WWE Royal Rumble: 5 Legends That Should Be in the Women’s Rumble

Credit: WWE.com

Sara Amato aka Sara Del Rey

Normally, it might seem completely out of left field to suggest an entrant who has literally never competed on WWE television. However, perhaps no one is as deserving as NXT’s first ever female trainer. Amato signed with WWE in July of 2012, starting as a trainer for NXT at the WWE Performance Center in September of that same year. She was later promoted to NXT Assistant Head Coach in May of 2015.

Despite staying largely behind the scenes in WWE, Amato’s impact on the evolution and growth of women’s wrestling is truly monumental. Prior to arriving in WWE, Amato honed her craft and became a veteran of the independent scene. Previously known as Sara Del Rey, she competed worldwide in Japan and Mexico, later making her mark in promotions like Chikara, ROH, and Shimmer.

Since Amato was signed, WWE has seen a continuous improvement in not only the growth of the women’s division and the skills of their female superstars. At the time of Amato’s arrival, the WWE Divas Championship was held by Layla and struggled to get enough television time on a weekly basis.

Not only were the women rarely featured, but when they were it was often in very short segments or matches. The likelihood of WWE’s only women’s title at the time, the Divas Championship, being defended at a pay-per-view seemed to dwindle each month. Things finally started to change in 2013 with the introduction of the NXT Women’s Championship.

After a strong tournament, NXT superstar Paige became the first champion. By April of 2014, Paige had made her transition to the main roster and become the WWE Divas Champion. It was in many ways the beginning of the revolution, as the #GiveDivasAChance movement began in February of 2015 after The Bella Twins faced Paige and Emma in an extremely short match on Raw.

From there, things truly exploded. We’ve seen an influx of superstars from NXT, most of whom got critical training from Amato, become the very backbone of WWE’s modern women’s division and the subsequent evolution of the division. As of right now, 21 female superstars scheduled to compete this Sunday came through NXT and likely were trained by Amato. If anyone deserves a brief moment in the spotlight, it’s Sara Amato.