LINCOLN PARK — The video of former WWE superstar Victoria's husband body-slamming a gunman at the couple's restaurant brought international attention to The Squared Circle in Lincoln Park.
But it also led the one-time wrestler, whose real name is Lisa Marie Varon, to bail out of the wrestling-themed restaurant she opened in 2013 and put out a series of drama-filled Tweets and Facebook posts.
Varon, who ran the business along with her husband Lee even as they were going through a divorce, posted on the restaurant's Facebook and Twitter pages that she was taking a "backseat" from the business Wednesday night, just days after the video went public on the TMZ website.
That's because Varon says the surveillance footage showed a waitress she thought was gone was still working at The Squared Circle — something she was unaware of because she now lives in California.
Varon went on to urge customers not to tip the waitress and posted that there will be no more guest appearances by her wrestling friends at The Squared Circle in the future. She also said "we are selling the restaurant."
Lee Varon (DNAinfo/Paul Biasco)
Lisa Marie Varon, Lee Varon's wife (Twitter/@REALLiSAMARiE)
Lee Varon, who manages the restaurant at 2418 N. Ashland Ave., confirmed he and his wife were in the process of getting a divorce. He said the waitress in question still works at the restaurant but denied the business was for sale.
Lisa Marie Varon, who has a huge following in the wrestling community, moved away from Chicago about six months ago, according to Lee Varon, but had been supporting the business from the West Coast.
He said the split could lead the restaurant to change its concept theme if the wrestling fan base that has supported the business decides to abandon ship along with Lisa Marie Varon.
"We are sort of in a reactive mode to see what the reaction is of our biggest demographic, wrestling fans," Lee Varon said. "For some reason the owner is turning on them."
Lee Varon added that if his estranged wife attacks on the business "antagonizes the wrestling community, we may go more mainstream," he said.
As of Thursday afternoon, the tweets had been deleted, but the Facebook posts remained.
Lisa Marie Varon did not respond to request for comment.
Lee Varon said he owns the building, while his wife owns The Squared Circle concept and that they had previously managed the business together.
This weekend the restaurant/bar still plans to air WrestleMania 31 on March 29, arguably wrestling's biggest event, as well as Saturday's UFC title card featuring Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos.
Lisa Marie Varon said on the restaurant's Facebook page Wednesday night that she was receiving requests for WrestleMania refunds following her earlier posts.
The restaurant originally announced a special party for the event with a "very special guest" from the world of pro wrestling.
Tickets to the event, which included a guaranteed seat to watch WrestleMania 31, a meet and great with the guest and a Squared Circle T-shirt, were $25.
Lee Varon urged customers not to shy away despite the controversy.
"At the end of the day we are a restaurant serving fantastic food," Lee Varon said.
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