Wrestling star Chyna remembered by fans, WWE celebrities

Wrestling fans joined WWE stars Wednesday night in Redondo Beach to celebrate the extraordinary life and pioneering career of the late Joan Laurer, better known as wrestling icon Chyna.

For fans in attendance, the night wasn’t about how Laurer died, but rather what she achieved and how she achieved it.

“She had strength, courage, beauty and the ability to stand up for herself in a world that may not always embrace her,” said 31-year-old Ozma Stasisnki, one of the more than 100 fans who lined up nearly an hour before the 7:30 p.m. memorial at the 1,400-seat Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center.

Laurer, 46, was found dead April 20 at her apartment on The Esplanade in Redondo Beach.

A cause of death remains under investigation but her manager, Anthony Anzaldo, said in a previous interview that he believes she died from misusing the sleeping medication Ambien and anti-anxiety drug Valium.

Anzaldo said Chyna’s ashes will be spread in the ocean off Redondo Beach early Thursday moing.

The upbeat memorial service — attended by about 500 mouers — started about an hour behind schedule with speed painter Rock Demarco.

As a live band played Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” Demarco created an image of Chyna with her right hand raised in the air. To the right on a table was a black u, decorated with bright jewelry, that held Laurer’s ashes.

“I’ve been a wrestling fan for 26 years and Chyna was my all-time favorite. She’s the reason every single female wrestler is in the business,” said 31-year-old fan April Serrato.

The memorial, attended by wrestlers like Rob Van Dam, Sean Waltman and wrestling veteran Johy Mantell, included video tributes and songs from a choir.

Celebrities in attendance included actor C. Thomas Howell, Deis Hof, owner of the Buy Ranch, and former “Brady Bunch” star Barry Williams, who counted himself as one of Laurer’s friends.

“I hope she’s remembered for changing the face of wrestling,” Williams said from the green room at the venue.

“But I also hope they remember what a gentle and kind soul she was” he said. “For all the bravado, she was very delicate and very fragile, and I don’t think she was able to get ahead of some of the things that happened in her life.”

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Hip-hop artist Coolio and Baby Bash performed at the memorial.

Known as the “Ninth Wonder of the World,” Chyna was at the top of her wrestling game as a headliner for World Wrestling Entertainment in the 1990s.

She was the first woman to enter the Royal Rumble Match and the only woman to win the Intercontinental Championship and was a founding member of the wrestling faction D-Generation X, whose members included Triple H and Shawn Michaels.

She posed for Playboy magazine in 2000 and appeared on the reality TV show “Surreal Life” in 2005 and later talked about her problems with alcohol and drugs on “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” in 2008.

She also performed in adult films.

“At the end of her life, I think she was pushed to the side, which I think is unfortunate because she changed wrestling forever,” said Mantell, the veteran wrestler.

But she was still front and center at the memorial.

As Demarco continued to paint an image of Chyna, Anzaldo picked up the u and stood center stage.

“Tonight we’re not going to use the F word — funeral,” he said. “It’s friends, family and fans.”