Japanese and Mexican promotions (2002–2007) In 2002, Amato tried out for the
Japanese promotion
Arsion founded by
Aja Kong, and she considers it a highlight of her career. Later in 2005, she toured Japan again, and released a video that depicts six of her matches entitled "Sara Del Rey Japan Tour 2005". She also wrestled in
Mexico, using the
gimmick "The American Angel", in which she wore a
wrestling mask. On February 12, 2006, she was able to defeat Haze in the main event of
Volume 3, and then
Rain at
Volume 4. In the main event of
Volume 5, Del Rey pinned Mercedes Martinez in a singles match. Later in the night,
The Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew challenged Martinez to a tag team match, and Del Rey agreed to be Martinez's partner. At
Volume 6, Del Rey and Martinez were defeated by Rain and Lacey. On October 22, Del Rey defeated the debuting
Nattie Neidhart. After the match, she was challenged by Martinez to a rematch at
Volume 8, which Sara agreed to. In the main event of
Volume 8, Del Rey lost to Martinez, and suffered her first singles loss in Shimmer. in October 2007 On April 7, 2007, Del Rey defeated both
Cheerleader Melissa and
Nikki Roxx in the main events of
Volume 9 and
Volume 10, leading her to the
Shimmer Championship tournament. On June 1, Del Rey advanced to the semi-finals of the tournament by first eliminating Cindy Rogers, and then
Alicia. At
Volume 12, she defeated
Sarah Stock, and went on to defeat Lacey in the finals to become the first ever Shimmer Champion. Later in the night, she teamed with Nikki Roxx to defeat the Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew. Del Rey made her first successful title defense against Lacey in a rematch at
Volume 14. Del Rey defeated
Amazing Kong at
Volume 15, and Sarah Stock in a two out of three falls match at
Volume 16. At
Volume 17, Del Rey teamed up with
Allison Danger in a losing effort to the team of
MsChif and Cheerleader Melissa. At
Volume 18, MsChif challenged Del Rey to a championship match, which Del Rey accepted. Later in the night, Del Rey lost the Shimmer Championship to MsChif, ending her reign at 329 days. On July 5, 2008, Del Rey took part in a 21-woman number one contender's
battle royal, but she was eliminated by Portuguese Princess Ariel. Del Rey then attacked Ariel, leading to a match between the two at
Volume 19, which Del Rey won. At
Volume 20, Del Rey defeated
Serena Deeb. On October 19, Del Rey was challenged by Deeb to a rematch, which once again was won by Del Rey. At
Volume 22, Del Rey was challenged once again by Deeb, but this time she did not accept. On May 2, 2009, Del Rey defeated
Madison Eagles of the Pink Ladies. Later in the night, she and Amazing Kong attacked Shimmer Champion MsChif, only to be scared off by Cheerleader Melissa. At
Volume 24, Del Rey teamed up with Amazing Kong to defeat MsChif and Melissa, becoming the number one contenders to the
Shimmer Tag Team Championship. However, at
Volume 26, Del Rey and Kong failed to capture the titles from defending champions
Nevaeh and
Ashley Lane after being disqualified. The duo proceeded to attack the champions after the match, but they were forced to leave the ring by Serena Deeb and Mercedes Martinez. Later that night, Del Rey and Kong defeated Deeb and Martinez. On November 8, Del Rey defeated
Jessie McKay. Later that night, she was disqualified in a match against
Ayako Hamada, but Hamada ordered that the match be restarted, which Del Rey won. At
Volume 33, Del Rey defeated Nevaeh. At
Volume 34, she was defeated by Jessie McKay in a three-way match that also included Hamada. At
Volume 35, Del Rey defeated
Rachel Summerlyn, with help from
Daffney. At
Volume 36, Del Rey competed in an 8-woman
tag team elimination match, but was eliminated by Hamada. On March 18, 2012, Del Rey and
Courtney Rush defeated Hamada and
Ayumi Kurihara, the
Canadian NINJAs (
Nicole Matthews and
Portia Perez) and Regeneration X (Allison Danger and
Leva Bates) to win the Shimmer Tag Team Championship, making Del Rey the first woman to have held both of Shimmer's championships. On July 7, Del Rey and Rush lost the titles to the Canadian NINJAs.
Chikara (2006–2012) in 2012 Del Rey had been wrestling for
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania–based
Chikara since May 2006, mainly as a
fan favorite. While in BDK, Del Rey began regularly teaming with Haze, and together the two of them picked up victories over tag teams such as
The Osirian Portal (Amasis and
Ophidian), Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream and Ice Cream, Jr.), The Throwbacks (
Dasher Hatfield and Sugar Dunkerton),
Amazing Kong and
Raisha Saeed, and
Mike Quackenbush and
Jigsaw. On September 19, 2010, Del Rey wrestled Japanese
joshi legend
Manami Toyota in only her second match in the United States, when she and Claudio Castagnoli were defeated in a tag team match by Toyota and Mike Quackenbush. On October 23, Del Rey represented BDK in the
torneo cibernetico match, where they faced a team of Chikara originals, and was eliminated from the match by
Eddie Kingston. The following day, Del Rey and Haze defeated the Super Smash Bros. (
Player Uno and
Player Dos) in a tag team match to pick up their third straight victory and, as the first all–female tag team, earn the right to challenge for the
Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas (tag team championship), at the time held by their stablemates Ares and Claudio Castagnoli. However, Del Rey and Haze never got to cash in their points, as Ares and Castagnoli ordered them to defend them in a four-way elimination match on November 21, where they ended up being eliminated by Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw and losing all of their points. In May 2011, Del Rey entered the
12 Large: Summit to determine the first ever
Chikara Grand Champion. On July 31, Del Rey scored an upset win over BDK leader Claudio Castagnoli in a tournament match, after which both she and Haze were attacked by Castagnoli. On August 3, Del Rey announced her resignation from BDK. On October 7, Del Rey was eliminated from the
12 Large: Summit, when she was defeated by Mike Quackenbush. On November 12, Del Rey was part of Team
Hallowicked in the eighth annual
torneo cibernetico, facing a team of members of BDK and
The Batiri. Del Rey eventually won the match by pinning her former stablemate Tim Donst. During December's
JoshiMania weekend, Del Rey picked up wins over Japanese wrestlers
Aja Kong,
Tsubasa Kuragaki and
Ayako Hamada. Del Rey returned at the June 29 tapings of
Ring of Honor Wrestling, saving
Adam Cole and
Eddie Edwards from a
beat down from
Mike Bennett, Brutal Bob and
Maria Kanellis. On August 11 at
Boiling Point, Del Rey and Edwards defeated Bennett and Kanellis in a tag team match. In 2020, Del Rey won an online tournament between several female wrestlers of ROH.
Jersey All Pro Wrestling (2009–2010) Del Rey debuted for
Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) at their very first show on January 10, 2009, where she defeated
Daizee Haze. On the second show on May 9, she defeated
Amazing Kong, and later in the night won a
battle royal, becoming the number one contender to the inaugural
JAPW Women's Championship. On June 27, she was able to defeat
ODB in
Jersey City, New Jersey to become the inaugural JAPW Women's Champion. She was also able to retain the title against
Portia Perez at
European Homicide on August 1. She made her second title defense against
Hailey Hatred in
Beachwood, New Jersey on September 12. At
Halloween Hell, she
squashed Roxie Cotton to make her third title defense. On November 13, Del Rey successfully defended the championship against
Alissa Flash at a
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)
house show in
Wayne, New Jersey. The following day at JAPW
Girl Power, Del Rey fought
Cheerleader Melissa to a double disqualification, after Hailey Hatred attacked both Del Rey and Melissa. Later that night. it was announced that at the next JAPW show, the three women would face off in a three-way
no disqualification match, with Del Rey's championship on the line. Del Rey made a successful title defense against
Sumie Sakai at ''Season's Beatings''. On January 9, 2010, Del Rey won the three-way no disqualification match, thus retaining the championship. On January 23, she defeated
Madison Rayne at JAPW's 12th Anniversary Show to retain the championship. Del Rey continued to defend her title, and was able to defeat Hailey Hatred in a
Falls Count Anywhere match at
Wild Card, a JAPW show where the champions had to defend their titles against mystery opponents. She defended the title against Ayumi Kurihara at
Old School on April 17, and against Annie Social at
Notorious Thunder on May 22. On July 3, Del Rey wrestled at another TNA house show, losing to
Angelina Love in a match for the number one contender-ship to the
TNA Knockouts Championship. On November 20, she retained the championship against
Mia Yim, and against
LuFisto at the 13th Anniversary Show on December 11. After Del Rey signed with
WWE in July 2012, the JAPW Women's Championship was declared vacant, ending her reign at 1,108 days.
NCW Femmes Fatales (2009–2010) On September 5, 2009, Del Rey took part at the debut show of
NCW Femmes Fatales, where she defeated
Cherry Bomb. Later in the night, after
LuFisto's match, she attacked the owner of the promotion and challenged her to a match at the next show. Del Rey took part in the tournament to determine the inaugural NCW FF Champion, but lost to LuFisto in the first round on June 5, 2010.
WWE (2012–present) On July 9, 2012, it was reported that Del Rey had signed a contract with
WWE. In September 2012, Del Rey became the first ever female trainer in WWE's
developmental territory NXT, based at the
WWE Performance Center in
Orlando, Florida. She is currently being referred to by her real name. On May 19, 2015, Amato was promoted to NXT assistant head coach by WWE, following the resignation of
Bill DeMott. She is currently working side by side with the current NXT head coach,
Matt Bloom. ==Personal life==