Chyna's Unexpected Job She Held After Her Post-Wrestling Career May Open Some Eyes
Joanie "Chyna" Laurer was certainly one of most groundbreaking individuals during the WWF's "Attitude Era" in the late '90s and early 2000s. What set her apart from the other women at the time was her buff, 200-pound Amazonian physique, and her ability to go toe-to-toe with much of the male WWF roster and not looking out of place doing so.
She proceeded to break many gender barriers in the pro wrestling industry, making history by becoming the first-ever female WWF Intercontinental Champion, the first-ever woman to enter the Royal Rumble match (long before a Women's Royal Rumble was created in 2018), the first female participant in the King of the Ring tournament, and even becoming No. 1 contender to the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at one time in her career.
Chyna was also one of the founding members of the infamous D-Generation X faction alongside Triple H and Shawn Michaels, and served as Triple H's on-air bodyguard for much of her career while having a real relationship with him behind the scenes. When the well-publicized triangle between herself, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon came to light, however, Chyna found herself on the outs and quietly drifted away from WWE at the end of 2001, leading many fans and followers to wonder what would be next for "The Ninth Wonder of the World".
Chyna's Post-WWE Careers
Following her departure from WWE and an unsuccessful stint in New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2002, Laurer tried her hand at fitness expertise and the reality television circuit over the next seven years, but found little success. She then parlayed her stint as a 2000 "Playboy" cover girl into a moderately successful run as an adult film star in 2009, an on-again, off-again career she would maintain until early 2013.
However, it was the career path she chose following her time in adult films that took many fans by surprise, as Laurer would settle down in Japan and pursue a career in teaching English, a position she would hold until 2015. It was not her ideal choice, but one she came to appreciate because of the time she spent training and competing in Japan.
During her time as a teacher, Triple H had gone on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's podcast in January 2015 and answered questions, one of which pertained to Chyna's lack of a Hall of Fame induction up to that point in time. Triple H claimed it was out of fatherly fear of one of his daughters Googling "Chyna" and coming across some of her more salacious career paths.
Chyna responded in a torrid interview on Vince Russo's YouTube channel, explaining that careless remarks such as Triple H's were another part of why she relegated herself to teaching in the Far East: "It's still, to this day, when Hunter says something like that, 'Google Chyna' ... If somebody's looking to hire me and they hear Hunter saying 'Google her' ... that affects my career today, and I have a problem with that. That's why I'm in Japan working as an English teacher, because of comments like that which prevent me from working in mainstream television or anything else."
Chyna would leave her teaching position shortly after in mid-2015 and return to the United States to attempt a Kickstarter that would document her overcoming abuse in her life growing up. However, she sadly passed away on April 20, 2016 before her documentary could be fully realized.