Former TNA Knockouts Champion, Tara has CONFIRMED that is leaving TNA next month on her MySpace page. The blog comes after a report in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter revealing that Tara — real name Lisa Marie Varon — may be leaving at the end of her contract, which expires on May 21st.
The Observer went on to claim that Varon had been complaining about her fellow Knockouts working stiff, amongst other things, hence this blog. Tara writes:
It appears that I’m winding down at TNA. Unfortunately some organizations “leak” information to wrestling websites to put their spin on a situation, to make sure they come out in the best light. Not me. I’m gonna say it. I’m gonna put my name on it. And I’m going to stand behind it.
I came to TNA last year because I still had a lot of wrestling left in me. I was paid a fraction of what I thought I deserved. But I wanted to show I was still at the top of my game. Now my contract is up in May. I want a modest pay increase. They don’t want to pay me what I think is fair. I have no problem going my own way.
But about 12 hours after the conversation where we didn’t agree on pay, unnamed sources claim that I am hard to work with and that I don’t give my best effort. My only response is that TNA made an aggressive effort to re-sign me, among other things saying that they want to build the women’s division around me. And I think wrestling fans see, both on TV and at live events, that I always give 100%. I take pride in that. Smearing me on the way out the door is an act of second rate character.
I take pride in making my best effort to elevate my own wrestling and the entire TNA Women’s Division. If people were rubbed the wrong way in the process, I stand behind my work and my positive intentions.
In closing I will say this. In the few weeks that I have left in TNA, I will be the same wrestler that you have seen for the past ten years. After that, I haven’t decided if I will stay in wrestling, or finally make the jump to MMA. I do have a lot of irons in the fire. We’ll see where life takes me. But wherever that is, there’s gonna be competition, and I’m gonna give it my all.
As always, Tara is a consummate professional and she knows that she has our love and respect. Good luck, Lisa.
RSS
Email
Twitter
Tumblr
Facebook
YouTube
91 Comments
They wanted to build the KO division around her (which sounds like a promotion to me) yet they didn’t want to give her a ‘modest’ raise. Yet they can reportedly pay Christy $175,000 per year to do mic work. I wonder who she thinks hurt her more, TNA or WWE?
it was barely half a year ago she said she went to tna for the competition, because they have the best women’s wrestling, because of awesome kong was there, etc. not for the money. things changed pretty quickly, huh.
i wouldn’t be surprised if she is the highest paid KO to begin with.
it’s her own decision, but if she thinks she can go back to wwe and get treated 1/4 as well as she has been in tna, that’s up to her.
Because of (mostly) her age and MMA aspirations, she’s not a good candidate to build the division around. But she still could have been useful in helping the longterm health of it. But TNA blew it. Pretty much the way they are blowing most things these days.
Wow! Just a bit of advice to Tara, don’t go back to WWE, I mean you saw what they did to Gail Kim after she returned, of course she dominated Michelle & Maryse but now what is she doing? She’s losing matches to twins in bikinis & Diva Search Contestants whilst wearing a dress
I view Lisa as an icon in womens wrestlng. I remember seeing her for the first time back in 2003 and rooting for her even though she was a heel going against Trish. I just always gravitated towards her and found her and found her to be an amazing wresler to watch in the ring because you never knew when she was gonna blow up on you! lol but I’d seen her and she is such a cool person.
As far as what she will be remembered for, theirs lots of matches I remember from her. 1) her street fight with Trish at Surviror Series 2002 (won her first title :) 2) facing Fabolous Moolah 3) taking on Molly Holly and shaving her head at WM 20 4) Having the first WWE Steal Cage womens match against Lita (They’re both my fav’s so that was a dream match for me) 5) Her cage match with Awsome Kong 6) being in the 1st First Blood match with Daffney.
Anyway, I’m really gonna miss her and I wish her well in her life! Love you, Lisa!
If Tara decides to stick with wrestling a bit long I hope she goes to Shimmer. I want some of my dream matches to come true with her going against Cheerleader Melissa, LuFisto, Hamada, Sara Del Rey and MsChif.
Well she’s an aazing woan and I loveher to death. I just fear for what’s going to come of mainstream women’s wrestling. Without the Knockouts WWE has no competition, so they really won’t have a reason to care about the women anymore, unfortunately. :/
Sad, but unsurprising. I felt like TNA were mostly honouring Tara’s reputation. It’s always been clear that the Beautiful People are the centrepiece of the Knockouts. Besides, they’d gotten all they wanted from Tara after her cage match with Awesome Kong. I’m hoping this doesn’t signal a cull for the other girls, though.
Will people shut up about Tara, Kong, and Taylor joining the WWE. Seriously man it’s annoying and funny that some of you think that the wwe actually care about the divas :lol: and who knows with Taylor and Tara gone it leaves the door wide open for Mickie (she’s a TNA original) and Katie Lea to join.
This is gonna be a huge blow to the knockouts division to be honest. It’s been centered around her this past year. ooft the knockouts division isn’t gonna be the same. I wouldn’t be suprised if Taylor, Hamada, and Sarita leave as well.
Why would the WWE want her? They have plenty of new girls that are full of potential. Why give Tara a push when they can push Natalya & Serena? Fans would enjoy that more also, Natalya and Serena are fresh and new. Tara would comes off as stale. We know what she has to offer.
BTW, I like Tara, she’s great, the problem is that the WWE already has lots of talented wrestlers. They don’t need Tara right now. They are better off giving a new girl that’s talented a push, like Natalya and Serena. I wasn’t dissing Tara, she’s put on some great matches in TNA & WWE, I just feel that she’s not needed in the WWE right now.
:( awww i don’t know what to say, it sucks, TNA need to realize they are doing something wrong, they have lost 3 big names this year Kong, Melissa and soon it will be Tara
@Juan During the attitude era the women’s division revolved around 3 women that went around stripping. We did not get women’s matches on a weekly basis, they where shown sporadically. Feuds where rare and sloppy and usually revolved around stripping. Debra just stripped, that’s all she ever did and she’s an ex WWE women’s champion. Jacqueline tried, but rarely got to wrestle since she had no one to wrestle. If you look at the past, the current state of the women’s division is a breath of fresh air. It improved immensely when Trish/Molly/Lita came to the WWE. Right now the WWE has more divas signed than ever before. People look at the negative aspect of the divas, but they are in a very good position right now, of course, we want more, but the divas division has improved over the last few decades.
This week we are getting actual women’s wrestling matches on Superstars, Raw & Smackdown. That’s 3 matches in one week, yet people are still complaining. In the past it was unheard of to get 3 solid women’s wrestling matches in one week. Even during the Trish era, we never got this much women’s wrestling. The entire time people where complaining about the T&A matches on RAW, there where solid wrestling matches going on on Smackdown & Superstars. A decade ago, all we ever got was T&A, but that I mean a bikini contests, pillow fights, segments that resembled playboy playmate videos, etc. The divas right now are probably in the best position they’ve ever been in.
All I can say is WOW. I hope I don’t stop seeing Tara though, she definetly my favourite TNA Knockout, but even now she’s turned heel, they are using her old gimmick, which probably will be stale before she leaves anyway. Im really shocked anf hope she stays in wrestling, but if not, good luck Lisa!
I think Tara suited TNA – it’s WWE (as it is now) that she’s too good for. People always say go to WWE but given the crapfest they hand us every week it would be a downgrade or at least not an upgrade.
The current Diva situation is a big mess but that some people are satisfied with it just proves that ol Vinnie Mac’s methods are working – people are getting used to it – in fact, people ARE used to things as they are now, ensuring that the change to something better will be slow, if it happens at all. Both males and females water down their characters and their movesets, an it’s been going on for so long that the younger generations and new/casual fans accept it as the norm. Before we had the objectifying matches I hated (they continue), but we also had awesome female wrestling featuring women who got to show their full potential. Smart, sexy, and powerful was more applicable back then than it is now (though I wince to say so). People were behind the Divas, in contrast to the dismissive way many regard them now. Smdh!
@DivaDerby
all that was before my time (I was only 5-6 years old). And yeah Trish/Lita improved the division emensly but that was the past. Nowadays they have so many models who do the same crap and get zero reaction that I just gave up on the divas in general. I switched to TNA but now they’re going downhill…lol I have no clue where to go next. I really to be honest have no respect for today’s divas, like most fans, (minus a few like Melina, Beth, Michelle) and they’re matches are my snack break. I’m just being honest here
When WWE changed the name to World Wrestling Entertainment, Vince took it literally. The WWE has become very similar to the entertainment industry. The guys have been getting much hotter. Almost all the new guys are extremely good looking, tall and muscular. Guys and girls in the WWE face similar problems. Like in most of entertainment, looks are very important. Guys and girls look like models in the WWE. That doesn’t mean Kane & Beth have anything to worry about, the WWE knows there’s a market for a powerhouse wrestler. Beth is strong, yet very pretty. The girls and guys will not stop being sexy, what I want is for the women to wrestle more and get better story-lines. The women and men will likely always be very good looking and half-naked. The guys are basically in their underwear. People seem to just notice the girls, but the new guys are just as sexy and they are showing even more skin than the girls.
The hotter guys and the better women’s matches are bringing in more women, gay people and kids. During the attitude era the audience was mostly 16-25 males, now WWE audiences are more diverse. Its what Vince ultimately wanted, since a more diverse audience is more marketable to advertisers. The hotter males & females is common in all facets of entertainment, which is why Vince made the changes. He wants WWE to be more marketable.
@ Juan
You’re being negative. The Bella Twins & Kelly Kelly do get strong pops.
Guess I will be ironically be Negative Nancy and be glad she was gone.
She didn’t add anything to the Knockouts Division. She wasn’t a ratings grabber. PPV buyrates didn’t go up. And it was like the fourth or fifth time they built the Knockouts around someone and she flopped. Tara just isn’t that interesting, yet they had all of the other Knockouts (including Kong) job to her without little in return.
Hopefully TNA will get back to focusing on The Beautiful People tormenting the other Knockouts.
I hated it when Varon went to TNA, I loved her so much in WWE that I felt she was selling herself out by running to the competition and what was worse is that even if that wasn’t the ethos she had, TNA made it that. Every week it was her sobbing in a feud going “You think I wanted them dressing me up as a banana?” or “They made me a freakin’ joke” given the fact that if it wasn’t for WWE she’d still be an unknown, I just found it so disrespectful to cut down something that made you, even if it did treat you like a comedian towards the end of it all. TNA have just sucked the life out of her for ratings and that’s all she’s been, people say different but TNA did nothing to make her ‘their own’ her gimmick was just a generic face with the same sort of theme of ‘Black widow spiders’ that WWE used on her (Even the name they said was derived from Tarantula’s, again WWE used that for her) and then as soon as she ran dry, they’re turning her back into Victoria with a new name.
No matter how daft Victoria became, she still had that vindictive side I beleived in, yes she dressed up comicly for these costume things but it matched her character, would someone powerful and mighty really wear a strippers outfit or wear something that argued with the whole Diva-way of dressing slutty in these costume battle royales? I think Varon has wised up to the fact that she’s been nothing but a bankable ratings draw since she’s got there and now she’s asking for her dues to be paid they’ve told her to take the road.
I’m glad she did find work and gained success, but I don’t know if it was worth it. It feels like what TNA have done is just as bad as WWE. TNA want her glory but don’t want to pay up for it, WWE just dressed her up from time to time and yes sometimes jobbed her out, but it wasn’t consistant and despite what people think Victoria’s days on SD gave her more time on screen than she ever got towards the end of her stint on Raw
“Yet they can reportedly pay Christy $175,000 per year to do mic work. I wonder who she thinks hurt her more, TNA or WWE?”
i heard it was 175k over three years, which sounds more accurate. and to be honest, i wouldn’t be surprised is tara was offered the same as that, if not more, especially considering she’s a much bigger name in wrestling. odb signed a new multi-year contract at the end of last year and she was happy with it, i just don’t see what tara’s problem is? money? she has her own business, she gets her fights paid for, she has the opportunity and somewhat advantage of being able to compete in the indies, do conventions, take private bookings – hell, she’d likely even be allowed to go compete down in aaa if she really wanted to – and all that could supplement income. like she said over and over during the beginning of her tna career, she didn’t go there for the bucks, she’d be stupid to think there was mega money in tna to begin with. i guess it’s just a question of where does job satisfaction/loving what you’re doing end, and greed begin? maybe she needs to learn how to control her spending, or better yet, get another part time job? taylor wilde is able to pay her rent, bills and fund her own education, all without being the owner of a business, and her only complaint is not being used on tv more.
apologies for the wall of text, my sentence structure is having an off-day.
“Every week it was her sobbing in a feud going “You think I wanted them dressing me up as a banana?” or “They made me a freakin’ joke” given the fact that if it wasn’t for WWE she’d still be an unknown, I just found it so disrespectful to cut down something that made you, even if it did treat you like a comedian towards the end of it all.”
after reading her blog, i wouldn’t be surprised if her cry-baby gimmick was based on real life. tna do like to imitate the backstage personalities, afterall.
@Ebmich I don’t exactly see it that way, I do like watching Victoria. She’s not as charismatic as Lita or Mickie James but she’s got prescence too. I like her psycho character and who cares if its old? I’m sick and tired of seeing Undertaker and Triple H. Their characters are older than dirt! I don’t hear anyone bitching about them. They are boring!! Even if psycho Victoria is rehashed, I’m glad. Its a scrap for us die hard fans and ill take it. Besides, its only for another month. After that we’re back to TBP slutty antics.
Note-Madison Rayne apparently took a stab at Victoria with her most recent Tweet on Twitter. Its on wrestlingepicenter.com. Yea she’s blessed alright. The girl can hardly wrestle so yeah Madison, your blessed to have as little talent as you do, and able to call yourself a Champion. Victoria is older and still better looking. She can do what Madison does too..Madison can’t do what Victoria can, so again-yes your blessed. What a bytch!
-Note-Rey Mysterio and Batista have been reported to be complaining. Rey for a pay increase and Dave for the movie role replacement. Goes to further prove the double standard theory.
“The girl can hardly wrestle”
you need to visit youtube or something, ‘cos that chick can go.
@Kaledrina are you joking? She’s got an elementary moveset! Even that I could overlook if she added some intensity to her performances. She doesn’t look realistic going in against women like ODB, or even Angelina. She looks like a little girl trying to go against a High School athelete. And there’s no way she compares to Victoria in wrestling ability, or looks for that matter. I’m sorry but she sucks. She’s good at looking sexy and that’s it.
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess that Ashley Massaro and Joy Giovanni were among your favorite divas at one time? FF”S people!
A message for all you skanky, backstabbing knockouts who are making it public your glee that Lisa Marie is leaving. Taylor’s contract is almost certain not being renewed and Sarita is rumored to be on her way out. With Hogan and Bischoff there, ALL OF YOU are expendable, ALL OF YOU are NOT guaranteed a WWE run if you were to leave TNA., and ALL OF YOU were sadly mistaken if you thought Lisa was going to spend the year jobbing to all you like she did to the Bella Twins and Maria while wearing a banana suit.
As Danny Glover would say in Lethal Weapon, she’s “too old for that shit.”
“I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess that Ashley Massaro and Joy Giovanni were among your favorite divas at one time? FF”S people!”
i wasn’t watching wrestling when them two were in wwe. i don’t even know if joy wrestled or was part of kell’ys dances. and the most i’ve seen of ashley is in a botchamania video. but, hey, madison can wrestle, it’s only my opinion. oh, and tara’s had the same moveset the last five years. at least the melinas and the angelina loves and the gail kims bother to come back with something fresh. no idea what looks matter, though, that’s pretty much subjective, too.
may i also add.. considering you didn’t know before today what shimmer is like, i doubt you’ve seen any of madison’s work outside of tna? without being constricted to working as a heel? (which we all know is a lot less technical or flashy than being a face), but yes. again, she can surely wrestle and considering tara has a good half decade on her in training, she’s doing pretty damn well.
Alright, looks are subjective ill give you that, but since when does wrestling as a heel restrict intensity in a match?? Your a heel. Moveset restricted, got it. Is that any reason to wrestle like Stacy Carter? I don’t think so. You want to see an effective heel? Watch some tapes of Sensational Sherri Martel heck, watch Ivory as a heel. Madison doesn’t know her @ss from her elbow and its evident when going against women such as Victoria or Angelina.
Another example is Daffney. She is not the most precise in the ring, yet she brings forth intensity and shows emphasis in character. It covers up for her lack of technique she might have.
Madison is given a free pass because she’s a rookie? Maybe she shouldn’t be opening her mouth in the first place, when clearly she’s one of the less competent workers on the female roster. I don’t care if she’s a heel, that’s not an excuse to completely suck as a wrestler.
Mickie, Tara, Kong, Flash, Maria, Katie, Taylor, Tracy, so much lost talent. :(
Where are you getting your knowledge from? She’s been wrestling for over half a decade – six years- that’s not rookie level. Rookie’s have either just broken in or have been wrestling for about a year hence the term ‘rookie year’.
Also I really hate it when people say ‘can’t wrestle’ of course they CAN wrestle otherwise they wouldn’t be able to do the moves period, regardless of how well they can do them. I have a feeling someone will play the ‘I’m training to be a wrestler’ card but its like riding a bike, if you can peddle and go for a short distance regardless of how many times you hesitate or fall off, you can ride a bike, same with wrestling. I don’t see how people can just judge wrestling ability from an armchair and say someone can’t wrestle at all. You might say she can’t wrestle well, that’s your opinion, but at all is pretty strong especially when you are ignoring the fact there’s Lacey Von Erich and Velvet Sky on the roster.
@Looking Glass – I was making a point of how Kaledrina was making her(Madison) sound because she’s less experienced than Victoria. As if she were somekind of rookie. And if your going to try and disect everything I say try to be more accurate please. I never said she “can’t wrestle.” I said she could hardly wrestle and stated further that she sucked as a wrestler. And ofcourse I notice Velvet and Lacey on the same roster. I think they’re crappy too. Happy? I’m not going to downplay the fact that Madison is a horrendous wrestler simply because there’s even more dreadful wrestlers on the roster. She’s blessed alright…lmao!
“I’m sick and tired of seeing Undertaker and Triple H. Their characters are older than dirt! I don’t hear anyone bitching about them.”
Not on this forum, but on the regular forums people whine about DX, Cena, Batista, Undertaker etc nonstop.
well, i just suggest you go buy some shimmer dvds and educate yourself.
i hope she continues wrestling & tna writes matches so tara cant do things even if she wanted to do something new….taylor & sarita might as well leave & hamada they dont use them ….
womens wrestling sucks at the moment when it could be so much better if the people in charge didnt fuck it up….
Wow. I was a huge fan of Tara’s in the WWE but haven’t really been as impressed by her TNA work. She seemed to just be going through the motions. But this is still a huge loss to the division, IMO. It’s obvious she still had a dedicated and loyal fan base.
Madison is given a free pass because she’s a rookie? Maybe she shouldn’t be opening her mouth in the first place, when clearly she’s one of the less competent workers on the female roster.
Madison is actually one of the roster’s better workers. As Kaledrina said, check out her SHIMMER work. Hell, put the name “Ashley Lane” in youtube and you’re bound to find a better representation of Madison’s talents than what she does in TNA.
WOW so many bitter posts on this topic. I agree with Ebmich, I am also glad Tara will be departing TNA Wrestling.
tna has a past with keeping female trash in their company and letting go of great all around talent. From Trinity to Kong to now Tara. Great all around talents who weren’t just great wrestlers like dear gail.