Anthony Anzaldo, the former manager of the late WWF Superstar Chyna, has made a shocking statement that ‘The Ninth Wonder of the World’ was originally meant to be WWF Champion.
In 2000, following the decline of D-Generation X and the uprising of The McMahon-Helmsley Era, Chyna was thrust into the WWF Intercontinental and European Championship picture with Chris Jericho, Hardcore Holly, Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero.
Though she sided with ‘Latino Heat’ on television to give her something to do, outside the ring, the real life Joan Laurer had signed a deal with Playboy to appear naked in their popular magazine.
Speaking on Wrestling Inc.’s ‘Documenting Chyna’ show, the star’s former manager revealed that in order to stop her doing the shoot, Vince McMahon offered the powerhouse the WWF Championship:
“They offered her the WWE Championship belt, but Vince said, ‘But you can’t do Playboy’ because she got offered to do Playboy. She chose Playboy over the belt. She went and got her boobs done one week and didn’t tell Vince, and when she came back, he was f***ing pissed.”
According to Anzaldo, the Playboy shoot cost Chyna the honour of being the first female to hold the WWF Championship and instead her storyline with Eddie Guerrero continued.
The talent was gifted with gold prior to her departure a few years later, however, when she was given a run with the WWF Women’s Championship.
Chyna left the company in November 2001 and sadly passed away on April 17, 2016, at 46 years of age.