During the most recent edition of his “Ross Report” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross discussed the recent passing of Chyna. He noted that she is “without a doubt a WWE Hall Of Famer.” Some highlights from the podcast can be read below:
On Chyna’s passing: “The untimely death of Joanie Laurer, also known as Chyna, last week was certainly shocking. And I had not been talking about it on Twitter or social media or anything here that I had been having conversations with Chyna about coming on our program and probably doing a two-part Ross Report. And she was in full agreement, ready to do it, and we were actually waiting on her manager, the gentleman you see quoted a lot in the news nowadays about Joanie’s situation, her death, Anthony [Anzaldo]. Anthony just had us pencilled in on the date to record, but we had been communicating.”
On Chyna being a WWE Hall of Famer: “I can tell you this, all this talk about the [WWE] Hall Of Fame, in, out, whatever. Look, it’s pretty damn clear to me that based on Chyna’s contributions in the ring, and what she did for WWE when she was on the roster, and the contributions at a key time [for] the company, that Attitude Era, and the Monday Night Wars and all of that stuff, I just believe that her contributions are so significant that she is without a doubt a Hall Of Famer. Without question. It’s just unfortunate that if it happens, or when it happens, I’d like to say and like to think, she won’t be here to accept the honor.”
On Chyna being ahead of her time: “People are going to mourn Joanie’s death for a long time, as she’s very well liked in the wrestling fans’ world. She had a great reputation for being the biggest female star ever in the Attitude Era. She did in the Attitude Era what no other female that I have ever been around could do, unless it might be Ronda Rousey, so Joanie was really ahead of her time and she was a trendsetter, a trailblazer, as has been said.” Ross added, “Joanie never found the happiness in any walk of life, in my opinion, more than she loved her run in WWE. That was the greatest time of her life, in my opinion. She was happy. She became famous. She earned money. She traveled the world. She was really good at what she did.”
