DATE: August 19, 1999
COMPANY: WWF.com
AUTHOR: Brian Lutz

Even though I'm hugely impressed by Chyna's physical prowess and her ever-rising position in the World Wrestling Federation, I'm not exactly her biggest fan. Her tendency to KO superstars with well-placed nutshots just rubs me the wrong way, and I'm almost always hoping that somebody will find a similarly-painful method of turning the tables on her.

That having been said, I think that Chyna got a really raw deal when she got knocked out of the No. 1 contender spot for SummerSlam.

Competition in the Federation is at an all-time high, and every single superstar on the roster is focused on capturing the Federation Championship. Title shots are few and far between for most, and whenever a superstar gets a chance to go for the gold, it's an opportunity that must be seized. Then, if this quest proves unsuccessful, a superstar has only him- or herself to blame. Unfortunately, Chyna doesn't even get this satisfaction since her shot was taken away from her for no good reason at all.

This whole situation must be incredibly frustrating for Chyna. She actually earned her shot at the gold, based on her victories over Triple H and the Undertaker, no small task in itself. Now to have this opportunity rescinded because of some backstage politickingÉ well, it just makes me ill to think about it.

Personally, I place the blame firmly on the shoulders of Shawn Michaels. Yeah, he's the Federation commissioner and all, but what business did he have placing Chyna into a situation where she was capable of losing her hard-fought No. 1 ranking? She had already competed once that night, and she was in no condition to take on Mankind, a fact that was more than obvious to the commissioner.

It really bothers me that Michaels is abusing his position of power in this manner. Even though Michaels has had problems with Chyna in the past, he is in no way justified in screwing her out of a shot at the Federation Championship. The other superstars of the Federation should take a long hard look at what Michaels did, since it's obvious that if he could do it to Chyna, then he can do it to anybody.

Also, Chyna's immediate future is now in question. Some people have speculated that this is the perfect opportunity for Chyna to start out on her own, and attempt to regain her standing as the No. 1 contender. Others believe that she'll be with Triple H's corner come SummerSlam. Personally, I believe that the latter will come to pass, since the working relationship between the two superstars has been so successful in the past. At the very least, Chyna has proved to the world that she's Triple H's equalÉ small consolation to be sure, but at least she gained something from this whole situation.

Whether or not Chyna would have beaten Austin at SummerSlam is irrelevant. Although Austin probably would have retained his gold in such a contest, Chyna still earned the opportunity to try. I can only hope that whomever takes the gold at SummerSlam finds it in his heart to give the very first title shot to the true No. 1 contender Chyna.