Tara Leaving TNA?

[Mitch Henessey]

The following is from Tara's official MySpace page.............

The following is an excerpt from a new blog from the official MySpace page of TNA Knockout Tara:

"I came to TNA last year because I still had a lot of wrestling left in me. I was paid a fraction of what I thought I deserved. But I wanted to show I was still at the top of my game. Now my contract is up in May. I want a modest pay increase. They don't want to pay me what I think is fair. I have no problems going my own way.

But about 12 hours after the conversation where we didn't agree on pay, unnamed sources claim that I am hard to work with and that I don't give my best effort. My only response is that TNA made an aggressive effort to re-sign me, among other things saying that they want to build the women's division around me. And I think wrestling fans see, both on TV and at live events, that I alwys give 100%. I take pride in that. Smeaering me on the way out the door is an act of second-rate character."

Well it seems Tara is leaving TNA, and it also seems she's not leaving on good terms. When Tara first came to TNA, I was sort of happy to see her do something new. I always felt like she was one of the very few Divas left in WWE who could still go in the ring, and when she came to TNA, she was pushed a lot harder then she was in WWE.

She has had some okay/good feuds in TNA. Her feud with ODB was probably her best one. She was able to capture the Knockouts title three times, but she never really had a dominant reign. Tara is right in the middle of a heel turn, but it seems we won't be able to see that go pretty far.

I wonder what Tara will do after TNA? Will she go back to WWE? Tara is up there in age, and I'm not so sure the WWE would have a place for her on the roster.

What are thoughts about Tara leaving TNA?

Do you think she has a point in her MYSpace blog?

 

[It's Damn Real!]

To be honest, her leaving would do TNA a favor in a sense IMO seeing as she's really run her course already there, albeit in a short year.

The lack of suitable threats in the KO division outside the Beautiful People really hindered the potential for her to feud with anyone other than the same three – Awesome Kong (who is now gone), Angelina Love and ODB. Daffney was an OK feud, but it really went no where in terms of actually long-term storylining.

I care for women's wrestling about as much as I care about what you ate for dinner, but Tara was one of the few who still managed to put on great matches despite the fact that her competition was often far inferior to her abilities in the ring.

Part of me says "No, stay.", but another won't be phased (very long) if she does end up leaving.

 

[TokiRKO]

Isn't she in her 40's? Wasn't she also booted from WWE because she didn't work as hard as they thought she should?

As far as them not giving her a ''modest'' pay raise and then they saying she doesn't give her all fits together. I honestly think they believe that. You wouldn't give a raise to some one performing at their greatest. It's funny how she didn't specify how much she makes or how much more she wants. That's the part I'd need to know before I make any judgment on how they're treating her. Considering the first part of that mentions she didn't start with a big check shows that she's a little ego maniacal. TNA isn't very rich. Very few pyros, no lengthy entrances full of pizazz, small arena that they work in every night, taped segments, the whole works. She said she went to TNA to wrestle, not be a diva. But getting pissy over some thing like this only a year after the company gave you a job when the other company booted you is something a diva would do. Not a wrestling diva, a normal diva. Yeah she's good in the ring, and she showing signs of being the old psycho again, which is cool. But does she deserve more than the other knockouts? She can wrestle better than TBP, but they draw more and since they're a stable she may be looking at their combined pay and thinking she deserves that. For all you math failures out there, IF this is how she's looking at it, that means she's wanting triple what the other knockouts are making.

Her loosing her title recently may also be a reason she's acting like this. IDK if it was scripted or not, but if she did get fucked out of the title with the key thing, then she's getting less now that the title is on some one else. But the thing is, she agreed to the match, she wrestled the match, and she opened her box and got her spider back. She knew she couldn't keep both before the bell rang

 

[Jack-Hammer]

When it comes to Tara, TNA really dropped the ball with her. Upon first arriving in TNA, there was some legitimate buzz and real excitement about the Knockout Division. There was all this talk about having some real quality feuds between her and Awesome Kong or Taylor Wilde or Sarita but none of them really came to fruition. Many times, TNA doesn't put enough time and effort into building sustainable, long-term feuds for their male wrestlers so I can't say that I'm surprised that it happened with Tara. By the time she won the Knockout title the first time, it didn't have nearly the type of impact it would have had they given her the title earlier.

So, Awesome Kong and Alyssa Flash are gone, Tara looks to be gone in less than a month, Taylor Wild, Sarita and Hamada are barely even used anymore and most of the Knockouts left aren't really much better in the ring than most of the WWE Divas.

 

[Depakote]

Oh well. She's leaving. No big deal. She didnt do much while she was there. There are too many conflicting reports about her behavior backstage. She kept having wardrobe malfunctions. People have been injured thanks to her knee brace. Sure those last two things arent her fault really, but she's a liability. She's getting old and its only a matter of time before she gets injured again. She's a good wrestler but has never played a good character, heel or face or anything in between. The initial pop she got in TNA was only because everyone knows her from WWE. Now that the buzz has died down, the audience response has started to die down as well. She spent the best years of her career athletically jobbing to divas in the WWE. She finally got the spot in TNA that she was looking for in WWE. Too bad it was years after she was capable of doing something with it. I'm starting to believe the reports about her being hard to work with. She probably came into TNA, heard the nostalgia pop from the fans because she used to work in WWE, and thought she was worth more than what she is. Her career is winding down and she's too much of a liability to go around demanding more money. She was lucky to get a spot in TNA to begin with. With her gone, TNA can afford someone like Micky James, who still has plenty of gas in the tank and would be way more over with the fans.

 

[axl626]

TNA gave her the main event Knockout spot and let her have it the entire time she was there. She's talented but in a Shelton Benjamin way, although no where near his level obviously. I'm actually pretty happy to hear this. I just hope that her leaving doesn't make TNA trip head over heels to get Mickie James in there. They have a great roster of women who do and have worked for them. Roxxi would be a better person to bring back than to spend money on Maria, who won't bring any fans in other than a few who stop the channel for a second and think she looks familiar. They should capitalize on Daffney's popularity if anything. Hopefully ODB's the next one to leave, if she hasn't already.

 

[TNA cross the line]

i hope she leaves i liked when she was in tna at first but now i just see her as a poor gail kim replacement now i hope shes gone and in a few months i hope tna will sign mickie now that would be sweet

 

[Depakote]

Yeah glad to see her go. After her initial buzz died down, we all realized why we didnt like her in WWE. Yeah she can wrestle, or at least could, but thats not all there is to this business. I'd rather see her spot go to someone else. If Mickie James comes back to TNA, she's going to bring a ton of fans with her, something that Tara could never brag about. Nobody will threaten to riot at the Impact zone because Tara is leaving.

As far as Maria goes, no no no no no no no no, for the love of god, no. She cant wrestle, she has horrible mic skills, and she isnt that hot. Way overrated by the IWC, imo. No hips, no ass, no tits, and a witch nose is not hot to me. Her eyes are pretty and she has wild hair, so maybe thats why guys think she's hot? I dont know; not my type. I'm with CM Punk; the girl is dumb. She couldnt draw flies if she was covered in horse shit. People would mark out once and then realize that its fucking Maria, another typical WWE diva. The only thing she could possibly be good at is Christy Hemme's job and they just signed Hemme to a big long term deal so theyve got that position filled. If Maria joins TNA, I see it as a very temporary limited thing, a desperate effort on TNA's part to make it look like theyre stealing WWE's fans.

The Knockout division had its highest rated segments when it featured home grown talent, not when it had washed up WWE reject divas. Guys want to watch hot chicks actually wrestle, not stand around looking dumb like Maria.

 

[Saritafan]

Isn't she in her 40's? Wasn't she also booted from WWE because she didn't work as hard as they thought she should?

As far as them not giving her a ''modest'' pay raise and then they saying she doesn't give her all fits together. I honestly think they believe that. You wouldn't give a raise to some one performing at their greatest. It's funny how she didn't specify how much she makes or how much more she wants. That's the part I'd need to know before I make any judgment on how they're treating her. Considering the first part of that mentions she didn't start with a big check shows that she's a little ego maniacal. TNA isn't very rich. Very few pyros, no lengthy entrances full of pizazz, small arena that they work in every night, taped segments, the whole works. She said she went to TNA to wrestle, not be a diva. But getting pissy over some thing like this only a year after the company gave you a job when the other company booted you is something a diva would do. Not a wrestling diva, a normal diva. Yeah she's good in the ring, and she showing signs of being the old psycho again, which is cool. But does she deserve more than the other knockouts? She can wrestle better than TBP, but they draw more and since they're a stable she may be looking at their combined pay and thinking she deserves that. For all you math failures out there, IF this is how she's looking at it, that means she's wanting triple what the other knockouts are making.

Her loosing her title recently may also be a reason she's acting like this. IDK if it was scripted or not, but if she did get fucked out of the title with the key thing, then she's getting less now that the title is on some one else. But the thing is, she agreed to the match, she wrestled the match, and she opened her box and got her spider back. She knew she couldn't keep both before the bell rang

Sweety, Tara aka victoria left WWE on her own terms, they didn't fire her moron. She announced her retirement and was given a fairwell match and speech. She was the most reliable diva on the roster because she was the veteran, she was responsible for making the younger divas look good in the ring

i think Tara leaving TNA is the best decision for her, she NEVER fit in the division properly imo. She came in TNA with a lot of buzz but TNA ruined it like they ruin everything, they never gave her a proper knockouts title reign and all her fueds weren't memorable. I can understand if she misses WWE, she was there for 10 years and thats where she made her legacy, she probably became homesick. If she does go back to WWE, then I support her
but if she decides to retire from wrestling, I'll still support her

 

[Killer Kelbo]

I liked Tara when she first started in TNA, but now I am tired of her. There is not really any real competition amongst the TNA knockouts, the only ones that still exist right now are Tara, Angelina, the Beautiful People, and Daffney, what the hell happened to the rest of the knockouts, there used to be a shitload of them. It seems as though Mickie James will be making her way to TNA that might have a positive impact on the knockout side of TNA wrestling. As for Tara, I think she will return to WWE as Victoria and have a feud with Beth Phoenix. I would like to see that since they were both heels when Tara left the WWE in the first place.

 

[MCMGfoLife]

I think it'll be a shame if she leaves. She is one of the best in the KO division, and without her, I see the KO division going down hill. She's still great in the ring, and not bad to look at either. she's also one of the coolest wrestlers I've ever met. she is super nice and is all about making the fans happy, which is more than I can say for a lot of wrestlers.

 

[MisterRob]

I love how people are downplaying Tara leaving TNA, just like TNA fans are downplaying the ratings flop right now. This, much like TNA's ratings, is a very bad sign for the TNA product. Tara was one of the top stars of the Knockouts division and probably the most over of any of the Knockouts. She was also the best wrestler of any of them and this is yet another example of the Knockouts division crumbling and turning into a shadow of its former self. TNA desperately needs Mickie James now because without her the Knockouts division isn't much to write home about.

 

[TokiRKO]

Sorry saritafan but i don't mark out with the divas or knockups. I don't have a problem with women wrestling....but these bitches don't. Victoria was close to being a good wrestler...but no. Awesome Kong was the only woman wrestler I gave a shit about beyond physical beauty, and she's gone. It's sad when they talk about the knockouts not being divas...then fire all the ones who aren't beautiful and who can actually wrestle. I'm tired of seeing TBP cat fight. Let the come to the ring, do their entrance, then fucking leave. Even Tara started cat fighting recently. Bring Sarita in the spot light and let her n awesome kong steal the show.

 

[Hulkamaniac]

Who cares is she leaves? I mean, seriously, it's women's wrestling. People can get all Politically Correct and pretend like they're big fans of women's wrestling, but 9/10 times, they're just not nearly as fun to watch as men, and they're main use is as sex appeal, and there's a reason that women's wrestling federations don't draw a lot of money and why women are featured prominently as serious competitors...people don't want to see it. They gave her a big push, the biggest push out of anyone I've seen in the Knock Outs division in the last year, and she's been kind of a failure. She's far from the most interesting KO from a physical perspective, or from a character perspective. So it's no big loss, one way or the other.

EDIT: Just to be clear, I'm not saying women CAN'T be good wrestlers, it's jsut not how they're presented in any big time org anymore, so nobody takes thems seriously, and the vast majority of current women's stars aren't interesting because of their workrate.

Tara was one of the top stars of the Knockouts division and probably the most over of any of the Knockouts.

Not even close. Please, to continue your hate campaign on a program you have admitted you don't watch, don't comment on who's the biggest star or the most over.

 

[MooseDaddy]

I hope she does leave. I know she probably has more overall wrestling ability than most of the other Knockouts but she is HORRIBLE on the mic. I hate watching her promos. They are awful. She tried the John Cena "I'm just going to go out there and do my best" approach. She is trying the bad ass approach with losing the title to Angelina Love and it just doesn't go over. I say Good Riddance.

 

[wrestling fan 666]

I say it's another sad loss for the TNA Knockouts. How many more talents are they going to lose before they realize that they are destroying the division? The Knockout roster is a joke compared to the way it was a year ago. Tara is a great talent, former champion, and they treat her like crap. I say this has something to do with the the Bischoff/Hogan/Russo fiasco that is running the place. The division was a force to be reckoned with, even having it's own special. Now, all you have is the BP and there's only so much of them you can take. If they were smart, they'd try to build up the division again. Sorry, I like Tara, Awesome Kong, Rhiesha Sied (spelling?), Roxxi, and many others that they just tossed away. Sadly, WWE won't take Tara back because she's too old for them and she doesn't fit the "model" image that they have. I wish her luck in her future (more than TNA did) and hope she can come back somewhere; she's too talented to waist.

 

[Chrome]

I am not going to make a rightous post here about how Tara was screwed and that she deserves money.

What I will say is ...

THANK YOU TNA for realizing that she is near 40 and most women retire by this time anyways. No need to waste money on an investment that only has a few years left. (heck Debra, Sable, Sunny, Madusa, etc all had there run and left too)

When it comes to the womens division younger is better, (I know that sounds wrong but its a dog eat dog business) younger ladies always get the spot light over older ones.

I don't think its fair since men can wrestle till there 50's but women for the most part retire before 40. Its the growing pains of the business, tara looks old now, still hot, but TNA has younger, faster, hotter women that they can focus on. I also would imagine letting Tara go will make room to hire Mickie James (who is still in her prime).

Much respect to Tara you will be missed.

 

[UFOcalling]

I think it's a shame that Tara's leaving. None of us know the "real" details - by which I mean the amount of money she was originally hired for, and how much she asked for in these new negotiations.

When Tara signed with TNA last year, I bet she DEFINITELY took a pretty big cut in pay (compared to her WWE salary). She must have gone to TNA because of her love for the business, and didn't want to retire as a trainee for the "barbie-doll" divas at the "E" (remember that interview she did with ODB last year? Awesome stuff, you could really see her passion for the business).

I bet when she signed with TNA last year, she figured that she would have to prove herself in order to deserve a raise. In my opinion, she DID prove her value to the KO division over the past year. Again, I wish I knew how much extra money she asked for. Without that information, it's hard to judge whether TNA shafted her or she was asking for too much.

I for one believe that she really did ask for a "modest pay increase" (nothing crazy), and probably deserves what she asked for. Although she is a bit long in the tooth, I think she added a lot to the Knockout Division. Again, it's a shame to see her leaving in the middle of her new psycho heel-turn.

 

[Deadpool09]

I want a modest pay increase.

Heres the problem I'm having with her. She's asking for a pay increase during a recession! There are people out there who don't have jobs and are struggling to get by with what they have. She's coming out with this statement looking for sympathy from people as if TNA are being heartless by not giving into her demands when in reality she's probably getting paid about the same amount as the rest of the knockout's division, but not as much as she earned in WWE and tried to change that.

As far as I'm concerned she finished in pro wrestling. She's 39 and unfortunately thats viewed as old in women's wrestling. If she went back to WWE she'd only be used to help push younger divas like Eve, Maryse and Natalya. Her push in TNA was the last big one of her career and I can now see her moving to MMA.

 

[LitasRevenge79]

I do think its pathetic that TNA's knockout division is slowly turning into WWE's eye candy. Its always the same 3 people, The Beautiful People vs someone, and TBP seem to retain the belts. Especially when one of them is Lacey Von Erick. Tara left WWE to come to TNA to show the skills she still had and WWE didn't really let her get the proper send off in the end at the E. Then you see real wrestlers like Kong gone, and Alyssa Flash, Traci Brooks (she was alright) and you never see Taylor Wilde, or Sarita anymore, and now you hear that they may not be coming back. Then you don't see Daffney very much. Kinda makes you wonder what the meaning 'Girl Power' means to Dixie Carter. I remember her saying that TNA would have THE BEST women's division EVER! I wonder what made her change her tune? Hell, we don't even really see ODB either. I wonder how long it will be before they send Angelina off again...? I can understand that it may be a cornucopia of many things besides just pay amounts that would cause someone to be unhappy with their work environment.

Many people can attribute unhappiness to pay, and try to increase it to start with. But still, if you aren't happy, no amount of pay will help. It sounds like its more than just pay that is making people unhappy there. And from someone who's been in that kind of situation, it sounds like there is a VERY TOXIC work environment there. Hopefully one of these days, certain higher ups will realize what crazy making rules, and booking they've been doing to cause people with TRUE talent to leave or force them out, and that it will come back eventually to bite them in the behind. I can only wish the best for "Tara" Lisa Marie, and hope she does well whatever she chooses to do, and that I will miss seeing her on tv.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Dang, so TNA might lose Tara now too. They have slowly been losing all the Knockouts who are better in the ring. I highly doubt Tara would go back to WWE because they didn't use her well at the last few years of her run there, plus they would probably not push her after getting a couple of TNA Knockout Championship reigns.... just look at what that did for Gail Kim when she returned.

I have mixed feelings about the idea of Tara leaving TNA. She's far from being my favorite Knockout, but she's the best choice to build the division around. Who would it be built around if she left? Angelina? The Beautiful People? As much as I'd like the division to be built around someone like Angelina or Taylor, Tara has more experience and as a veteran could help the others improve in the long run. She did make a couple of valid points in her blog and I hope she is able to negotiate with TNA so that she decides to come back because the Knockouts division would suffer if she left.

 

[MisterRob]

Not even close. Please, to continue your hate campaign on a program you have admitted you don't watch, don't comment on who's the biggest star or the most over.

Clearly you don't even watch the show you supposedly watch. Who was more over then Tara? The Beautiful People? Maybe as a whole but individually certainly not; and individually none of them can even remotely compare to what Tara offers TNA by being in the Knockouts division. Velvet Sky is incredibly hot, but she can't wrestle. Madison Reign can wrestle better then the other two Beautiful People, but she's bland otherwise and no one gives a crap about her on her own. Von Eric is hot, but that's all she has and she's useless otherwise. Who else is there? Are you claiming Daffney is more over then Tara? How about ODB? They've barely used her in months it seems. Angelina Love? Tara's just as over as Angelina Love. And in all of these cases Tara is not only over more or equal (arguably) but she can wrestle better then any of them and has the star power beyond any of them. So yes, it's a loss to TNA in a dwindling Knockouts division that is slowly losing everything that ever made the fans praise it so much a year ago.

I may not torture myself by forcing myself to sit through the entire episode of Impact every week (thank god), but I do watch the videos on youtube and I have enough knowledge of the product and the roster to make just as valid of opinions as yours, thanks.

 

[Hulkamaniac]

Clearly you don't even watch the show you supposedly watch. Who was more over then Tara? The Beautiful People? Maybe as a whole but individually certainly not; and individually none of them can even remotely compare to what Tara offers TNA by being in the Knockouts division. Velvet Sky is incredibly hot, but she can't wrestle. Madison Reign can wrestle better then the other two Beautiful People, but she's bland otherwise and no one gives a crap about her on her own. Von Eric is hot, but that's all she has and she's useless otherwise. Who else is there? Are you claiming Daffney is more over then Tara? How about ODB? They've barely used her in months it seems. Angelina Love? Tara's just as over as Angelina Love. And in all of these cases Tara is not only over more or equal (arguably) but she can wrestle better then any of them and has the star power beyond any of them. So yes, it's a loss to TNA in a dwindling Knockouts division that is slowly losing everything that ever made the fans praise it so much a year ago.

I may not torture myself by forcing myself to sit through the entire episode of Impact every week (thank god), but I do watch the videos on youtube and I have enough knowledge of the product and the roster to make just as valid of opinions as yours, thanks.

Unbelievable. All the TBP and Angelina Love are all more over then Tara, as is arguably Daffney. And Kong was, obviously, before she left. So congratulations to Tara on being, at best, the 5th most over female wrestler in TNA right now. So again, you sholdn't comment on a product you don't follow. Losing a female wrestler isn't a big loss to a company, sorry, unless MAYBE it's Trish Stratus, which Tara certainly isn't.