Chyna was a pioneer in the days of the Attitude Era. Not only was she one of the early bright spots of female talent that preceded the Women’s Evolution in the WWE, Chyna also broke barries in intergender competition. The WWE Hall of Famer became the first woman to compete in the Royal Rumble, became an Intercontinental Champion, and at one point was the #1 Contender to the WWE Title. In 1999, she held that honor while Stone Cold Steve Austin was the champ, though she never got her shot at the title. Mankind eventually beat her to take the spot at SummerSlam, leaving her without getting the shot she had earned.
Jim Ross talked about this particular story on a recent edition of his Grilling JR podcast, revealing that Austin had known Chyna before their time together in the WWE. While the two of them had no heat or backstage issues with each other, Austin allegedly had zero interest in facing Chyna for the simple reason being he was just old school.
“No, I do not think Steve Austin wanted to face her. Not no but hell no. Steve was in that original trio of guys that sat there and talked to Chyna way back in the day when we began this story. I don’t think they ever had a cross word but Steve is old school enough that he’s not gonna do that.”
While Austin eventually lost the WWE Title at SummerSlam 1999, it wasn’t to Chyna. Who knows what could have happened had she remained in the match? It has been recently alleged by her former manager that she had been promised the WWE Title by Vince McMahon had she promised not to do Playboy, but this opportunity was a whole year before her pictorial was even published. And while Austin had no issues with her, he just felt like it wouldn’t have been the right match to have.
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