What if Chyna had come back to WWE?

Chyna was a breakout star during WWE’s Attitude Era. As a charter member of D-Generation X, she was vital to get Triple H over during his first real push. Moreover, as a woman who got in the ring with men, she broke new ground and in some regards paved the way for the respect WWE affords its female athletes today.

However, Chyna herself is not a figure of reverence in the WWE Universe. She has a complicated relationship with the company given her issues with substance abuse, struggles with the law, and forays into pornography after her time with the company—each of which is especially problematic given the family-friendly PG Era WWE has transitioned into. On top of that, there’s here romantic history with Triple H. While the timeline remains murky, there’s reason to believe that when he started his relationship with Stephanie McMahon that led to wrestling’s ultimate power couple, he was cheating on the Ninth Wonder of the World.

Chyna is no longer with us, having passed away a little over two years ago. But what if she had mended fences with WWE before she passed on, and even returned as an in-ring performer? We’ll never know for sure what might have been, but this article speculates what might have been if she’d returned.

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5. The Leader of the Divas of Doom

The Divas of Doom may have launched sooner and had a different look with Chyna around.

In 2012, WWE launched the Divas of Doom mini-faction featuring Beth Phoenix and Natalya as a pair of powerful women who didn’t fit the model mould and proceeded to bully their skinnier counterparts in the women’s ranks. This is an ethos that Chyna would have fit into readily, as her power and look never matched the traditional WWE mould, but was what fostered her becoming a star.

For Chyna to have figured into this angle, it would have either meant her doing so in her early forties or the timeline moving up, with WWE launching the group around her sooner than they actually kicked it off. It requires a number of changes in the WWE timeline, but Chyna could have been a key player in lending these younger talents her credibility and going on a tear through the face roster of women like Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres, AJ Lee, and Kaitlyn.

4. Another Royal Rumble Appearance

Chyna may have fought in a men's world in WWE one more time.

One of Chyna’s biggest claims to fame in WWE was having pioneered new ground in competing with men. Her accomplishments included winning an Intercontinental Championship, and being the first woman to enter the Royal Rumble.

If Chyna were to have come back to WWE, she would have made for a spectacular surprise Rumble entrant, playing off of her history and having one last go-round with the men’s division before settling back into the female ranks, given WWE had moved firmly away from inter-gender wrestling shortly after her tenure.

No, Chyna wouldn’t have won a Rumble, especially at that point in her career. More than most legends returning for the annual match, Chyna would make waves all over again for her gender and not looking out of place performing alongside her male counterparts. Again, we’d have to play with the timeline a bit, but it might have been particularly interesting if she weren’t the only woman in the match, but rather joined Beth Phoenix or Kharma in the field.

3. Chyna vs. Trish Stratus

Trish Stratus wasn't ready to challenge Chyna before she left, but grew into someone who would have been an interesting opponent.

While Chyna’s legacy in WWE is largely synonymous with the Attitude Era, she interestingly, reached her prime just as Trish Stratus was getting going as a character. Stratus was a part of the Attitude Era, but only became a serious in-ring performer—and one of WWE’s most definitive female legends—during the years to follow Attitude.

So, Chyna vs. Trish Stratus was a complete mismatch when they were both actually in WWE. The pairing could be a lot more fun after Stratus had hit her stride in those years to follow. Whether it was Stratus as the plucky underdog against Chyna as the monster heel, or Chyna playing Ronda Rousey to Stratus’s Alexa Bliss-like heel character, in either case, they could put on a memorable match with each other as complementary dance partners. Add Lita to the mix—whom Chyna did clash with late in her WWE career—and things could get even more interesting.

2. A Hall of Fame Induction

Chyna probably would have found her way into the Hall of Fame if she'd returned to WWE.

One of the controversies related to Chyna that has well outlasted the woman herself is whether or when she might be inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame. The standard company line, as articulated by Triple H in multiple interviews, is that her WWE accomplishments make her more than deserving of the honour. However, given her less than savoury activities away from the company, its difficult for WWE to celebrate her legacy in such a high profile and honorific fashion.

There’s no erasing the more scandalous behaviour Chyna engaged with now but had she returned to WWE years back, perhaps she wouldn’t have had the opportunity or motivations to get herself into such trouble. Otherwise, if she’d started mending fences and making amends with WWE while she was alive, it may have been the start of a redemption story like the ones that led troubled Jake Roberts and Scott to their own inductions.

Chyna claimed late in her life that she had reached out to WWE about making up, so the responsibility isn’t all on her. Still, we’ll never know now if a return might have granted her her moment in the sun over a WrestleMania weekend while she was alive or posthumously.

1. Chyna vs. Kharma

Kharma vs. Chyna could have been a dream match.

By the time Kharma surfaced in WWE, Chyna was well past her prime as an athlete. She did, however, still work a short stint with Impact Wrestling in 2011, suggesting she could have come back to work Kharma in WWE around that time.

The more intriguing possibility I’d like to get at here, though, is that if Chyna were to have returned in the mid-to-late 2000s, WWE might have gone looking for a credible female opponent for her. That’s the same era when Kharma rose to national prominence in her own first run with Impact, billed as Awesome Kong. She was not only an impressive physical sceptical but an excellent worker at the time.

Kharma would have been uniquely situated to have positioned Chyna as an underdog face or could have debuted as the cavalry to help fight off the Ninth Wonder of the World. In any event, it’s an interesting dream match that it’s too bad we’ll never get to see now.