Lisa Marie Varon

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Lisa Marie Varon
An image of Lisa Marie Varon.
Statistics
Ring name(s) Head Bitch In Charge (HBIC)
Queen Victoria
Victoria
Billed height 5 ft. 8 in. (173 cm)[1][2]
Billed weight 155 lb. (70 kg)[2]
Born February 10, 1971 (1971-02-10) (age 37)[1]
San Bernardino, California[3]
Resides Louisville, Kentucky[4]
Billed from San Bernardino, California[5]
Trained by Ultimate Pro Wrestling
Memphis Championship Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling
Dave Finlay[6]
Debut June 2000[1]

Lisa Marie Varon[3] (born February 10, 1971), better known by her ring name Victoria, is an American female bodybuilder, fitness competitor and professional wrestler signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and appearing on its SmackDown! brand.[7]

As an amateur bodybuilder, Varon won her first competition in 1995 as a middleweight.[2][8] She then started competing in fitness competitions and won ESPN2's Fitness America Series in 1997.[4][8] In 1999, she placed second at a fitness event in New York to earn her International Federation of BodyBuilders Professional Fitness Card.[1][2][8]

Through a chance meeting, Varon met World Wrestling Federation (WWF) performer Chyna who encouraged her to become a wrestler.[1][2][4] She trained in the WWF's developmental territories for three years before being moved to the main roster to compete full time under the ring name Victoria.[4] Only four months later, she was pushed to win the WWE Women's Championship, a title she has held twice in her wrestling career.[9]

Contents

Career

Early life

Varon was born in San Bernardino, California, and she attended Eisenhower High School in Rialto, California. In high school, she was active in cheerleading, a sport she competed in since the sixth grade.[1][3] During her senior year in high school, she was nationally recognized by the National Cheerleading Association, earning an All-American award for cheerleading and being chosen to cheer at half-time of the NFL Pro Bowl alongside seventy other women.[3][10][11] Varon also participated in track and field events in the ninth grade.[1] After graduation, she studied biology at the University of California, Los Angeles and medicine at Loma Linda University, with career plans of becoming a physician.[2][4][10] She worked as a Human Tissue Coordinator at the Inland Eye and Tissue Bank in Redlands, California, where she was involved in the process of organ donation.[2][3][4][6][10]

Bodybuilding and fitness competition

Still working at the eye and tissue bank, Varon also become a personal trainer and taught aerobics. While training at a gym, she was offered an opportunity to compete in a bodybuilding competition, a contest she won as a middleweight.[2][4] She competed in fitness competitions such as ESPN2's Fitness America Series in 1997 and 1998, winning the former, and the Miss Galaxy Competition in 1998, where she met and befriended Torrie Wilson.[1][4] After Wilson moved to Los Angeles, California and signed with professional wrestling promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW), she invited Varon to one of the shows. While backstage, an agent asked her to appear in a segment with Scott Hall.[1][4][10] Through Wilson, Varon unsuccessfully attempted to obtain a contract with WCW.[1] She later moved to Los Angeles to find work in televised news fitness segments instead.[1] In 1999, she earned her International Federation of BodyBuilders Professional Fitness Card after placing second at the National Physique Committee Team Universe show in New York.[1][2][3][8][10] It was during her time working in fitness competitions that Varon also first met Trish Stratus.[2]

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

2000–2001

After moving to Los Angeles, Varon worked as a trainer at the gym Crunch Fitness, where she met World Wrestling Federation wrestler Chyna, who complimented Varon on her appearance and encouraged her to become a wrestler.[1][2][4] Varon put together a biography package and sent it to the WWF.[1][2][10] She heard from Kevin Kelly two days later, who asked her for an interview in a month's time. With no previous wrestling experience, she looked up professional wrestling schools on the internet and trained at Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) in Southern California in June 2000.[1][2][12] She wrestled under the ring name Head Bitch In Charge (HBIC) and appeared in a cheerleading outfit, with a snooty gimmick similar to WCW Nitro Girl Miss Hancock.[1][12][13] She impressed WWE talent scout Bruce Pritchard during her first UPW show.[1][10]

Varon made her on-screen debut in the WWF portraying one of The Godfather's hos. She was referred to as the "head ho" and led the "Save the Ho" campaign.[3] On the August 7 episode of Raw, Varon took a bump by being thrown through a table by The Godfather's next persona, The Goodfather.[1][3][12] After this, she was given the name Victoria.[3][12] She was removed from television in November and sent to WWF's developmental territory Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW) for extensive training.[3][10][12] Victoria briefly acted as the commissioner for MCW and was involved in storyline feuds with Stacy Carter and Ivory.[10][12] She also managed Steve Bradley before MCW closed.[1] Varon later moved to Louisville, Kentucky to train in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) using the ring name Queen Victoria.[1][3][4][12] She was placed as the manager of the tag team the Basham Brothers and managed one of the team members, Doug Basham, to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship on July 25, 2001.[12]

2002–2003

Victoria wrestling at a Raw live event
Victoria wrestling at a Raw live event

Varon returned to the renamed World Wrestling Entertainment as Victoria on the July 7, 2002 episode of Sunday Night Heat in an angle with WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus, who Victoria claimed betrayed her when they worked together as fitness models.[12][14] The storyline had her character become a demented, sadistic heel as she and Stratus feuded for months.[12][15] At Survivor Series, Victoria was booked to defeat Stratus in a Hardcore match to win the Women's Championship for the first time.[16][17] After a successful title defense against Stacy Keibler the next night on Raw, Victoria was attacked in the ring by Stratus. Steven Richards came to her rescue, starting an on-screen relationship between Victoria and Richards.[12][18][19]

She continued to feud with Stratus into 2003, competing against her in successful title defenses and tag team matches during which Victoria teamed with Richards.[12] At WrestleMania XIX, Victoria dropped the Women's Title back to Stratus during a Triple Threat match that also included Jazz.[20][21] Throughout the rest of the year, Victoria was involved in matches against other Divas, such as participating in a Fatal Four-Way match for the Women's Title at Judgment Day and defeating Lita in the first women's steel cage match in WWE history on November 24.[22][23] Victoria also defeated Ivory in a number one contender's match for the Women's Title on the last edition for Sunday Night Heat of 2003. After the match, Women's Champion Molly Holly struck Victoria in the head with the title belt.[24] The next week on Raw, Victoria turned face when she attacked Holly after the two women were placed in a team, along with Miss Jackie, for a six woman Happy Holidays tag team match.[15][25][26]

2004–2005

The angle with Holly continued into the next year, with Victoria defeating Holly in tag team matches.[27][28] On February 23, 2004, Victoria was booked to defeat Holly, Lita and Jazz in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match to win her second Women's Title.[29] After defeating Holly in a tag team match the next week, Victoria was challenged by Holly to a rematch for the title at WrestleMania XX, which later became a Hair vs Title match.[30][31] At the pay-per-view, Victoria won the match and shaved Holly's head bald.[31][32] She kept the Women's Championship until June 13, when she dropped the title to Trish Stratus during a Fatal Four-Way match at Bad Blood and subsequently lost a rematch a week later.[33][34][35] After defeating Molly Holly at Vengeance to become the number one contender, Victoria lost a match to Stratus at Unforgiven.[36][37][38] Prior to Unforgiven, several of Victoria's matches were interrupted by a mysterious person in drag, who was later revealed to be Steven Richards, with whom she was previously allied.[38] After the match with Stratus, the storyline culminated when Richards challenged Stratus' ally Tyson Tomko to a match, which Richards lost.[38]

On May 30, 2005 Victoria participated in a swimsuit competition, losing to Christy Hemme. Following the loss, the storyline had Victoria turn heel by attacking the other contestants, as well as host Jerry Lawler, claiming that she had enough of the attention Hemme was receiving.[15][39] The two engaged in a short feud which ended at Vengeance in a match that Victoria won.[40] Continuing with her villainous persona, Victoria was placed in an angle alongside Candice Michelle and Torrie Wilson (collectively known as the Ladies in Pink and later Vince's Devils) on August 29, portraying the role of the group's enforcer, as the three women joined forces against the 2005 Diva Search winner Ashley Massaro.[5][41] Massaro was assisted in the storyline feud by Trish Stratus, and at Unforgiven, Victoria and Wilson were defeated by Stratus and Massaro.[42] The angle continued into WWE Homecoming, where the Ladies in Pink lost a Handicap Bra and Panties match to Stratus and Massaro.[43]

2006–2007

Victoria in a tag team match on Raw
Victoria in a tag team match on Raw

On the March 6, 2006 episode of Raw, Victoria and Candice turned on Wilson during Candice's Playboy cover unveiling, starting an angle between the former teammates.[5][44] A scheduled match was set to take place at Saturday Night's Main Event on March 18 with Victoria and Candice against Wilson and Stratus. As part of the storyline, however, on the episode of Raw prior to the event, Wilson was found unconscious with the implication being that Victoria and Candice had attacked her.[45][46] The match eventually took place on March 27 with Victoria and Candice being defeated.[47] The alliance of Victoria and Candice fell apart during a tag team match on July 17, in which Victoria and Mickie James were defeated by Wilson and Stratus, with Candice as the guest referee.[48]

Victoria was given a character push on November 27 after she was booked to win a number one contender's Divas battle royal.[49] Following the victory, the angle had her carry a checklist to the ring which contained the names of other Divas.[50] Each week she checked a name off the list after defeating them in matches.[51] She also defeated Women's Champion Mickie James in a non-title match.[52] Victoria lost the championship match at New Year's Revolution and a rematch on January 15, 2007.[53][54]

On June 17, Victoria was moved to the SmackDown! brand as part of the Supplemental Draft.[55] She became involved in an on-screen relationship with Kenny Dykstra,[56] and the duo was placed in feuds against Torrie Wilson and Jimmy Wang Yang,[57][58] as well as Michelle McCool and Chuck Palumbo.[59]

2008

Victoria's currently continuing feuds on Smackdown against the likes of Michelle McCool and Cherry with her new ally, the recently debuted Natalya Neidhart

In wrestling

  • Nicknames

Championships and accomplishments

Victoria is a two-time WWE Women's Champion
Victoria is a two-time WWE Women's Champion

Personal life

Varon has a Puerto Rican father who is a Vietnam veteran and a Turkish mother who was a singer in Japan.[2][3][11] She grew up with three older brothers, all of whom became amateur wrestlers, with the oldest brother, Bobby Sole, winning a gold medal at the 1983 Pan American Games.[1][3][10] In a running gag on his website, Lance Storm maintains that he and Varon are siblings due to them both having a widow's peak hairline.[63]

In an interview for the Sun-Sentinel, Varon was quoted as saying she was legitimately jealous of the 2004 WWE Diva Search winner Christy Hemme. She retracted the statement on her website, claiming the reporter had twisted her words when she mentioned that she was jealous of Hemme's paycheck, as it was a lot higher than what Varon received in her rookie year.[64]

Varon has made guest appearances on television shows V.I.P. and Nikki, as well as participated in two fitness competitions for the Univision program Sábado Gigante.[3][11] She owned a restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky called Fat Tony's Pizzeria, but sold it in May 2007.[65] She has since moved on to her next business venture, with the opening of her custom car shop Black Widow Customs on May 22, 2008 in Louisville.[66]

Varon has a tattoo of a heart on her ankle, which she got in high school and hid from her parents.[67] She is a fan of motorcycles and owns a Suzuki Hayabusa.[6][65]

While on a tour of Europe with WWE in December 2007, Varon claims to have legitimately broken Michelle McCool's nose.[68]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Jim Varsallone (February 2003). Victoria's secret: the WWE women's champion credits her competitive fitness background for her quick rise to wrestling stardom. Wrestling Digest. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Andrea Pantelic (2006-06-21). Complete Interview: Victoria. Up & Coming Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Official site of Lisa Marie Varon - Biography (archived May 22, 2007). viciousvixen.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-07.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Greg Oliver (2006-08-07). Victoria talks ankle, divas and weddings. SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved on 2007-11-07.
  5. ^ a b c Bio. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-07.
  6. ^ a b c Scott Zerr (2004-04-15). Victoria's secrets. Edmonton Sun. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.
  7. ^ Superstars > SmackDown. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Official site of Lisa Marie Varon - Resume (archived May 24, 2007). viciousvixen.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
  9. ^ a b Victoria's Title History. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lekisha Oliver. Interview: Lisa Marie Varon. InLewd.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
  11. ^ a b c d Much For Victoria To Celebrate On Her Birthday. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Gerweck Profile. gerweck.net. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
  13. ^ WWE Superstars - Victoria. bodyslamming.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
  14. ^ SLAM! Sports - Wrestling - Trish Stratus. SLAM! Sports. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  15. ^ a b c Tim Baines (2005-10-16). An intimate look at WWE diva Victoria. Ottawa Sun. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  16. ^ WWE: Inside WWE > Title History > Women's > 20021117 - Victoria. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  17. ^ Michael McAvennie. "WWE The Yearbook: 2003 Edition", Pocket Books, 2003, pp. 312. 
  18. ^ Raw results - November 18, 2002. PWWEW.net. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  19. ^ Michael McAvennie. "WWE The Yearbook: 2003 Edition", Pocket Books, 2003, pp. 333. 
  20. ^ "2007 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts", Wrestling’s Historical Cards, Kappa Publishing, 2007, pp. 112–113. 
  21. ^ WrestleMania XIX results - March 30, 2003. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  22. ^ Judgment Day results - May 18, 2003. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  23. ^ Raw results - November 24, 2003. PWWEW.net. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  24. ^ Sunday Night Heat results - December 21, 2003. PWWEW.net. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  25. ^ Raw results - December 29, 2003. PWWEW.net. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  26. ^ Raw results - December 29, 2003. LordsofPain.net. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  27. ^ Raw results - January 26, 2004. PWWEW.net. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
  28. ^ Raw results - February 16, 2004. PWWEW.net. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
  29. ^ Inside WWE Title History > Women's > 20040223 - Victoria. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
  30. ^ Raw results - March 1, 2004. PWWEW.net. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
  31. ^ a b Ian Hamilton. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition (p.90)
  32. ^ "2007 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Dacts", Wrestling’s historical cards, Kappa Publishing, 2007, pp. 115. 
  33. ^ Bad Blood results - June 13, 2004. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
  34. ^ "2007 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts", Wrestling’s Historical Cards, Kappa Publishing, 2007, pp. 115. 
  35. ^ Raw results - June 21, 2004. LordsofPain.net. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
  36. ^ Vengeance results - July 11, 2004. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
  37. ^ Martin, Finn. "Power Slam Magazine, issue 123", Panic Stations! (Unforgiven 2004), SW Publishing, 2004-09-22, pp. 24-25. 
  38. ^ a b c Ian Hamilton. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition (p.115)
  39. ^ Raw results - May 30, 2005. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
  40. ^ Vengeance results - June 26, 2005. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
  41. ^ Raw results - August 29, 2005. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
  42. ^ Unforgiven results - September 18, 2005. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
  43. ^ Raw results - October 3, 2005. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
  44. ^ Raw results - March 6, 2006. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-22.
  45. ^ Raw results - March 13, 2006. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-22.
  46. ^ Women's Champion Trish Stratus & Mickie James def. Candice & Victoria - March 18, 2006. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-22.
  47. ^ Raw results - March 27, 2006. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-22.
  48. ^ Raw results - July 17, 2006. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-22.
  49. ^ Raw results - November 27, 2006. LordsofPain.net. Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
  50. ^ Raw results - December 4, 2006. LordsofPain.net. Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
  51. ^ Raw results - December 11, 2006. LordsofPain.net. Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
  52. ^ Raw results - December 18, 2006. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
  53. ^ New Year's Revolution results - January 7, 2007. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
  54. ^ Raw results - January 15, 2007. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
  55. ^ Louie Dee. 2007 Supplemental Draft results. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  56. ^ Kenny chats with America's favorite daredevil. WWE (2007-08-23). Retrieved on 2007-11-27. “Dykstra:Uh…well, Victoria is my girlfriend.”
  57. ^ SmackDown! results - July 6, 2007. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
  58. ^ SmackDown! results - July 27, 2007. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
  59. ^ SmackDown! results - September 14, 2007. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
  60. ^ Official site of Lisa Marie Varon - Benefits (archived May 24, 2007). viciousvixen.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
  61. ^ Victoria. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
  62. ^ Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners - Woman of the Year. Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
  63. ^ Lance Storm (2004-04-20). Your Q's, My A's. StormWrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
  64. ^ Victoria comments on Christy Hemme again. LordsofPain.net (2005-01-26). Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
  65. ^ a b Lisa Marie Varon (2007-05-15). Lisa Marie MySpace Blog. MySpace. Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
  66. ^ Angie Fenton (2008-05-23). Driven to Succeed. Louisville Courier-Journal. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  67. ^ Jen Hunt and Kara A. Medalis (2007-04-02). Diva Dish: Wrestlemania Edition. WWE. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
  68. ^ Lisa Marie Varon (2007-12-15). Don’t Believe What You Read.... MySpace. Retrieved on 2007-12-23.

References

External links

Professional wrestling
Portal
Persondata
NAME Varon, Lisa Marie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Head Bitch In Charge (HBIC); Queen Victoria; Victoria
SHORT DESCRIPTION Professional wrestler, fitness competitor and bodybuilder
DATE OF BIRTH February 10, 1971
PLACE OF BIRTH San Bernardino, California
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH