Ring veteran Victoria was perhaps one of the biggest surprises in the Royal Rumble match this year. Although a favorite among fans, she is rarely spoken about by WWE and her entering a Rumble match is something that many held out hope for. This came especially true when she wasn’t in the first women’s Rumble in 2018 when many legends made up half the match.
Victoria, real name Lisa Marie Varon, has been very open about how nervous she was entering this match. She retired from the ring in 2019 and she wasn’t sure how the current women in the locker room would feel about her being involved. The support was overwhelming and the other women welcomed her as the legend she is with open arms.
While on her podcast, GAW TV, she discussed how she felt alongside her podcast partner and current WWE Superstar Mickie James (who also was in the Royal Rumble match).
“I thought I was gonna come in there and bump and feed for everybody else, and let everybody else shine on me because that’s what I’m used to. When I found out, we had a rehearsal, just to find out what number we’re coming in and stuff like that and… I don’t know, it was crazy, and when they were like, Victoria is coming back, she’s gonna clean house, everybody’s been waiting for her to be coming back, I couldn’t even talk. I started crying. The response from the other workers, the girls, I didn’t think I was going to be, I thought they were going to go, oh, who the hell is this coming back? I don’t know, I had no clue.”
She continues, “I was blown up. I was out of breath because I got the call two weeks before the Rumble, and you cant get in ring shape in two weeks. It’s just impossible. I bought a recumbent bike. A recumbent bike. I’m sitting on my butt pedaling going, oh my god, I don’t want to look like, as Mickie would say, a sack of potatoes coming out. You’re not ready because the adrenaline, it was just a lot to take in. I’m like, am I ready? Oh my God, I don’t want the fans to be disappointed in my performance, I want them to still think I can kick ass. There’s a lot of pressure, man.”
Through her anxiety she found a sense of calm with the help of other talent. She cites Ruby Riott and Bayley as two women who helped her out.
“It was also cool going through certain moves that the girls were like, can you give me a move, can you give me a move. I want to take a move. I wasn’t used to it. I got in the ring and all the girls were cluttering me. I was going, whoa. I go, am I bumping, or are you guys bumping for me? Then I put Peyton [Royce] in the Widow’s Peak, all the girls you saw line up going can you give me the Widow’s Peak, can you give me the Widow’s Peak? It was freakin awesome!”
“Bayley, I remember coming to two autograph signings. I was with Maven and then I was with Edge on one. You hear a girl going, I’m going to be a wrestler just like you, but you hear that all the time. [Usually] They don’t put the work in, they don’t know you have to move to this place and give up your family and all that sacrifice you do. Bayley was like, her and Ruby [Riott] kept on coming up [and asking] do you want to go over anything, do you have it? They were just so helpful at making me feel calm.”
Now that Victoria has successfully been in the Royal Rumble match hopefully a Hall of Fame induction can come next.
Credit to Fightful for the transcriptions.
