WrestleZone.com reader “Diva Dirt” sent along the following …
Former WWE Women’s Champion and TNA Knockouts Champion, Lisa Marie Varon, better known as Tara in TNA and Victoria in WWE, joined Diva-Dirt.com for an exclusive interview about her career.
Lisa talks about many topics including her time in WWE, her current run in TNA, the reaction to her YouTube video with Brooke Tessmacher about the “Thanksgiving Thong Thunder” match, what it’s like teaming with Brooke and writing for Chicago Athlete magazine. Plus, Lisa reminisces on the “good old days”, the golden era of the Divas division, what it was like being part of the first ever Divas cage match (this week is the anniversary of that match) and much more.
Highlights below:
Talking about her longevity in wrestling and being on TV for nearly 10 years: “I’m very lucky. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had injuries — a torn ACL in 2002, my elbow in the cage match with Mickie — but I don’t know how nothing has taken me out. I do work out hard and listen to my body when I need rest. It was hard in WWE to travel four days a week and maintain the healthiness in your body. I was very lucky to get seriously put out.”
“It’s very unusual for a 40-year-old to be competing against 20-year-olds coming in the ring. It’s tough. It’s a bit intimidating for me. I’m looking for the fountain of youth as well. But I think I have accomplished a lot, because I’m still good out there in the ring. I don’t feel like I’ve lost my flow.”
“My age was 29 and a half when I started in this business. I get a lot of people on Twitter, they always ask me, “Am I too old to get in the business?” and I hate saying that you’re never too old to get in the business, but when they look for the wrestlers, they do generally look for the 18-25 year olds that they can mould and create into their own. There’s always that special 30-year-old. I was better in my 30s than in my 20s, like being physically in shape and at my peak. I like to be a positive role model for people my age, even though I don’t act my age. [Laughs]”
Her future in wrestling & wanting to stay at her best: “When I do sign my contract, I sign year-to-year with TNA. I had the option [to do that] which I was very lucky [to have]. I have to listen to my body. I want to be on TV as long as I’m at my best. I don’t want to be where you see me limping down to the ring and feel sorry for me. That’s kind of why I left WWE. I don’t know if you remember the last couple of years of my career at WWE, what did you think of me? You kind of felt, “Oh my gosh, she’s not a champ”. I was helping the new talent look good in the ring, so that wasn’t really my best. I was really flattered that I was able to do that and everybody had confidence in me to make people look good in the ring but that didn’t make me feel like I was giving the fans the best Victoria. I wasn’t happy doing that, so I moved on. But I had a terrific, terrific career there.”
On Gail Kim’s TNA return: “You know what? That girl! I’m gonna kick her butt. I text her and I said, “I heard you’re coming today”. She goes, “Where’d you hear that from?” I didn’t want to say who I’d heard it from so I said, “Oh, just a rumor on the internet” and she goes, “You can’t believe everything you read”. I know that was my favorite saying. You can’t read every internet site. There are some things that are reported wrong. I saw her at the show and I go, “What the heck?!” and she goes, “Hahaha!” I said, “I knew you were coming! I don’t know who you’re trying to pull one over!”
“But I’m so excited to have her back. Her and I were travel partners. We get along so well and I’m so happy to have an old friend back in the ring. I wanted to win that number one contender’s match, though. I’ll be honest with you, because Gail Kim and I can really throw down in the ring. We never got the opportunity in WWE. We had a couple of matches but it was just a match thrown here and there, but I think we can really work up to something dangerous. I’d like to do another cage match, maybe, with her. That’d be awesome!”
Full interview available at Diva-Dirt.com.
