LISA MARIE VARON

'Lisa Marie Varon' (born February 10, 1971), is an American professional wrestler better known as 'Victoria'. She is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its ''SmackDown!'' brand.

Contents

Career

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

2000-2001

2002-2003

2004-2006

2007

Wrestling facts

Championships and accomplishments

Personal information

See also

References

External links

Career

Born to a Puerto Rican father and a Turkish mother, Lisa Marie Varon grew up with three older brothers, all of whom became amateur wrestlers. After studying Bio-Med at UCLA and Loma Linda University with thoughts of becoming a doctor, Varon worked as a Human Tissue Coordinator at the Inland Eye and Tissue Bank in Redlands, California, where she was heavily involved in the process of organ donation. She has stated that she would someday like to return to the field of organ donation.
Varon later began pursuing a career in bodybuilding, fitness competition, modeling, and acting. She appeared on ESPN's ''Fitness America Series'' in 1997 and 1998, winning on the latter occasion. At one point, Varon qualified for national competition. Victoria's Secret Jim Varsallone She also had roles in ''V.I.P.'' and ''Nikki'' in May and October 2000 respectively. While in South Florida for the 1998 Miss Galaxy Competition, Varon met and befriended fellow fitness contestant Torrie Wilson. The two worked together on the Extreme Fitness Team. The following year, Wilson signed a contract with the professional wrestling promotion World Championship Wrestling and invited Varon to a WCW television taping.
While visiting Wilson backstage at a WCW show, a road agent asked Varon to appear in a segment with Scott Hall. Varon filmed the segment, which featured her sitting on Hall's lap and playing with his hair, and began considering pursuing a career in wrestling. After Wilson tried, unsuccessfully, to obtain a WCW contract for Varon, she returned to California in an attempt to secure work in the television industry.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

2000-2001

While working for Crunch Fitness as a trainer in Los Angeles, California in 2000, Varon met World Wrestling Federation (WWF) employee Chyna, who complemented her on her appearance and encouraged her to become a wrestler. Chyna introduced Varon to WWF officials Jim Ross and Kevin Kelly, and she was hired. Varon was assigned to Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), a Southern Californian developmental territory and training camp for the WWF. While training in UPW, Varon was given the gimmick of a domineering cheerleader known as the 'H.B.I.C.' ('H'ead 'B'itch 'I'n 'C'harge).
Like several other divas, Varon made her on-screen debut in the WWF as one of Godfather's "hoes" 'Victoria'. After the Godfather lost a match to Bull Buchanan on July 19, 2000, he was indoctrinated by the conservative Right to Censor faction. Victoria, billed as the "head ho," began a "save the hoes" campaign, protesting with placards during R.T.C. matches. R.T.C. eventually responded, with leader Steven Richards ordering the Godfather, now known as the "Goodfather," to drive Victoria through a table on the August 7, 2000 episode of ''RAW''. On the October 9, 2000 episode of ''RAW'', Victoria made her last appearance on WWF as a "hoe" when GTV footage of Victoria and another hoe Mandy cavorting in a shower with Eddie Guerrero was responsible for the on-screen breakup of Guerrero and his fiancée Chyna.
Varon, by now contracted as a wrestler, was sent to Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW) in Memphis, Tennessee, another WWF developmental territory. In MCW, she acted as a commissioner for the time, and managed Steve Bradley, and feuded with Stacy Carter and R.T.C. member Ivory. In 2001, with MCW closing, she was transferred to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in Louisville, Kentucky, where she was trained by Molly Holly who taught her Widow's Peak finisher. Using the name 'Queen Victoria' (named after the British monarch of the same name), Varon managed the "Machine" Doug Basham and Damaja, later known collectively as the Basham Brothers.

2002-2003

Victoria wrestling at a WWE RAW live event.

After spending a considerable amount of time training in MCW and OVW, Varon returned to the renamed World Wrestling Entertainment on the July 7, 2002 episode of ''Sunday Night HEAT'', losing to Trish Stratus.^[1][2] She was formally reintroduced on the August 5, 2002 episode of ''RAW'' as 'Victoria', the heel trainee of Molly Holly.^[3] Her character was quickly established as that of a psychopath who was jealous of Stratus' success and wanted to make her life a living hell.^[4]
In the culmination of the feud lasting four months, Victoria defeated Stratus for the WWE Women's Championship in a Hardcore match at Survivor Series 2002.^[3] The following night on ''RAW'', she defeated Stacy Keibler and debuted her finisher the "Widow's Peak." After the match, Steven Richards foiled an attempt at retribution by Stratus, beginning a pairing with Victoria that would last for over a year.^[3]
Victoria's feud with Stratus continued for several more months, encompassing a street fight on the January 27, 2003 episode of ''RAW'', which was won by Victoria.^[7] Victoria's reign lasted until WrestleMania XIX when she lost to Stratus in a triple threat match that also included Jazz.^[8] Following the loss, it was speculated that she had dropped the title in order to allow for her to have surgery on her right knee, which she had injured some time earlier. However, instead of having surgery, Victoria opted to wear a knee brace during matches, a practice she continues to this day. In November, Victoria defeated Lita in the first ever female versus female Steel Cage Match on ''RAW'', with help from Matt Hardy.^[9]
For the remainder of 2003, Victoria continued to compete in the women's division, in addition to accompanying the by now self-proclaimed "General Manager of HEAT" Stevie Richards wherever he went. As time progressed, she began to receive face reactions, prompting the WWE creative team to turn her into a face by the end of the year. With the WWE creative team unconvinced that Victoria's gimmick would befit a face wrestler, Victoria began to exhibit certain characteristics of a "good girl," such as having a more revealing wardrobe, allowing young boys to kiss her while she approached the ring, and dancing at the top of the ramp to techno music remix of her new theme "Don't Mess With". The drastic character change was criticized by a number of fans who complained that it lacked an explanation and deprived Victoria of a unique gimmick.

2004-2006

Victoria's face run began on WWE Sunday Night HEAT after winning a #1 contenders match against Ivory with Molly Holly hitting her over the head with the belt. The next night in a Happy Holidays six woman tag match after her team lost she hit Molly Holly in the face with the belt receiving applause from the fans. Finally on the February 23, 2004 episode of ''RAW'', Victoria won a four-way elimination match to capture the Women's Championship for a second time.^[10] Her feud with Holly reached its zenith at WrestleMania XX on March 14, 2004 in a Hair vs Title match. Victoria pinned Holly, who subsequently had her head shaved bald as a result of the stipulation of the match.^[8] Victoria would go on to feud with Gail Kim^[12] before losing the title on June 13, 2004 at Bad Blood 2004 to a heel Trish Stratus in a four-way match that also included Gail Kim and Lita.^[8]
After losing the title, Victoria renewed her feud with Stratus, and the pair had several matches where Stratus' henchman Tyson Tomko interfered only to be stopped by a man dressed as a woman.^[14] This man was later revealed as Stevie Richards, who had left Victoria without any on-air explanation when she became face. However, Stratus suffered a broken hand at a house show that would derail the feud for several weeks. Their feud resumed after SummerSlam 2004, but by this point WWE was more concerned with building up a feud between Trish Stratus and Lita. Their second feud culminated on September 12, 2004 at Unforgiven 2004, where Stratus retained her title with the help of Tomko.^[15] Following the end of the feud, Victoria continued to compete in the women's division, albeit with her on-air time greatly reduced. The releases of Gail Kim, Nidia, and Jazz left little competition in the division for Victoria.
On the May 30, 2005 episode of ''RAW'', Victoria reverted back to a heel by attacking Maria, Candice Michelle, Jerry "The King" Lawler, and Christy Hemme following a loss to Hemme in a Bikini contest and citing jealousy at the opportunities that Hemme had received.^[16] Her actions were met with applause by the audience, which was interpreted by some as annoyance on the part of the crowd at the influx of female performers with limited wrestling experience. This resulted in a six person tag team match in which Hemme's team was disqualified after Hemme refused to stop choking Victoria.^[17] In the following weeks, Victoria broke a glass jar over Hemme's head during a backstage interview^[18] and would go on to defeat Hemme at Vengeance 2005 on June 26, where she once again enjoyed the support of the live audience.^[8] During this time, she also had a brief rivalry with Stacy Keibler, which led to a match on an international edition of ''WWE Heat'', which Victoria won.^[20]
Victoria was eventually introduced as the enforcer of Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle on ''RAW'', and the trio eventually became known as "Vince's Devils," a play of the ''Charlie's Angels'' TV show and movies. She helped them attack Diva Search 2005 winner Ashley Massaro.^[21] She would stay with the stable while they feuded with Trish Stratus, Ashley Massaro, Mickie James, and Maria.^[22]
During her time in Vince's Devils, Victoria wrestled male competitor Carlito in a Beat the Clock match on the December 26 edition of ''RAW'', where she was the only female competitor. Despite interference from all the members of Vince's Devils, including Torrie Wilson's dog Chloe, Victoria would lose the match in two minutes and thirty-six seconds after suffering Carlito's then-newly introduced modified swinging inverted neckbreaker finisher. Carlito spat an apple in Victoria's face after the match.^[23]
The next week Victoria, angered by her loss to Carlito, led Vince's Devils to the ring and interrupted Maria's Kiss Cam segment. They attacked and stripped Maria until Ashley Massaro made the save; which was thwarted by the three women.^[24] Later in the night, it was announced that the five women would compete at New Year's Revolution in a Bra & Panties Gauntlet Match. During the match, Maria eliminated both Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle, but was instantly eliminated by Victoria. After eliminating Maria, The Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young came down to the ring and stripped Victoria's shirt off, giving Ashley the easy win.^[8]
Vince's Devils would appear regularly on WWE TV until Candice, with Victoria by her side, turned on Torrie Wilson a few weeks before WrestleMania 22.^[26] Following the implosion of Vince's Devils, Victoria would remain active in the Women's Division and make sporadic appearances on ''RAW'', as well as try-out matches with independent women's wrestlers on ''HEAT'': Talia Madison,^[27] Cheerleader Melissa,^[28] and Mercedes Martinez.^[29]
On the June 5, 2006 episode of ''RAW'', Victoria fractured the jaw of the newly debuted Beth Phoenix after giving her an open palm slap while Phoenix's mouth was open. Phoenix would go on to win the match, but would be out of action for several months.^[30]
Victoria competed in the tournament to crown the new WWE Women's Champion after Trish had vacated the title at Unforgiven 2006.^[8] She was eliminated from the tournament by Mickie James who advanced in the tournament.^[32] At Cyber Sunday, Victoria grabbed Mickie James' leg as she ran against the ropes, distracting her and allowing Lita to deliver a DDT and win the finals of the WWE Women's Championship tournament.^[8]
On the November 27, 2006 episode of ''RAW'', Victoria dominated Torrie Wilson, Maria, and Candice Michelle in a #1 contenders battle royal for the WWE Women's Championship (eliminating all the divas). She injured Candice Michelle's nose in the process with a kick to the face, before hitting Candice with her signature Widow's Peak.^[34] The next week, Victoria had a checklist with the RAW Divas names on it, checking off divas after she defeated them in matches, week after week.^[35][36][37] She also attacked Lilian Garcia, who was not originally on the list; Lillian and Melina were the only RAW Divas not on the list.^[38]

2007

Victoria in a tag-team match on ''Raw''.

Victoria earned a championship match at ''New Year's Revolution'', where she lost to Mickie James.^[39] Just before this match, Victoria formed an alliance with Melina, with whom she occasionally teamed up with for tag team matches.^[40] She even assisted Melina in her backstage brawl with Mickie during the first ever Women's Falls Count Anywhere Match on ''RAW''. For several weeks, Victoria and Melina lost both singles and tag team matches to Candice Michelle and Mickie James.^[41][42] Victoria was drafted from ''RAW'' to ''SmackDown!'' on June 17, 2007 as part of the 2007 Supplemental Draft.^[43] Throughout the summer of 2007, upon her arrival to ''SmackDown!'', Victoria entered in a feud with Torrie Wilson, in which at the same time she entered a (kayfabe) relationship with Kenny Dykstra.

Wrestling facts

★ 'Finishing moves'

★
★ '''Widow's Peak''' (Gory neckbreaker)

★
★ '''Black Widow''' (Sitout inverted powerbomb)

★
★ '''Spider's Moonsault''' (Moonsault)

★
★ '''Spider's Web''' (Fireman's carry into tilt-a-whirl sidewalk slam)

★ 'Signature moves'

★
★ Standing Moonsault (with Theatrics)

★
★ Slingshot somersault legdrop

★
★ Bridging reverse chinlock

★
★ Hair-pull Gory Special

★ 'Wrestlers managed by Victoria'

★
★ Doug Basham

★
★ ''Steve Bradley''

★
★ Damaja

★
★ Steven Richards

★
★ 'Kenny Dykstra'

★ 'Nicknames'

★
★ Vicious Vixen

★
★ Jacked Up Jezebel

★
★ Widows Peak Freak

★ 'Quotes'

★
★ ''"How do you like that little girl?"''

★
★ ''"How do you like that?"''

★
★ ''"That's gotta hurt!"''

★
★ ''"You think you're better than me?"''

★
★ ''"Are you kidding me?"'' - mainly to referees

★
★ ''"Who's the bitch now?"''

★
★ ''"How do you like that..princess!"

★ 'Themes'

★
★ From December 2002-May 2004, Varon used a modified version of "All the Things She Said" by t.A.T.u..

★
★ From June 2004, Varon turned face and used the WWE production of ''"Don't Mess With"'' from the album.

★
★ Following Victoria's heel turn in the summer of 2005, Varon began to use a slower more sinister version of ''"Don't Mess With"''.

Championships and accomplishments

Victoria is a two-time Women's Champion.

★ 'World Wrestling Entertainment'

★
★ WWE Women's Championship (2 times)

★ 'Pro Wrestling Illustrated'

★
★ PWI Woman of the Year (2004)

Personal information

Varon and Trish Stratus used to be fitness models together. This real life fact was actually used as an often-overlooked key element to the first "psycho heel Victoria vs. Trish" angle. When explaining her psychotic jealousy against Trish in an interview on ''RAW'', Victoria went on to reveal that they were fitness models together until Trish left for success in wrestling without her, although this was not all completely the case in real life.
In a January 2005 interview, she was quoted as confessing that she was legitimately jealous of the salary and opportunities given to WWE Diva Search winner Christy Hemme. She later retracted and refuted this statement on her website, claiming that the reporter had twisted her words and that she and Hemme were friends.^[44]
In a running gag on his website, Lance Storm maintains that he and Varon are siblings, because they bear a resemblance to each other. This is not the case, as the two are unrelated.^[45]
She has a tattoo of a heart on her ankle, which she got in high school and hid from her parents.^[46]
In May 2007, Varon sold her restaurant, Fat Tony's Pizzeria, that she owned in Louisville, Kentucky.^[47][48]
She attended Eisenhower Senoir High School in Rialto, California

See also

★ List of famous Puerto Ricans

References

1. WWE Sunday Night Heat Results
2. WWE The Yearbook: 2003 Edition
3. WWE The Yearbook: 2003 Edition
4. RAW - September 30, 2002 Results
5. WWE The Yearbook: 2003 Edition
6. WWE The Yearbook: 2003 Edition
7. RAW - January 27, 2003 Results
8. Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts
9. RAW - November 24, 2003 Results
10. RAW - February 23, 2004 Results
11. Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts
12. RAW - May 3, 2004 Results
13. Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts
14. RAW - June 21, 2004 Results
15. Power Slam Magazine, issue 123
16. RAW - May 30, 2005 Results
17. RAW - June 6, 2005 Results
18. RAW - June 20, 2005 Results
19. Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts
20. Heat - August 19, 2005 Results
21. RAW - August 29, 2005 Results
22. RAW - October 17, 2005 Results
23. RAW - December 26, 2005 Results
24. RAW - January 2, 2006 Results
25. Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts
26. RAW - March 13, 2006 Results
27. Heat - July 15, 2005 Results
28. Heat - May 26, 2006 Results
29. Heat - June 16, 2006 Results
30. RAW - June 5, 2006 Results
31. Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts
32. RAW - October 2, 2006 Results
33. Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts
34. RAW - November 27, 2006 Results
35. RAW - December 4, 2006 Results
36. RAW - December 11, 2006 Results
37. RAW - December 18, 2006 Results
38. RAW - January 1, 2007 Results
39. New Year's Revolution 2007 Results
40. RAW - January 8, 2007 Results
41. Pro Wrestling Illustrated, May 2007
42. RAW - April 9, 2007 Results
43. 2007 Supplemental Draft results Louie Dee
44. Victoria comments on Christy Hemme again
45. Your Q's, My A's Lance Storm
46. Diva Dish: Wrestlemania Edition
47. May 15, 2007 Blog Lisa Marie Varon
48. WWE vixen sells pizzeria Courier Journal

External links

★ Official Site

★

★ WWE profile

★ Solie's title histories

★ Victoria at Online World of Wrestling

★ ''Complete Interview: Victoria''