"She felt like she was above that" - Jim Ross reveals top WWE Superstar didn't want to win the Women's title

The latest edition of Jim Ross' Grilling JR podcast on AdFreeShows.com focussed on one of the greatest WrestleManias of all time, WrestleMania X-Seven (17). Chyna won the Women's title from Ivory at the PPV, and the match was a one-sided squash in favor of the Ninth Wonder of the World.

Jim Ross revealed that Chyna didn't want to win the Women's Championship in the first place. Jim Ross explained that Chyna didn't even want to work with other women as she was a big proponent of intergender wrestling. Jim Ross stated that the wrestling landscape was different back then, and Chyna did not want to work with other female talents on the roster.

"She didn't want to win the title. She didn't want to work with women because of her look. She was a big advocate of the intergender stuff, and folks that know me, (know) that's not my cup of tea.

She didn't want to wrestle women. That was not her plot in life. She felt like she was above that because of her look and her size. Now, in today's world, it wasn't in 'today's world' back then; that was back then! This is 2001. It's 20 years ago."

As noted by Jim Ross, women's wrestling has evolved tremendously over the past 20 years, and in the present day and age, Chyna would have had many exciting matches to work.

"Women's wrestling has come farther in the last 20 years or so than any other time, at least in my lifetime, in history. So, the list of talents that are out there now, you know, she could have some matches if she wanted to, or she could get into the ring like somebody like Asuka or Thunder Rosa, and whomever and get her a** whooped. But that was not, you know, she didn't. She had an end."

Jim Ross added that Chyna was 'politically connected' in WWE and the former Women's Champion just felt that she was superior to the female locker room.

JR admitted that he felt bad for Ivory as she was a vital part of the rise of WWE divas. Jim Ross noted that Chyna didn't want to be associated with the divas. However, according to Jim Ross, Chyna's desires and actions contradicted her stance towards being seen as a diva.

"She was politically connected. She just thought she was above working with women, and I felt bad for Lisa Moretti (Ivory). You, Lisa Moretti, didn't do any harm to Chyna. Lisa is a pro. Lovely person. I think the world of her, and she helped us so much in the development of the Divas back in those days.

That was the thing about it. Chyna did not want to be known as a Diva, but she wanted to look like a Diva. She was getting her jaw done and all those things. So, it was a two-way street here. I wasn't sure what lane she was in sometimes."

WWE wanted Chyna to be the women's champion as she had a great look, and the company even believed that she was the female equivalent of Hulk Hogan.

"But I do know that she did not want to work with women because she would come to me and say, 'How are you going to use me at the next house show run? Who am I going to work with? And so, we know, we just felt like having a champion that looked like her. She was like a Hogan. And so, you know, that's a compliment, by the way."

It's a well-known fact that, during her final days in WWE, Chyna wanted to be paid as much as the top male superstars such as Stone Cold Steve Austin. Jim Ross said Chyna's demands were unrealistic considering the nature of the wrestling business in the early 2000s.

"She didn't see it that way. She saw herself in a different league. As far as when she ended up leaving, she demanded shegets paid as much as Austin. That wasn't reasonable. I mean, that wasn't plausible. I said, 'You can make a lot of money, but you're never guaranteed to get a million dollars a year. So, now, we know that many women in wrestling are making a million dollars a year because the landscape has changed over the last 20 years. We're talking about 2001."

Disrespectful: Jim Ross on the finish of Chyna's match against Ivory

Jim Ross honestly opined that the finish of Chyna's match against Ivory at WrestleMania 17 was lazy and disrespectful.

Jim Ross quickly reminded the listeners that he spent a lot of time trying to help Chyna in WWE, probably more than any other superstar. Jim Ross pointed out that Chyna, unfortunately, lacked self-confidence, and she faced severe anxiety issues.

"And so, you know, I don't know. I thought the cover was the s****. You know, Chyna laid on her back, which is lazy s***. Disrespectful. And I don't want to tirade or knock on Joanie. I spent more time trying to help Joanie than probably any other talent on the roster for a period of time there. But she just had a very strange outlook. It's very strong anxiety. She didn't have a lot of self-confidence. She always wanted to change her body. Change her face, change this, change that. Get sexier, but not wrestle women. So, you want to be a sexy woman, but you don't want to wrestle women?"

Jim Ross concluded by saying that dealing with Chyna was quite a challenging ordeal and her rocky personal life compounded the company's problems.

"So, I'm supposed to book you with the guys that you can beat. That's another issue. Why would I wrestle and not go over? Hello? This sh*** is showbiz. That's how you cast tonight. So, I don't know, it got to be a pain in the**, quite frankly, that whole kind of trying to keep her happy, and of course, her personal life wasn't doing her any favors."

Despite all the controversies, Chyna is regarded as a trailblazer in pro wrestling. After years of being snubbed, the late great superstar was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019 as part of D-Generation X.

What are your opinions about Chyna and her career? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Please credit Jim Ross's 'Grilling JR' podcast and give a H/T to SK Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.