Chyna's Brief Run With TNA Wrestling In 2011, Explained
Over IMPACT Wrestling's storied history, the company has seen many brief appearances from pro wrestling superstars, their short runs often getting lost to the annals of wrestling history. From DDP, to Mr. Perfect, to "Macho Man" Randy Savage, more legends have appeared for TNA and IMPACT than most fans might realize.
One such stint that has largely been forgotten about is the return of Chyna to the world of pro wrestling. After stepping away from the ring following her short stay in New Japan Pro Wrestling, Chyna had been away from wrestling for nearly nine years, having spent the time in between pursuing acting and reality TV opportunities. But, some old rivals, and some old friends, managed to reel her into the Impact Zone for one last match.
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TNA Teases Kurt Angle's Mystery 'Mistress'
Chyna's involvement in TNA came as part of a long-running, high profile feud that centered on two of the biggest names in TNA history, Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett. Angle and Jarrett had been in storylines together dating back to the Olympian's debut in the company back in 2006, but their 2011 rivalry packed an extra punch. Back in 2008, Kurt Angle and his wife Karen divorced. In 2010, Karen remarried, wed to Jeff Jarrett. With the likes of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff at the helm, they looked to play on the personal lives of those involved to spice up their programming.
Spinning off from the birth of the Immortal faction, Jarrett began targeting Angle, looking to end his career. The feud spanned several pay-per-views and various gimmick matches before Karen Jarrett finally got involved, when things started to dip more into the personal lives of all involved. As Karen became more involved, interfering in matches, Angle needed an equalizer in his corner.
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Angle began teasing a mysterious 'Mistress' that would help even the odds, dealing with Karen so that he could get to Jarrett unimpeded. Finally revealed on the May 12 episode of Impact!, Angle's 'business associate' was revealed by on-screen authority figure Mick Foley. As the tron spelled out her name piece-by-piece, Chyna walked out, making her first American wrestling appearance since 2001.
Although Chyna didn't have much of a history teaming or feuding with Angle, she was a perfect foil for the Jarretts. Jeff Jarrett's controversial exit from the WWE in 1999 came about around his feud with Chyna, with Jarrett's last match coming in the form of the Good Housekeeping match with her at No Mercy. The feud between the two saw Jarrett constantly belittle and torment Chyna until she finally got the best of him, taking his Intercontinental Championship before he left for WCW, seemingly never to return.
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Chyna's Last Match At TNA Sacrifice 2011
And so, the match was set for Sacrifice - Kurt Angle and Chyna versus Jeff and Karen Jarrett. Chyna matched her all-American hero, donning the red, white and blue for her first match in nearly a decade. The match followed the fairly standard mixed tag formula of one competitor cowering away from their counterpart, with Karen Jarrett deathly afraid of stepping in the ring with The Ninth Wonder of the World. Eventually, the returning legend got the hot tag.
Aside from a fairly shaky bodyslam to open things, Chyna showed little sign of ring rust. Clearly looking to make a statement, Chyna laid out Karen Jarrett with a Pedigree, a move called as 'a DDT-like maneuver' from Mike Tenay on commentary. But, rather than get a 3-count, Chyna and Angle slapped on stereo ankle locks on their opponents, the married couple tapping out near instantly, notching another pay-per-view win in Chyna's record.
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Unfortunately, Chyna would not end up sticking around in TNA, or wrestling as a whole, with Sacrifice going down as the last match in her trailblazing career. As was reported by Bleacher Report at the time, TNA and Chyna were working towards a long term contract, but her interests in furthering her adult film career clashed with TNA's own wants for their deal. The contract offers were rescinded, and Chyna never appeared in a wrestling promotion ever again.
Chyna's return to wrestling in TNA could have been so much more had both sides been able to reach an agreement for more appearances. Even after 10 years away from American wrestling, Chyna still had a place in the heart of many wrestling fans, perhaps more than she realized. In many respects, Chyna's pioneering run in the WWE helped lay the groundwork for the TNA Knockouts, as well as modern women's wrestling as a whole. It's just a shame that she was never able to truly reap the rewards of what she had sown.
