Lisa Marie Varon, better known as Victoria in WWE and Tara in TNA, is one the most underrated and underappreciated wrestlers during her time in the squared circle. She started training for professional wrestling Ultimate Pro Wrestling in California after Chyna convinced her that she would be a great fit for wrestling. She began training in 2000, and soon was offered an opportunity to appear in the WWE alongside the Godfather. Eventually, she was power bombed through a table when the Godfather made his switch to the Goodfather. Varon was sent to various WWE developmental promotions to train.
In 2002, Varon returned and debuted under the name Victoria. She began a feud with Trish Stratus because both of her fitness models before WWE and Victoria felt Trish blocked them from getting their chance. Trish Stratus defended her WWE Women’s Championship against Victoria at Survivor Series 2002. The match was a drastic shift from what fans were used to seeing from the women’s division at the time. Victoria received a bleeding nose and used various weapons during the match. She won her first WWE Women’s Championship after splashing a fire extinguisher in Trish’s face and hitting her with a Snap Suplex.
Victoria held the title until WrestleMania XIX, when she lost against Trish Stratus and Jazz in a triple threat match. Victoria continued to feud with various women throughout the rest of the year. She competed in the first ever women’s steel cage match in WWE when she defeated Lita on November 24th, 2003. Victoria won her second WWE Women’s Championship on the February 23rd, 2004, episode of Raw when she defeated the champion Molly Holly, Lita, and Jazz in a fatal four-way elimination match for the women’s championship. This match led to Victoria facing Molly Holly in a Championship vs. Hair match at WrestleMania XX.
Victoria retained her championship and shaved Molly bald. She held on to the title until June 13th when she lost to Trish Stratus. Victoria wrestled in feuds and storylines on Raw and Smackdown for another 5 years. She eventually asked for her release and had her final match for WWE on January 16th, 2009.
Lisa Marie Varon made her debut for Total Nonstop Action a few months later on May 24th, 2009, on an episode of Impact. She started using the name Tara and was victorious in her debut match against Madison Rayne. Tara also started carrying around a pet spider that she named Poison. She won her very first TNA Knockouts Championship from Angelina Love, making her a champion in two major promotions in her career. Tara won the championship for a second time against ODB at Final Resolution 2009. She lost the championship to ODB in January 2010 but won it back at Genesis 2009 in a two-out-of-three falls battle. She competed in TNA’s first women’s first blood match against Daffney.
Tara won the Knockout’s Championship for a fourth time at Bound for Glory 2010 by defeating Angelina Love, Madison Rayne, and Velvet Sky. In 2011, she won the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship alongside Ms. Tessmacher. Tara defeated Ms. Tessmacher at Bound for Glory 2012 to win her fifth Knockouts Championship. She eventually left TNA and started doing independent bookings. She was also a part of the 2021 WWE Women’s Royal Rumble where she entered at number 10.
Lisa Marie Varon should be regarded among the top with all her accomplishments. She had a “first-ever” match in two large corporations and won championships in both. She’s put on excellent matches and helped new ladies’ wrestlers. Despite her insane and sadistic demeanor (particularly in WWE), she’s lovely and sincere. She deserves a WWE or Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame induction. She’s broken so many barriers in women’s wrestling, and we should respect and praise her.