TNA Knockout Tara, real name Lisa Marie Varon, has written yet another interesting blog, this time commenting on recent rumors regarding the Knockouts’ pay.
Internet rumors recently circulated that there are discrepancies in pay amongst the Knockouts with two women signed to $100,000+ annual contracts, while other Knockouts received significantly less.
Tara says this is not true. She writes:
And with regards to what is said in the wrestling gossip sites, I’m not going to bash them. Sometimes they are accurate, and I wonder how that info got out. But sometimes, and on stuff I know for certain, it can be inaccurate. Again, I don’t know how people get their information. But a perfect example is a couple days ago there was someone talking about the pay for the Knockouts. I know for certain that there were multiple inaccuracies in that article. Did someone plant the story to cause tension in our locker room, which is especially stress-free these days? Or did someone just mistakenly get some information wrong? Who knows, but that’s my “don’t believe everything you read” speech. If you want to know ask me. I respond to as much as I can on Twitter. What’s my favorite color? Red. How old is my dog Sophie? Three. How much do I get paid as a Knockout? None of your damn business ; )
Tara also comments on Matt Hardy’s recent woes, including being arrested for driving while impaired, and an article written by an ESPN writer about Ric Flair which details the debt he has amassed over the years.
The veteran Knockout, who has worked with both Hardy and Flair for a number of years in WWE and TNA, says:
A lot of people have asked me about Matt Hardy. Was he really fired? Is his odd behavior for real? I don’t have an inside scoop. But what I can tell you from a dozen years in the wrestling business is that I never know what is real and what is part of a storyline. Matt always set a new standard as a wrestler, and was a great co-worker and friend. Could this be a storyline? Yes. Could this also be someone who has given 100% to his fans for years and years, and is emotionally drained and just needs some personal time to get his head straight and recharge his batteries? Absolutely. If it is the latter, I know he would be surrounded by friends and family, and we’d see him back somewhere soon, better than ever.
I also saw a lot of comments on the article about Ric Flair. Again, I don’t know how much of that is accurate. I do think that there are a lot of people that if you take their life, and put it under a microscope, and then list all the mistakes that they have made, it would be unflattering. By the same token, and especially with Ric Flair, if you would have listed all the nice things he did, and all the people he helped, and all the young people he guided in this business, and the wrestlers that he sacrificed for so that they could look that much better, you would have had an article ten times as long. The Ric Flair that I have known and worked with in both WWE and TNA/Impact has always been a gentleman and a locker room leader. Let he who is without sin…
Tara also notes that one of her friends at TNA who is not a wrestler recently lost her job. She writes:
And finally, my friend Aleta lost her job at TNA/Impact this past week. One of the executives actually took me aside and told me about it because they knew that I’d be upset. I was upset. I have also been in this industry long enough to see many of my friends come and go. Most of them I keep in touch with. Aleta is good people, and will definitely fall into that category. That’s why my first piece of advice for anyone who asks me how to get into this business is to always have something to fall back on when you’re done. I miss you already, Aleta.
You can read Tara’s full blog, which is always a good read, here.
Thoughts: I don’t really want to speculate on the pay debate, but I think Tara/Lisa’s comments are pretty interesting. I should hope all of the Knockouts, as well as the male wrestlers, are making substantially more than the rumored figures.
