Anthony Alzando stood on the stage of the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center before an audience who came from around Los Angeles — and his first message was one of caution.
“We’re not going to use the ‘f-word’ tonight — funeral,” Alzando said. “Tonight’s about friends, family and fans.”
Hundreds of fans turned out in honor of Joanie “Chyna” Laurer, a woman who made her name as a wrestling star in the mid-1990s with the then-World Wrestling Federation. Laurer died on April 20, in her home along the Esplanade, of what investigators ruled an accidental overdose of prescription medication.
Fans of Laurer lined up around the building for the event, which was originally scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. However, a series of issues caused the service to begin closer to 9 p.m.
Still, the faithful who were there to honor Laurer were treated to a strange, sometimes messy, but ultimately touching tribute that peeled back the layers of a woman billed as the “Ninth Wonder of the World.”
“She broke barriers,” said Alicia Flores, of Inglewood. Flores came to the event carrying a replica WWE Women’s Championship belt, one of many titles Laurer carried during her in-ring career. “She was the first woman to do all sorts of things [in wrestling],” referencing Laurer’s career challenging and defeating male wrestlers worldwide.
Flores had met Laurer in November, she said, at a meet-and-greet in Huntington Park, and initially couldn’t believe the news.
“It hurt — when I saw her, she looked good, she looked clean,” Flores said. “I told her that I loved her, that I was rooting for her.”
Initially a bodybuilder, Laurer had lived a tumultuous life following her wrestling career’s conclusion. She transitioned to acting, then to a short-lived career in pornography, before spending four years living in Japan as an English teacher.
As years passed, she struggled with addiction and mental illness, and a volatile, violent relationship with fellow wrestler Sean “X-Pac” Waltman.
“We had a really rocky relationship…but I loved her very much,” Waltman said at the memorial, at one point looking to the sky, asking for Laurer’s forgiveness. “I think she did more for women’s empowerment than anyone.”
Waltman was among the key speakers in a night that featured live painting, spoken and video tributes, photo slideshows and musical performances from Barry Williams, Coolio, a string sextet, a backing band and a choir.
Alzondo also announced the creation of the Ninth Wonder of the World Foundation, an organization that will raise money to support child education and animal rights organizations.
Christine Montgomery, of Beverly Hills, knew Laurer from her work caring for animals. The two met at a protest in 2009 that Laurer was brought in to headline. The two developed a quick friendship, though they lost touch a year later.
“She was very passionate about animals, and had such a compassionate heart,” Montgomery said. “[Laurer] was wonderful, so beautiful inside and out, down to earth and approachable…she was a good soul.”
The event ended as hundreds of Laurer’s fans in attendance passed by a bejeweled urn with her remains, paying their respects.
The next day, Alzando planned to spread Laurer’s ashes at sea.
