After two decades in the ring, Lisa Marie Varon called it a career in 2019.
Though she'd announced that her career would wrap up that year, she hadn't decided until the night of September 21 that she'd end her career with the match she did.
"I got to pick my opponent. So, Melina Perez," Lisa told Fightful. "It was for a female promoter, Bambi Weavil, which is Masters of [Ring] Entertainment. She made us the main event and was putting the title on me. I was like, “Oh, my gosh. This is a guy’s show, not just a female show.” I go, “We’re main event, we can’t just do sa ha-ha match. We have to do some dangerous stuff.” We were going over stuff and we’re up in thirty minutes, maybe forty-five minutes, and I was like, “I might do this, I might do that.” You know, we don’t really set in stone what we’re doing in the ring. “If I happen to do this, just go with it.” It’s improv. She was like, “Hey, can I use your black eyeliner?” I said, “Melina! We’re main event, we’re up in thirty minutes. Are you listening to me?” She goes, 'Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m listening.'"
Even after 20 years, she still got the butterflies of performing and wrestling, all the way up to her final match.
"So, I’m like, “Oh, my god. Oh, my god.” I’m the type of person, I get super nervous and nervous belly. I’m about to puke before every match. Even after twenty years. I am the same. I’m pacing, I’m sweating, my hands are sweating. I don’t want people to see me slow down in the ring or just don’t have “it” any more. So, that’s the fear. Once you’re there for a long time in wrestling, you can’t show mistakes. You’re supposed to be a veteran knowing what you’re doing. Just like a rookie, you have to prove yourself. The whole entire career, you’re constantly proving yourself. I was so nervous, I was like, “I’m exhausted already, and we’re main event.” I say, “Hey,” to the guy who’s announcing, “Give me the mic when you get out there.” The promoter didn’t know. I said, “Hey, guys. I just want to say thank you for coming out to my last match.” Everybody was like, “Oh, what?” The promoter was like, “We could have promoted this.” I was like, “I decided, like, thirty minutes before coming out.” My body was hurting and I don’t work the indie style any more. I’m not a fast worker. I’m more story telling. More facial expressions, one move means something. Not boom-boom-boom-boom. After independent shows I was getting, my boyfriend would come pick me up at the airport and I was just like, “I can’t move, man. I’m beat up.”
That was it for Lisa. All the matches along the way added up, and her bump card was full. That doesn't mean she's completely left wrestling. There's still plenty of room in the wrestling world for her, but she explains that her body isn't up to wrestling.
"So, I’m falling apart," she said to Fightful. "I’m giving my whole 100% out there and then. I get home, I don’t want to talk. Just let me go soak in the tub, get me some aspirin. I need to be alone, you know what I mean? That kind of stuff. I was like, it’s time. It’s time. I get to go out on my own. I’m not sad about it at all. People are like, “Oh, my god. Are you sad?” No. I’m not. I think people think that since you had your last match you’re out of wrestling. You’re never gonna be out of wrestling. I still do comic-cons, Wrestlecons, signings. I still talk to fans about old matches and what’s going on these days. That kind of stuff. So, you’re still involved in this."
As we'd reported recently, Lisa was never planned to reappear at the 2020 Royal Rumble as rumored, but isn't opposed to doing appearances for WWE. However, she wants it to be something substantial and memorable if she's going to break her retirement.
"I would consider it," Marie Varon specified. "I would have to ask exactly what the details are. I’m not gonna go back and then just say as the girls going to the ring, “Hey, have a good match,” and that’s it, that’s my cameo. I’m not gonna go back for that. I would like to, what they say in the business, ‘get my shit in a little bit.’ When I come in I don’t want to just be seen in the background just chit-chatting. I don’t want that. I would want to do something. I don’t have to win a match or anything like that. I don’t mind putting the girls over and stuff like that. But, to go back and go, “That’s it?” ‘Cause you see on social media, “That’s all?”
Upon leaving TNA years ago, Lisa Marie Varon states that while you "never say never" in wrestling, she never saw herself returning to the company. She stuck to that, but when pressed, did admit that things are much different now. Several regimes later, she's not so dead set on staying away from the now-IMPACT Wrestling.
"You’re right. It is different bosses there now. But, at the time when I was there—the corporate side of it, I wasn’t a big fan of [it]. The way people ran it. Gail (Kim)’s one of the producers, Scott D’Amore…they have good people. Never say never again. You know what? I should never have said that. You never know. But, before you ask if they have reached out, they have not. Again, I don’t want to go back just to say, “Hey, have a good match.” No. I’m not gonna get on a plane [for that]. I’d rather get a little down and dirty, that kind of thing. Nothing against the companies at all, I’m not bashing them. I’d rather stay at home with my two dogs and just relax," she said.
After mentioning Gail Kim as someone that could help entice her back into wrestling, Lisa noted that she would love to help train, produce, coach or agent, and just a few years into her career had a knack for doing that as is.
"I would absolutely be interested in that," said Lisa. "That would be up my alley. I think I was good with the rookies. Once I got good in the ring, I was a rookie myself. But, I could make people look good. The ones that were not very good at wrestling, I could pick them up and put myself in a move. I wasn’t upset for jobbing out. I remember telling the office, “Hey, give me Christy [Hemme]. She doesn’t have very much wrestling experience. Give me to her. I’ll make her look like a million bucks. I don’t care how much I lose,” and I came back to TV, 'You have an angle with Christy.'" That was the breaking point when I was going, “I need to speak up. I’m tired of being quiet and just going ‘yes, sir.’” I was nice about it. I went to Vince and said, “Give me Christy. I know she’s our token girl right now. I’m gonna make her look like a million bucks.” I go, “I’m not gonna hurt her. I’m gonna make her feel so comfortable in the ring.” I’m not a girl that says, “You need to get through me to get into this business.” I’m the one that people want to work with. I’m very giving. Too much, sometimes. But, yeah, creative and agenting or producing or in the training type [of role]. Yeah. I would," she declared.
The former Victoria does have a condition, though.
"I’d have to get back in the gym myself and get myself in shape, so I don’t get blown up," she closed.
Lisa Marie Varon can now be seen on Grown Ass Women TV. She, Mickie James and So Cal Val connect with their fans in a variety of different ways, on several different shows.
You can see our full interview with Lisa Marie Varon at the top of the page. Be sure to check out GAW TV on Twitter, Facebook, Patreon, Instagram and Youtube.
