WWE departure was the "final nail in the coffin" for Chyna, says veteran (Exclusive)

Wrestling veteran Vince Russo recently revealed how the late-great Chyna's WWE departure in 2001 affected her deeply.

The Ninth Wonder of the World joined the global juggernaut in 1997 and instantly became a major force to be reckoned with as part of the D-Generation X. Chyna also found solo success, becoming the only female performer to hold the Intercontinental Champion in the promotion's history.

However, her time in the company ended in 2001 when she left WWE due to a pay dispute. Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing with Russo, Vince Russo recalled that leaving WWE was the "final nail in the coffin" for Chyna.

Russo added that Chyna was vulnerable, unlike her on-screen personality. He explained that the former DX member was left without an identity after she left the Stamford-based promotion and struggled to find her footing.

"Bro, then you can't obviously work in the same company together. That ain't happening. So now, you're gonna lose your job. To me bro, the final nail in the coffin, and I hate to put it that way but it really was. She's this little, vulnerable, insecure girl living inside this superhero body called Chyna. Now all of a sudden they tell you, you can't be Chyna anymore. Bro, she lost her identity; she didn't know who she was. She went back to that weak vulnerable little girl and people took advantage of her in the entertainment business," said Vince Russo. (4:11 - 4:56)

Check out the full video below:

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Chris Jericho on working with Chyna in WWE

On a recent episode of his podcast Talk is Jericho, Chris Jericho mentioned how it was difficult to work with Chyna inside the ring.

The Ocho believes that the late star was pushed too soon in WWE even though she wasn't ready for it as she wasn't properly trained. Jericho added that the fact that Chyna was also dating Triple H at the time also made things complicated.

"It was very hard. She was a very special talent, obviously, but she was really hard to work with. Because she had, once again, gone so far so quickly, and wasn’t really properly trained. Plus, she was under the umbrella of Triple H at the time — they were dating. So it was really hard to work with her in the ring and outside of the ring," Chris Jericho said.

Chyna had a memorable feud with Chris Jericho in late 1999, after which they briefly became on-screen allies in 2000.

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