By Mike Mooneyham
Jan. 16, 2005
It appears that the on-again, off-again relationship between one of pro wrestling’s most dysfunctional couples has hit the rocks yet again. The split, though, is merely a backdrop for the meteoric fall from grace of the woman once dubbed “the ninth wonder of the world.”
Sean “X-Pac” Waltman recently revealed on his message board that Joanie Laurer, the artist formerly known as Chyna, had been arrested New Year’s Day in Los Angeles on charges of domestic battery.
According to a post by Waltman, against whom Laurer once obtained a restraining order following an August 2003 incident, the former WWE star and Playboy Playmate struck him several times in the face after returning from a late-night party at the Playboy Mansion. Waltman said the incident occurred in front of his two children who were in town for the holidays, and added that his muscle-bound love interest was released from custody three days later.
“There were several witnesses to her behavior, including Jeff Meecham from ‘The Extreme Mayhem Show,’ and unfortunately, my two children witnessed and heard all of this,” Waltman said. “She was released today, once again, having to suffer no consequences for her behavior. She showed no remorse.”
Joanie Laurer
Her latest attempt to make a showbiz comeback is a role in the new season of VH-1’s “The Surreal Life” reality series in which seven washed-up celebrities spend 10 days together in a mansion.
An ill-advised guest shot on the Stern radio show Friday morning may have reflected just how far Laurer has fallen. Slurring her words and virtually incoherent at times, Laurer rambled through the disjointed interview and voluntarily disrobed for the trash radio host. Admitting, to no one’s surprise, that she has had issues with alcohol and cocaine, the one-time fitness freak completed the segment with a less-than-melodic musical offering. Mercifully cutting her off after about a minute, Stern jokingly recommended that she should tour with troubled rocker Courtney Love, which prompted the delusional Laurer’s line of the day: “Courtney isn’t stable right now.”
Waltman, who joined the on-air trainwreck, alleged that Laurer blew pot smoke in the face of his 9-year-old daughter, and that “the gay guy she runs around with” tried to get his son to smoke pot. He also accused Laurer of breaking his nose just weeks before taping “The Surreal Life” after he told her about a past relationship.
Waltman’s career also has been in a tailspin over the past several years. The Minnesota native went through drug treatment (funded by WWE owner Vince McMahon) at an Atlanta rehab clinic last year and has yet to return to the ring on a full-time basis. The 32-year-old Waltman, who has moved to Florida to be closer to his children, said on his Web site last year that he still loved Laurer despite scathing comments she has made about him.
Laurer and Waltman, who worked his first match in months at an independent show in December, recently peddled a sex video that was distributed by the same company that released the infamous Paris Hilton tape.
“The video was something that my boyfriend and I taped for our own personal pleasure,” Laurer recently said. “However, when an outside party got hold of it, I decided to make a preemptive strike and release the video myself. I’m proud of my performance in the video and feel confident that my fans throughout the world will love it.”
Laurer, however, said on the Stern show that she has not received any money from sales of the tape.
“I only want to make her happy,” Waltman said in a recent interview. “As far as the sex tape is concerned, I personally could care less if people see the tape in question. It is something I refuse to be ashamed of. It is actually very funny and in no way obscene. It is something I could never be ashamed of because it is a product of true love. So if anyone has a problem with it, then I can only say that is their problem.”
Most reviews have not been as kind. One critic called the silicon-enhanced female bodybuilder “a hulking WWE man-thing,” while noting that Waltman came across as “a greasy buffoon with sexual insecurities and a terrible sense of humor.” The tape, it concluded, was not for the weak of heart and was the “sort of sleazy moronic cartoon version of America that exists only in the hearts and minds of professional wrestlers.”
The tape also virtually guarantees that the two will never again see the light of day on WWE television.
Laurer’s ex-fiancé, Triple H (Paul Levesque), who is now married to Stephanie McMahon, recently confirmed in an interview that the sexually explicit video ensures Laurer will never be rehired by WWE. Although the WWE champion has remained in contact with former Clique cohort Waltman, the door may have closed for him as well.
“She was a much different person when I met her, she was selling beepers and the nicest person in the world. The more success she got the more miserable she was,” Triple H said of his former flame during a recent appearance on the Stern show.
Their relationship turned sour when Laurer allegedly discovered love letters that her former beau had written to the daughter of WWE owner Vince McMahon. The two split after Laurer accused Triple H of going behind her back.
Laurer said on the Stern show Friday that she wouldn’t work with McMahon again for a million dollars and claimed she was still owed a considerable amount in royalties.
Prior to her softer, surgically enhanced look, the Wonder Woman-like character was part of the Degeneration X clique in the late ’90s with Triple H, Waltman and Shawn Michaels. She left WWE in 2001 when she was denied a pay raise and was forced to sell her dream house in New Hampshire just weeks after construction was finished, and moved to Los Angeles. She subsequently was barred from appearing as Chyna (a trademark of the WWE) when she posed for the January 2002 issue of Playboy.
Since Laurer and Waltman announced their engagement in November 2002 in Las Vegas, their relationship has been tailor-made for the tabloids. Laurer filed a restraining order against Waltman in August 2003 after claiming he “choked, beat and pulled her hair.” Waltman has denied being physically abusive.
– What looms to be the biggest wrestling legends reunion ever will be held Jan. 28-30 in Tampa. More than 50 stars have signed on for Wrestle Reunion, and among those include Bruno Sammartino, Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes, Jack Brisco, Roddy Piper, Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Ricky Steamboat, Cowboy Bill Watts, Terry and Dory Funk Jr., Ted DiBiase, Bobby Heenan, Jim Cornette and The Midnight Express, The Rock ‘N Roll Express, Diamond Dallas Page, “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, Nick Bockwinkel, Jimmy Valiant and Abdullah The Butcher. More than 15 matches have been booked, with the main event pitting NWA world champ Jeff Jarrett against Tully Blanchard (managed by J.J. Dillon) with Ricky Steamboat as special ref.
A late-model passenger van will depart Winston-Salem, N.C., for the reunion on the last weekend of the month. The total cost is $75 for the round trip; individuals will be responsible for all other personal costs once there. The van will pick up passengers and deliver them back anywhere along the way. The cost doesn’t include tickets or lodging in Tampa. Interested parties should contact Ken Spence at [email protected].
– Hulk Hogan was backstage at Smackdown tapings Tuesday night in Tampa. Hogan, who was joined by fellow area residents Brian Blair and Brian Knobs, reportedly chatted with Shane McMahon. It is believed that Hogan is lobbying for a spot at this year’s Wrestlemania.
– Vince McMahon and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin are scheduled to appear together on Fox Sports Network’s Best Damn Sports Show Period this week in conjunction with promotion for Wrestlemania 21.
– The controversial New Jack (Jerome Young) received a WWE tryout prior to Raw tapings last week. He has not been offered a job with the company.
– Jeff Hardy vs. Scott Hall has been added to tonight’s TNA Final Resolution pay-per-view. Main event pits Jeff Jarrett defending his TNA title against the winner of a three-way match pitting Diamond Dallas Page, Kevin Nash and Monty Brown.
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