather not know
because it incriminates him.
But we're not doing
anything illegal.
This is a legal practice
to order medicine
from another country.
How are you, Dr. Drew?
Dr. Pinsky:
I'm good. I'm mortified that
you're having such trouble.
I have, like, 10 Halcion left.
This is a totally crazy
combination of medicine.
- Yeah.
- That dangerous and crazy.
- Okay.
- That's why I need you to go
see somebody
as soon as possible.
Yes.
And then isn't there some
OxyContin in there, too?
- Say it again?
- Yes.
But I haven't been taking that.
- Okay.
- What's that?
OxyContin.
I don't know that that would be
definitely a death tonic.
That would be potentially
a death mixture.
If you added opiates to what
you're doing,
you would not breathe.
So that's really bad news.
Opiate addiction is fatal.
It's deadly, deadly, deadly.
And my recollection is she was
on the benzo opiate combo
that was killing so many people.
And you've got to get
you've got to get seen.
You've got to get taken care of
when you're on that.
Well, in the meantime, though,
while this stuff is dangerous,
obviously, and we certainly
understand that,
it is keeping her, you know,
I mean it's...
- Well, it's...
- No, no, no I'm not...
It's an evil necessity
it seems like.
Dr. Pinsky: We've got to get
some of this straightened out.
- Yeah. Okay.
- Dangerous.
Dr. Pinsky:
And if you have something else,
getting slipped in there,
it could be a catastrophe.
Even alcohol could be enough
to put you over the edge.
She was going to be coming...
This is what Anthony told me.
She was going to be
coming to Charlotte,
to do one of those autograph
signing things.
And he said, I think it would be
great if you would reunite
with her and we could film it
on camera for the documentary.
You'll always get
the straight shooter from me.
If she falls off,
you're going to know about it.
And that way you can stay clear,
and you're not going to be
part of the game anymore.
You're only going
to get the good.
My initial reaction was it would
be great to reunite with her,
but I am not going on camera
with my daughter
seeing her for the first time
in 30 years.
I'm just not going to do it.
He didn't like that very much.
And, you know,
"Well, you need to some."
"She needs to
see you," etc., etc.
So I said, "Okay."
Anzaldo:
Finally, we've gotten to a place
where they think
that they can meet up
first time in 30 years.
Laque: The day before
we were scheduled to go.
I get this horrific
e-mail from her.
You know, I can't even...
I don't even want to use some of
the words.
And I thought, "Oh, dear,
something's wrong."
I wanted to see her. I mean, you
know, I haven't seen her in
30 years, but I didn't want to
see her like that.
Anzaldo: I call her mother.
It's not good.
She says, "I can't come."
So I had to go sit with Chyna
and I had to tell her,
"Your mom's not coming."
And she lost it. She was upset.
Next morning, 9:00 a.m.,
I walk in, knock on her door,
she answers.
She's been up all night
and an absolute train wreck.
And I said, "Sweetie,
when we get home,
we have to make some serious
changes, you're going to die."
She stood up, she picked me up,
and she held me like this,
"How dare you say that to me?
You're fired!"
And I started laughing at her.
"What are you talking about
fired?
I'm not your manager,
I'm your soul mate."
And she says,
"I want you out of my life
and I want you out
of my life now."
And that was the last time
her and I communicated.
Once she got home,
I'm monitoring the situation
from behind the scenes.
♪ Me, myself, and I ♪
[ Vocalizing ]
♪ Whoo-ooh
I got me, myself, and I ♪
♪ And I don't want to deny ♪
[ Vocalizing ]
Potylo: I knew we were in
so much trouble that day.
I didn't know, obviously,
it was going to be the last time
I's see her,
but it was off the rails.
But that's what Erik advertised
when we were going in there.
"Uh, she's pretty nuts today.
So let's just try to
grab her in this
and we'll use this for the doc."
[ Vocalizing ]
Potylo:
It's WrestleMania weekend.
Her ex-boyfriend,
Triple H, is headlining.
She's broken off
with her manager.
She doesn't have
a support system.
Any questions?
Angra: Yeah, I just
I was just thinking
we should because all the shit
that's been happening this week
with Anthony and you...
- First of all,
can you give me a hug?
Potylo: And this is where
Erik Angra decides,
"Oh, let's get our interview now
with her
that we haven't gotten before."
- Darling, this way.
Potylo: And it's not just Erik
and it's not just Anthony.
It's not just the WWE
and it's not just her,
but it's everything.
- What's his deal like?
Erik: How would you describe him
to somebody who never met him?
You know, because he seems nice.
- I love Anthony.
He's he would I know in a minute
he would die for me.
Every time I watch
the interview,
the final one where I ask her
these questions,
I can hear my voice is.
I can tell that I'm high
because I know how my voice is.
And it's very monotone.
And I'm asking her, you know,
all these questions
when she's like clearly like
asking for help.
I have a horrible anxiety
issues. I can't sleep.
I'm having a hard time eating.
I need some help.
What do you want me?
Can you help me?
And I'm saying things like,
"Well, I just how does
that make you feel?
I spent a long... 10 years,
15 years,
I don't know how long now.
But I-I'm tired.
I'm Chyna. I'm a champion.
[ Scoffs ]
My brother and my mom,
and then Anthony started
getting involved
and everything, and I'm like...
Is there one person that
could... support me, here?
Did I do something
that bad with my life?
♪♪
♪♪
If you could go back and change
something, what would you do?
I would never do it again.
- Never do what though, anything?
- Never wrestling.
I would have been a concert
musician or a ballerina.
Professional alcoholic, and I'm
just kidding, man, I'm just
pushing buttons right now.
Have you been drinking today?
No, not yet.
Angra: Would I have been
more proactive to help her?
Would I've been better ethically
to, like, figure out
what the right decision was?
Or was it
because I was on heroin?
I could very
coldly interview her
and ask her these questions
when I knew
she was endangering herself.
I don't know is this shit
interesting to anybody?
- It is.
- Why?
-This is something
really important and big...
They don't even know me.
I mean, I'll never forget,
you know, afterwards,
like I said,
just being in that car
and Erik,
"Oh, she seems fine, right?"
Like just trying to continue
to make this the reality.
And I remember just screaming
at him, "Get her help!"
And Erik's, like, "Well,
you don't have to be like that,
but we'll see what we can do."
Chyna: Morning, everyone.
[ Clears throat ]
I saw a post where
she had this big black eye.
And that's when I went, "Oh,
boy, I got to do something now."
It's a beautiful Sunday,
guess what?
Let's go make a little smoothie.
Anzaldo: Anthony calls up the
TV show intervention,
made the calls, reached out
to professionals
in the business
of interventions,
and it was planned for Thursday,
a week away.
And I'm like, "Dude, what are we
doing? Get her help.
Let's get the rehab now.
Let's do the intervention."
Haven't done this for anybody
since I was 7.
And it's this big.
Angra: I did heroin
the night that I was supposed
to go over there and I canceled
because I lied to her
and said I was sick.
♪♪
Chyna: Hey, man, It's me.
I'm sorry
that you're feeling sick.
I was just wondering
if you're okay.
I'm just glad you're out here.
I know what we're going to do.
It's going to be so spectacular.
[ Sighs ]
And I am doing much better
and when I'm here.
Love you, bye.
♪♪
Perlmutter:
I didn't hear from her.
Was calling her the Saturday
the Sunday,
so I called Anthony to
see what's going on,
I couldn't get hold of her.
Anzaldo:
She's not responding to anybody.
My hope was that she had
just lost her cell phone.
Potylo: And so he went over
there and coincidentally,
he had another person
with him to film
and apparently
he was going up there
to talk to her
about intervention
or talk some sense into her.
Chyna?
♪♪
I kind of knew.
Turned the corner,
looked in her bedroom,
and there she was.
Lying in her bed.
As peaceful. As she could be.
And around six o'clock,
Erik calls and he's just like,
"Yeah, Chyna's gone, dude."
I'm like,
"What do you mean she's gone?"
And he's like,
Anthony found her this morning.
He didn't want me
to even call you.
And I've seen the footage
and he brags about it
a lot afterwards,
how he had that footage.
Anybody in their right mind
to think that was worth anything
but destroying immediately
afterwards,
you know, they got problems.
It's a shocker for millions
of wrestling fans.
WWE legend Chyna has died.
It's the same feeling
and thought I have every time
doctor prescribed medication
was killing my patients.
Like just a sinking horrible.
Like, "Another one."
♪♪
♪♪
Hamilton:
I don't want to say that she
intentionally took her own life,
I think it was accidental.
But I think she was just tired
of putting up a good fight
and trying to find her way.
Just wanted some peace.
It crushed me, when I,
when I heard she passed.
I was so mad, so mad,
but I don't know why.
Like I do know why,
because she's a very good friend
of mine.
And I would guess it was because
she couldn't confide in me
or tell me what was going
why she's hurting so much.
You know, I'm pissed.
No, why didn't somebody
do something earlier?
Anzaldo:
My my job when Chyna came back
was to help her spiritually
mind, body, and soul.
I was her business manager, her
manager, her friend,
I did it all.
Her very last text,
was about me and her mother
and how much she hated us.
I gave him permission
to have her cremated
and I said take
three quarters of them,
scatter them
in the Pacific Ocean
and send a quarter to me.
But he didn't scatter them all,
he only scared half of them.
He kept a quarter of the ashes,
which has just infuriated me.
Anthony put on
this memorial service.
And so I said,
"I'm not going."
Potylo: He had this
worst... memorial on Earth.
He put her ashes
into this bedazzled urn,
The bitch is in the house.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Potylo: In my heart of hearts,
I thought that not only
would Chyna find a light
at the end of the tunnel,
but Erik would.
Angra:
It's really hard to watch,
but only because
I was like there.
I think I didn't really want
this to be my film, right?
You're the guy
who all let Chyna die, right?
That's what I would say,
I'd be like,
"Remember the person is dead."
And now it's gonna to be like,
"Oh, you're the guy who was
the addict who let Chyna die,
who's also an addict."
Yep, that's what happened.
But I didn't let her die.
I mean, I let her die.
I did.
♪♪
♪♪
I think when she died...
and this is the saddest
part, to me...
I don't think she had any idea
of the impact
she had on millions of women
across the globe.
♪♪
A lot of it had to do with
the company where you achieved
all that,
literally convincing you over
the years that you are nothing.
Announcer:
More than ever, join her,
the Royal Rumble match.
Russo:
You know that there were
people who were eight,
10 years old who have
done things in their lives
that may not have been possible
without somebody like Joanie
breaking down barriers,
showing what was out there,
what could be,
Potylo:
I think she was a warrior.
I think she just had some
titanic demons she was battling,
but I don't think
she was a victim.
Mankind: I don't think you can
ever dismiss
the importance of family.
I have a support system
that Joanie didn't have.
Physical strength is often
accompanied by a vulnerability.
I think, Joanie,
more than anybody that I knew,
was not prepared
for the emotional pain
that can be caused, you know,
when you are an open dreamer
living in the land of Oz,
searching for acceptance
from total strangers.
You put your hands on me
for the last time.
Now, I know, you know,
my time is valuable.
You ain't adding up to
the price anymore.
So I'm going to finish
this tonight.
You and me, one on one,
I started this story,
I'm gonna end it.
♪ I'm a tough one ♪
♪ Kept me out of Tokyo ♪
♪ I'm a bad one ♪
♪♪
Yeah.
[ Laughs ]