Breaking News: TNA Releases Former Knockouts Champion

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

News broke earlier today that Tara a.k.a. Lisa Marie Varon has been released by Total Nonstop Action. TNA wrote the following:

"Impact Wrestling has released Tara. We thank Tara for all her contributions and wish her the best of success in thefuture."

Tara joined the Impact Wrestling roster in 2009, where she almost immediately won the Knockouts Championship. She would go on to hold the Knockouts title a record-setting five times and would also hold the Knockouts Tag Team Championship one time alongside Brooke Tessmacher. She was under contract with the WWE from 2000 to 2009. She competed as Victoria during her time with the company and won the Women's Championship on one occasion. With her recent release from TNA, it's possible that we could see Tara back in WWE sooner rather than later.

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However, I'm quite surprised that TNA would release Tara. I realize the company is having financial issues at the moment and they're simply trying to cut costs, which explains why a handful of developmental talents were let go a few weeks ago. Even still, the Knockouts division needs all the help they can get. To my knowledge, only five Knockouts remain who are active wrestlers. Sure, they're flourishing with who they have, but it won't be long before the feuds involving Mickie James, Velvet Sky, Taryn Terrell and Gail Kim get old.

Tara was removed from television not too long ago after being attacked by Gail Kim on an episode of Impact Wrestling. She returned shortly thereafter as the manager for the team team of Robbie E and Jesse. It appears TNA saw no use for her and released her, which is a shame. I would be nice to see her resurface in WWE at some point down the line.