Lisa Marie Varon has gone by many names and worn many hats within the professional wrestling world, and has solidified her status as a legend within the sphere. Going by Victoria in WWE, to Tara short for Tarantula in TNA/Impact Wrestling, the multi-time champion with the affinity for spiders entertained audiences across the globe for almost 20 years before her retirement from the squared circle in 2019. Varon hasn't gone quietly into the night following retirement, however, and stays active, with one-offs in the ring for both her former companies. She's also been heavily involved in the business world, though many of her efforts haven't quite worked out. According to her, it's always possible she'll be making one last run between the ropes. Varon led an athletic life from the very beginning, so that comes at no surprise to her fans.
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The now 53-year-old former Diva was born in San Bernardino, California, the youngest of four children. Her three older brothers had a lot of influence on her athletic mindset, as all became amateur wrestlers, and her oldest brother even won a gold medal at the Pan American Games in the '80s. Varon herself wasn't immediately a wrestler, however, but was an active cheerleader in middle and high school, as well as dabbling in track and field. She was recognized by the National Cheerleading Association as an All-American during her senior year. Her cheerleading career paid off and she was chosen to cheer at the 1989 NFL Pro Bowl.
When she graduated high school, Varon studied biology at Linda University and was intent on becoming a doctor. While working at an eye and tissue bank for organ donation, Varon moved more into the athletic space to fund her education. That's where her journey to the then-WWF began.
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Varon heard from Kevin Kelly two days after the company received her tape. She was invited for an interview within the next month. Varon began training at Ultimate Pro Wrestling in Southern California in 2000, under the ring name "Head B**** In Charge (HBIC)" ahead of her debut with WWF.Varon impressed Bruce Prichard, who was then a talent scout for WWF, during her first show with UPW, earning her shot with the company.
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She debuted with WWF in The Godfather's entourage, known back then as "the hos." Varon escalated to the position of "head ho," leading the "Save the Hos" campaign, taking a powerbomb through a table from The Goodfather before being taken off TV in November and sent to further hone her skills. Before being sent to WWF's developmental territories, Varon became known in the ring as "Victoria," a name she would carry with her for the next nine years of her career.
Varon was initially sent to Power Pro Wrestling in Memphis for extensive training before returning to TV. While in the promotion, she feuded against the likes of Jerry Lawler and The Kat and was even involved in a kayfabe in-ring wedding, marrying Bobby Eaton. Varon left the promotion after WWF severed ties with it in March 2001, following Lawler quitting WWF. Memphis Championship Wrestling was the next stop for Varon. She acted as the promotion's commissioner and feuded with fellow WWE star Ivory. The promotion closed in 2001, and Varon was sent to Kentucky to train in Ohio Valley Wrestling, where she managed the Basham Brothers.
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After around two years of training in developmental territories, Varon returned to the WWE ring as Victoria during an episode of "WWE Sunday Night Heat" in July 2002 and immediately started a feud with Trish Stratus. Varon's career was officially off to the races.
Varon dropped her "Victoria" character and debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as Tara in May 2009 on an episode of "TNA Impact." She immediately attacked The Beautiful People's Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, and Madison Rayne, making her presence in the company known. She defeated Rayne in her debut match on June 11. Varon would bring her pet tarantula, named Poison, with her to the ring, and even put the spider on Sky following a match. Varon won her first Knockouts Championship from Love, though she dropped the belt back to the star two weeks later.
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Varon went on to win her second and third Knockouts Championships from ODB. She would go on to hold the championship two more times, for a total of five during her time with the company, including the shortest reign in the company's history after laying down for Rayne, for her to regain the gold. Varon also made history in TNA, competing in the first-ever women's First Blood match.Varon briefly left TNA in 2010 after refusing to re-sign over issues of a pay increase. She lost a match against Rayne, where she put her career on the line against the champion. Varon returned in July 11 as a heel at Victory Road. Varon would go to feud with real-life friend Mickie James in a variety of stipulation matches, including a Falls Count Anywhere match. She would also go on to win the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships alongside Ms. Tessmacher, whom she would defeat to win the Knockouts Championship for the final time.
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Her last match with TNA came on July 14, 2013 in a losing effort to ODB. Varon was released two days later. Following her release, she said that she was close to leaving anyway, and would never go back. Varon said her time with TNA made her appreciate being in WWE.
Throughout her years in the ring, Varon owned a few businesses alongside her then-husband, Lee Varon, though all failed in the end, sometimes in tragedy. The pair first owned a pizza restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, called Fat Tony's Pizzeria, but sold it in May 2007 before opening a custom car shop known as Black Widow Customs, a nod to the star's finishing move, in the same Kentucky city in May 2008.The shop was destroyed in a fire, that was deemed suspicious at the time, just 10 days before Christmas in December 2010. The fire broke out while Varon was under anesthesia, having benign tumors removed from her breast. No one was injured in the fire, which was discovered by an employee, who warned neighbors and attempted to put it out himself.
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The day before the fire, Black Widow Customs was profiled on a local news station's Consumer Watch segment after a University of Kentucky football player claimed his car was left undrivable after it was worked on at Varon's shop. Varon issued a video statement about the claim, as well as the fire, and defended the work of Black Widow Customs. She also said she would make sure her employees were compensated and well taken care of at Christmastime following the fire.
In her final shot in the business world, Varon and her then-husband opened a wrestling-themed restaurant in Chicago called The Squared Circle in March 2013. The business was successful for years, before Varon announced in January 2015 that she would be moving back to California, and left the restaurant to be run by her estranged husband. The Squared Circle was put up for sale in March 2015, but the week after it went on the market, a gunman entered the restaurant and Lee Varon subdued the intruder before the police arrived.Following the incident, Varon announced she intended to close the restaurant and would no longer support the business, and encouraged fellow wrestlers to no longer make appearances there.
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Varon returned to a WWE ring at the 2021 Royal Rumble, entering the women's iteration of the big match as the 10th entrant. It was her first appearance with the company in almost 12 years, and it came during the company's Thunderdome era, when no fans were present in-person due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She was the fifth woman eliminated from the match, being thrown over the top rope by Shayna Baszler. Following her appearance, Varon expressed disgust with how she was treated. She said she felt less than welcomed backstage. Speaking on her "Grown Ass Women" podcast in 2023, she said she was "treated like s***" backstage, but did not divulge too many details.
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"How I got treated by some of the people? I will never treat a human like that. Ever," Varon said.
She also appeared in a TNA ring in 2023, despite saying she would never make an appearance for the company again.On January 13, she appeared as Tara at Hard to Kill to support James in her title versus career match against Jordynne Grace. Varon appeared in a backstage segment, then once again in the ring to celebrate with her real-life friend after she defeated Grace. She also teamed with Gisele Shaw to challenge the Death Dollaz, Jessicka and Taya Valkyrie, the following day at Impact's tapings. Varon and Shaw challenged for the Knockouts World Tag Team Championships, but failed to capture the gold.
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Varon previously expressed interest in working with AEW in a backstage trainer and agent role, but spoke on her podcast about her less-than-pleasant experience there in June 2023. Varon said she felt uncomfortable and unwelcome backstage at AEW.
