Before becoming the first female coach at the WWE Performance Center, Sara Amato built a reputation as one of the world's finest women's wrestlers under the alias Sara Del Rey.
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Among her monikers were "Death Rey" and "The Queen of Wrestling."
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Amato fought men and women in independent promotions such as Shimmer Women Athletes, Chikara Pro and Ring of Honor.
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"She has a very physical ring style," says Cesaro, who teamed alongside Amato before either joined WWE. "She’s technically very gifted and is probably technically better than a lot of the guys I’ve been in the ring with."
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Cesaro adds: "And she kicks harder than a mule."
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Amato developed into Shimmer's "ace," according to the organization's producer, Dave Prazak. She was Shimmer's first champion.
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Amato wrestled on the first 48 Shimmer events without missing a show.
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"She would wrestle in companies like Chikara against the men and have matches as good as anybody else on the card," says Daniel Bryan. "That’s a real testament to her because typically you don’t measure females like that."
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Amato traveled to Mexico and Japan to test herself against the top women's wrestlers not associated with WWE.
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Among her in-ring inspirations are Aja Kong, one of the most revolutionary women's wrestlers in the history of Japan.
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Amato says she couldn't think of a better scenario than her current role as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center: "I thought it was a very natural fit. It was like the ultimate dream."