Former WWE Champion Wrestles First Match In 2 Years At Latest IMPACT Tapings

This former WWE star made their return to the ring at IMPACT's latest TV tapings.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE Royal Rumble 2021 Victoria
WWE

Having not wrestled since 2021, the real-life Lisa Marie Varon made her return to the ring at the most recent set of IMPACT Wrestling tapings.

Known as Tara during her time with TNA/IMPACT, Varon made an appearance at the promotion's Hard to Kill PPV this past weekend. There, she was shown on camera supporting Mickie James as Hardcore Country put her career on the line as she challenged Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts Title; a match which saw James once again become the Knockouts Champion.

As per Fightful, Tara teamed with Gisele Shaw at Saturday's TV tapings from Atlanta, Georgia. That team-up ended in defeat against the Death Dollz's Taya Valkyrie and Jessicka, with Tara hitting her partner with the Widow's Peak following the match.

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A five-time Knockouts Champion, Varon's last in-ring outing was as an entrant in the 2021 women's Royal Rumble match. Of course, the veteran was known as Victoria during her tenure with WWE, where she won the Women's Title on two occasions and marked herself out as one of the best female wrestlers in the business. That reputation was only further enhanced when the California native exited WWE for TNA in 2009.

Not just is this latest return to the ring for Lisa her first match in two years, it also marks her first bout in TNA/IMPACT since a July 2013 loss to ODB.

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Tara and Gisele Shaw vs. Tayaya Valkyrie and Jessicka will air on an upcoming episode of IMPACT.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.