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| Sara del Rey can both do and teach Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein |
WWE has its developmental ranks loaded to the gills. Kassius Ohno, Xavier Woods, Sami Zayn, the as-of-yet-unchristened Sami Callihan and Samuray del Sol, Adrian Neville, Paige, Emma, and of course, the inimitable Tyler Breeze among others all have seemingly bright futures ahead of them. The best wrestler among the whole lot won't be found on any roster page though. She doesn't have a NXT Name Generator-given appellation, nor has she appeared on any show since signing.
Sara del Rey left the independent scene with a lot accomplished. She was the first ever SHIMMER World Champion, a certified barrier-smasher in Chikara, an American Joshi, and an elder stateswoman for the current crop of females in the independents. However, for as many notches as she cut into her belt, she signed with WWE before the most impressive notch possible. Some might say that she didn't necessarily need to win a coed promotion's top Championship in order to prove herself worthy. Merely gaining the rabid support of the ECW Arena crowd as she battled current Real American Claudio Castagnoli and notching the endorsement of her employers by being booked to win said match should have been enough. Remember, wrestling is an art where intent and story are more important than the actual results are most of the time.
The old-school fan in me still believes that the actual crowning means something, even in the post-Russo era of exposing the actual belt for a prop. Obviously, del Rey cannot control how the companies she works for or wants to work for sync up their plans. Basically, when WWE comes calling, the sad reality for promotions like Chikara and SHIMMER is that you begrudgingly accept when they're about to poach, regardless of what plans you yourself may have for him or her in the long run. But it still feels like there was a significant piece to her puzzle left out of the finished portrait. I'm not sure it's one that will ever be completed, at least now that her calling card in wrestling's most corporate and widespread conglomerate is not to wrestle but to teach others how to do the same.
Ringbelles pointed out a "Follow Friday" that del Rey posted last week. In and of itself, the longstanding Twitter traditional call to increase following counts isn't news, but they connected the dots enough to figure out that del Rey's tenor and demeanor have changed, that she's come to relish her role as a teacher, that she's prouder to see women like Paige or even the much-maligned Eva Marie succeed than herself. I don't know about you, but I think that's fucking cool.
In theory, everything about her career should be enough for fans like me to be satisfied. She's helping to fight the image that women can't wrestle by training them for the world's biggest wrestling company. She doesn't have to go out every weekend or even every night and bump her ass off, so she'll be happier and healthier in the long run. She seems to be content with her lot in life, something that not everyone can really say.
The chestnut says that those who cannot do teach, but in del Rey's case, that's a blatant falsehood. I know she can wrestle just fine. That reason will always make me feel the slightest bit of discomfort when I don't see her on TV every week and only see her post tweets regarding the biz when it comes to training her students at the Performance Center. Yes, I know that's insanely selfish, but I can't help but feel that way, especially when I've seen her take entire shows by the horns. Sara del Rey is the best wrestler they have in Orlando right now, and she's not being paid to wrestle. Something about that juxtaposition of statements feels incongruous to me.
But again, it's not my life, it's del Rey's. WWE, for whatever reason, didn't sign her to perform in the ring. I think that's a stupid mindset to have, but she's still doing excellent work in training those who will follow in massive footsteps. Maybe, some day down the line, WWE will come to its collective senses and put del Rey in front of a camera to dazzle audiences like we know she can. I think any lingering sexist in the crowd who thinks women can't wrestle will be automatically converted with a 12 minute masterpiece between del Rey and Nattie Neidhart.
But if she remains a trainer for the rest of her career, then at least I have the memories, a fair trade off if there ever was one. In the long run, del Rey is probably doing better for WWE in her current role than if she were a wrestler right now. Either way, she continues to be a titan of the business, and that's beyond cool even if she never did get to capture that one last brass ring as an active performer.
Sara del Rey left the independent scene with a lot accomplished. She was the first ever SHIMMER World Champion, a certified barrier-smasher in Chikara, an American Joshi, and an elder stateswoman for the current crop of females in the independents. However, for as many notches as she cut into her belt, she signed with WWE before the most impressive notch possible. Some might say that she didn't necessarily need to win a coed promotion's top Championship in order to prove herself worthy. Merely gaining the rabid support of the ECW Arena crowd as she battled current Real American Claudio Castagnoli and notching the endorsement of her employers by being booked to win said match should have been enough. Remember, wrestling is an art where intent and story are more important than the actual results are most of the time.
The old-school fan in me still believes that the actual crowning means something, even in the post-Russo era of exposing the actual belt for a prop. Obviously, del Rey cannot control how the companies she works for or wants to work for sync up their plans. Basically, when WWE comes calling, the sad reality for promotions like Chikara and SHIMMER is that you begrudgingly accept when they're about to poach, regardless of what plans you yourself may have for him or her in the long run. But it still feels like there was a significant piece to her puzzle left out of the finished portrait. I'm not sure it's one that will ever be completed, at least now that her calling card in wrestling's most corporate and widespread conglomerate is not to wrestle but to teach others how to do the same.
Ringbelles pointed out a "Follow Friday" that del Rey posted last week. In and of itself, the longstanding Twitter traditional call to increase following counts isn't news, but they connected the dots enough to figure out that del Rey's tenor and demeanor have changed, that she's come to relish her role as a teacher, that she's prouder to see women like Paige or even the much-maligned Eva Marie succeed than herself. I don't know about you, but I think that's fucking cool.
In theory, everything about her career should be enough for fans like me to be satisfied. She's helping to fight the image that women can't wrestle by training them for the world's biggest wrestling company. She doesn't have to go out every weekend or even every night and bump her ass off, so she'll be happier and healthier in the long run. She seems to be content with her lot in life, something that not everyone can really say.
The chestnut says that those who cannot do teach, but in del Rey's case, that's a blatant falsehood. I know she can wrestle just fine. That reason will always make me feel the slightest bit of discomfort when I don't see her on TV every week and only see her post tweets regarding the biz when it comes to training her students at the Performance Center. Yes, I know that's insanely selfish, but I can't help but feel that way, especially when I've seen her take entire shows by the horns. Sara del Rey is the best wrestler they have in Orlando right now, and she's not being paid to wrestle. Something about that juxtaposition of statements feels incongruous to me.
But again, it's not my life, it's del Rey's. WWE, for whatever reason, didn't sign her to perform in the ring. I think that's a stupid mindset to have, but she's still doing excellent work in training those who will follow in massive footsteps. Maybe, some day down the line, WWE will come to its collective senses and put del Rey in front of a camera to dazzle audiences like we know she can. I think any lingering sexist in the crowd who thinks women can't wrestle will be automatically converted with a 12 minute masterpiece between del Rey and Nattie Neidhart.
But if she remains a trainer for the rest of her career, then at least I have the memories, a fair trade off if there ever was one. In the long run, del Rey is probably doing better for WWE in her current role than if she were a wrestler right now. Either way, she continues to be a titan of the business, and that's beyond cool even if she never did get to capture that one last brass ring as an active performer.