Controversial Opinion: Chyna was grossly overrated as a pro wrestler, agree or disagree?

[Aztecwarrior480]

If you think about it, Chyna really is overrated. If you take a good look at her wrestling matches, such as her triple threat match against The Undertaker & Triple H, her one-on-one match against Triple H and her one-on-one match against Mankind/Mick Foley, she looked very out of place, sloppy with her some of her own wrestling moves and she doesn't know how to sell most wrestling moves(as proven when The Undertaker had to lightly chokeslam her in their triple threat match in the video below here). The only reason why a lot of fans liked Chyna is because of the fact that she was a part of the Attitude Era, she's large and incredibly strong for a woman who can overpower the vast majority of divas who aren't anywhere near as strong as her and the WWE was letting her break the gender-barrier to compete with the male wrestlers and win a WWE belt that is exclusively for male wrestlers(Intercontinental Championship).

I honestly think there are plenty of other female wrestlers who had much better wrestling skills(knowing how to sell moves and all) than Chyna. Hell, even some of the female wrestlers from NXT in today's era had bit of a better technical wrestling skills than Chyna. As overrated as I think Chyna is, that doesn't mean I don't respect her for her work and her time in the WWE(then-WWF). I'll give her credit for being a part of one of the biggest wrestling stables during the Attitude Era(D-Generation X) and still being able to draw some audience. I'll give her that.

 

[Stopspot]

Fairly certain that's not controversial at all. The general consensus is that Chyna was an interesting character for the industry at the time. But a shit wrestler.

 

[The GOAT]

I think praising Chyna for her in-ring prowess would cause greater controversy than not considering literally almost no one commends her for having any kind of serious ability whenever she would step between the ropes. On her very best day she was just an average performer, and according to many had to be lead in nearly all of her matches.

Chyna's whole role in history was being an intriguing figure due to the fact that she was a woman who was masculine enough to the point where she could literally step in the ring and wrestle men instead of women (and defeat them.) It fit the Attitude Era perfectly too, since that whole period was centered around doing things that were "edgy" and "in your face", and a woman being tough and bad-ass enough to step up to other men was one of those things.

 

[Solidus1]

IMO, no matter how big or "manly" she was, she still should have fought in the diva's division. She is a woman after all... it just didn't seem right her fighting men in singles matches.

 

[The GOAT]

IMO, no matter how big or "manly" she was, she still should have fought in the diva's division. She is a woman after all... it just didn't seem right her fighting men in singles matches.

They at least by the end wanted her to put over Lita with the Women's Championship on the line at Wrestlemania X-7, but she refused to do so on account of thinking by then that she was "above" the Women's division as a whole.

On one hand, you almost can't blame her for balking at the idea in the manner that she did. I mean, if I had already become accustomed to wrestling and beating men instead of just only women, I'd probably refuse to lose to a woman too, but that's just me. It'd be like Rey Mysterio competing for the Cruiserweight Championship again after already proving he was good enough to hang with the heavyweights.

On the other hand, she was pretty expendable as a talent by that point (hence why she was being asked to do the job for a woman in the first place) and was essentially powerless backstage since she was no longer in a relationship with HHH, so she should have known better than to think she could throw her weight around without there being consequences. It wasn't long after that that she was out the door.

I didn't really mind the idea of her fighting men per se, but it really grinded my gears to see her get clean victories over a caliber of talent like Chris Jericho only a few months after his epic debut when he interrupted The Rock during a promo.

 

[Aztecwarrior480]

They at least by the end wanted her to put over Lita with the Women's Championship on the line at Wrestlemania X-7, but she refused to do so on account of thinking by then that she was "above" the Women's division as a whole.

On one hand, you almost can't blame her for balking at the idea in the manner that she did. I mean, if I had already become accustomed to wrestling and beating men instead of just only women, I'd probably refuse to lose to a woman too, but that's just me. It'd be like Rey Mysterio competing for the Cruiserweight Championship again after already proving he was good enough to hang with the heavyweights.

On the other hand, she was pretty expendable as a talent by that point (hence why she was being asked to do the job for a woman in the first place) and was essentially powerless backstage since she was no longer in a relationship with HHH, so she should have known better than to think she could throw her weight around without there being consequences. It wasn't long after that that she was out the door.

I didn't really mind the idea of her fighting men per se, but it really grinded my gears to see her get clean victories over a caliber of talent like Chris Jericho only a few months after his epic debut when he interrupted The Rock during a promo.

Tell me about it. I can't believe the WWE had the audacity to make a great, very talented and future Hall of Fame candidate wrestler like Chris Jericho being looked at as a joke at the beginning of his WWE career by losing cleanly to Chyna just to make her look good as a female wrestler. I once heard a rumor that Chyna insisted Jericho to go a little rough with his wrestling moves on her during their matches. Then Chyna got hurt and complained to Vince McMahon and almost got Jericho fired for it. I've also heard that Jericho was almost buried by Chyna because of these rumored reasons. Thank god that never happened.

 

[Stopspot]

The Jericho Chyna feud was fun.

And Jericho earned his stripes with those feuds. No need to complain

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

IMO, no matter how big or "manly" she was, she still should have fought in the diva's division. She is a woman after all... it just didn't seem right her fighting men in singles matches.

There really wasn't a divas division at the time breh

 

[Stopspot]

^ That is true. Divas at the time of Chyna were restricted to valets or the lingerie/pool match bullshit that neckbeards think is masterpieces.

As shitty a wrestler as Chyna was, I wouldn't want to see her mix it up regularly with people like BB or Miss Kitty.

 

[Aztecwarrior480]

^ That is true. Divas at the time of Chyna were restricted to valets or the lingerie/pool match bullshit that neckbeards think is masterpieces.

As shitty a wrestler as Chyna was, I wouldn't want to see her mix it up regularly with people like BB or Miss Kitty.

"Divas at the time of Chyna were restricted to valets or the lingerie/pool match bullshit that neckbeards think is masterpieces."

Not really. Before the Attitude Era, the WWE has had a women's wrestling division(No Diva search or any of the dumb lingerie matches that ever existed back in those days) for a while. We had female wrestlers like Alundra Blayze, Wendi Richter, Bull Nakano, Sensational Sherri who were all WWE Women's Champion from the early 1980s-early 1990s. Just that the women's wrestling division during the 1980s and 1990s weren't anywhere near popular or gained any sort of attention until the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression Era began to sexualize the female wrestlers for them to gain more attention.

 

[Stopspot]

"Divas at the time of Chyna were restricted to valets or the lingerie/pool match bullshit that neckbeards think is masterpieces."

Not really. Before the Attitude Era, the WWE has had a women's wrestling division for a while. We had female wrestlers like Alundra Blayze, Bull Nakano, Sensational Sherri who were all WWE Women's Champion from the late 1980s-early 1990s. Just that the women's wrestling division during the 1980s and 1990s weren't anywhere near popular or gained any sort of attention until the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression Era began to sexualize the female wrestlers for them to gain more attention.

Before the attitude era yes. During Chyna's hayday the women were valets. Outside of Chyna and Ivory none of them knew a wrist lock from a wrist watch. When the best female worker on your roster is considered to be Sable you might as well not have a women's division, which was the state of the women during a lot of Chyna's run.

 

[The GOAT]

Before the attitude era yes. During Chyna's hayday the women were valets. Outside of Chyna and Ivory none of them knew a wrist lock from a wrist watch. When the best female worker on your roster is considered to be Sable you might as well not have a women's division, which was the state of the women during a lot of Chyna's run.

They also had Jacqueline, Tori, and Luna Vachon on their roster around that time as well. Lita later debuted around the Springtime of 2000, as did Trish (although Trish was a little less experienced and it took her longer to hone any kind of serious skill in the ring than it did with Lita.) It's not like they couldn't have built up a more serious women's division earlier if they had wanted to, but they didn't. Even when Sable was the Women's Champion, she was just eye candy.

Speaking of which, who has ever complimented Sable for being the best female worker there at the time? She was by far the most over, but I can't recall anyone ever crediting her for having any kind of serious skill in the ring.

 

[Michael Archer]

If you actually critique Chyna's matches, you will find that the majority of her matches were mediocre at best, terrible at worst. When you read the King Of The Ring 1999 review on different websites, people who mentioned the quarterfinal match between Chyna and Road Dogg said that it was bad. People also said that the Intercontinental title match between Jeff Jarrett and Chyna was bad. Even though Chyna was the first woman to enter the Royal Rumble, she eliminated Mark Henry only to be eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin, the time span was under 1 minute. The same thing happened in Royal Rumble 2000, but the only difference it that she eliminated Chris Jericho, only to be eliminated by Big Boss Man, the time span was also under 1 minute. Stevie Ray said that Chyna's run was a gimmick

 

[Paul Diaz-Berrio]

Chyna was trained as a wrestler late in her life, we mustn´t forget that. She was a great character and one of the women who sowed the first seed for the woman´s revolution, but she never stepped into a ring until she was thirty. The years before that age are crucial for the development of skills and Chyna learned hers as a fully developed adult. not as a still maturing person. It´s a pity, because as an onscreen presence, she dominated the attitude era. Then again, until recently, women weren´t given the same opportunities as men, so we can´t blame Chyna for being subsidised by a very male world.

 

[Grievous 3D]

I think Chyna was more about her size & presence than her actual wrestling
skills...but in saying that...I think that worked for her.

Overrated? Maybe? But I think every wrestler has a group of fans who
think they are overrated.

She was so different from the other women on the roster at the time & did
indeed compete with the men...which I never really liked...but then I have
always had a problem with intergender wrestling. Its like hard-coded into
my very DNA.

I remember watching Chyna "back in the day" & she was at least a character...
a larger than life figure who really fit in well with the era at the time.

She at least knew how to "carry & present herself" which unfortunately is a
skill a lot of female performers lack these days.



Actually...you know what? Tessa Blanchard reminds me a little of Chyna
now that I think about it.

I said a little...Tessa is way more skilled of course.