LOOK BACK: CHYNA HOW IT ALL STARTED

Chyna wrestling as Joanie Lee in 1996 for the PGWA

Alivingwonder.com: Everyone knows Chyna shattered glass ceilings and broke barriers in the World Wrestling Entertainment and New Japan Wrestling Federation. She is the most popular and electrifying woman in wrestling history. On camera, she blended physical prowess with exotic elegance. 

Backstage, she enchanted everyone with her playful sense of humor and love. 
She was and always will be the "Ninth Wonder of the World," a wrestler who defied the stereotypes of women in wrestling by proving she was not afraid to battle men in the ring.

Very few people know how everything started. Chyna started working out at age 15, and began competing in fitness pageants, belly dancing and even singing in her early 20s. Chyna knew early on she wanted to become an entertainer. But not even Chyna herself could have imagined just how big of a star she would become.

Shortly after starting in fitness competitions in the early 90s she began training with Gerry Blaze who helped Chyna take her training to the next level. A few years later, Chyna began training with men at Killer Kowalski's wrestling school.

Chyna as Joanie Lee in PGWA

Chyna picked up on wrestling very quickly and began dominating women's wrestling in the PGWA under the name "Joanie Lee". Being bigger than all other women gave Chyna and advantage and in 1996 she began competing against men in various independent federations. Shortly there after Chyna entered the WWE and the rest was literally history in the making.

Below are various videos of Chyna talking about how she got started, various matches and promos before she was Chyna! 

NOTE: These matches and clips are from the personal collection of alivingwonder.com some of these are low quality just due to age and the fact they came from VHS. The last video is copyright of Tokyo Chyna on youtube or therealchyna.com