Chyna's death will leave WWE fans heartbroken for good

February 16, 1997. A momentous day in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) history.

It was a fight between Goldust and Triple H. As Triple H delivered his signature move, the "Pedigree" on his opponent, Goldust's partner Marlena who was also in the ring, slapped the handsome hunk Triple H right across his face. An argument ensued, and then what happened left the entire arena dumbstruck.

An Amazon-esque woman - fantastically beautiful, yet with rippling muscles - burst on to the stage and embraced Marlena in a crippling bear hug, almost sucking the life-breath out of the hapless woman. Such was the ferocity of her attack that she had to be physically removed from the ring by an army of security guards.

Chyna, the "Ninth Wonder of the World", had arrived.

April 20, 2016. Shock and grief gripped professional wrestling fans as news started to trickle in that the WWE wonder woman was no more.

A post on her Facebook page confirmed the news on Wednesday (April 20) night.

TMZ Sports reported that the WWE legend was in her apartment in Redondo Beach, south of Los Angeles in the US, and the police got a call around 7.30pm. According to law enforcement agencies, Chyna had not been seen or heard for a few days. A friend who went to check on her found her unconscious in bed. The police was subsequently alerted.

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Drug overdose is being suspected as a possible cause for her death, given her history of drug abuse, according to TMZ Sports.

Inducted into the erstwhile World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Triple H's bodyguard, Chyna - whose real name was Joanie Laurer - went on to carve out a place for herself in the hearts of pro-wrestling fans. She was no petite WWE diva whose main purpose of being would be as an arm candy of male wrestlers. She wasn't there merely to add to the melodrama that sports entertainment involved. She wasn't there for bra and panties matches or pillow fights. Those were childish stuff.

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Chyna was there for the real thing. She was there to fight and beat the men. And she did, trying to bring in a semblance of gender parity in a male-dominated universe that was the WWF (now, WWE). In doing so, she proved to be an absolute trailblazer in the history of the WWE.

Over the years, she had fought several top male WWE stars, inculding Chris Jericho, Triple H and Rakishi. And she beat some of them. She was the first and only woman to win the Intercontinental Championship, the first woman to qualify for the King of the Ring tournament, the first woman to be the number one contender for the WWF Championship, and the first woman ever to have competed in the Royal Rumble.

We have had great women stars in the WWE like the Fabulous Moolah, Mae Young and Trish Stratus, but Chyna was unlike anybody else. Such was Chyna's wrestling expertise, WWF owner Vince McMahon was initially hesitant to have her in the company, as he feared the audience might not find a woman beating up men too real.

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During an interview with WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Triple H paid her rich tributes .

Not many would disgree, Chyna's exploits in the ring called for a connection with Xena, the "Warrior Princess", the lead character from the superhit television series by the same name. Chyna bore an uncanny resemblance to Lucy Lawless - the actress who played Xena.

Her death leaves a gaping hole in the world of pro-wrestling which could hardly ever be filled. She is one among the several top WWE wrestlers who suffered a tragic end. Giant Gonzalez, Andre the Giant, Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Big Daddy V... the list runs on.

Her death also puts the focus on how often top sports stars have found it hard to handle the power, riches, strains in relationships and anxiety that accompanies fame. Many have fallen to drug and alcohol overdose. Many a legend had withered away. A name that immediatelty comes to mind is George Best, that great Northern Ireland footballer, whose incredible dribbling and ball control could easily have made him the best the world had ever had. He was a victim of alcoholism. Best died in 2005, because of complications from the immunosuppressive drugs he needed to take after a liver transplant in 2002.

Another great footballer Diego Maradona has had a history of drug abuse, and had a brush with death, by his own admission, when he was hospitalised in 2004, following complications in his heart and lungs.

There have been people in show business and sports who have thought it fashionable to do drugs. And in a business like sports entertainment, where the primacy is on having big muscles, competitors often have been impelled to take steroids. And drug abuse is not too far away.

But one is inclined to believe that a stormy personal life might have been the reason for Chyna's drug addiction. Shockingly, her WWE contract was revoked in 2001. She believed Triple H - her then boyfriend - to have cheated on her and fallen for Vince Mcmahon's daughter Stephanie. Chyna blamed Triple H for her eviction.

In her later years, she became plump and unrecognisable from her glamourous and brawny image that fans have always had of her.

Whatever happened, the cruel and often anomic world of the WWE has snuffed out the life of another legend. You are irreplaceable, Chyna. Wherever you are, you will be sorely missed.