When it comes to the squared circle, there is perhaps no greater ring general in North American women’s wrestling than Sara Del Rey, so it’s only fitting that earlier this week we crowned her the Wrestler of the Year in our inaugural Writers’ Choice Awards.
This year, just when fans thought she had done all there was to do and accomplished all there was to accomplish in the ring, the Queen of Wrestling continued to set the bar high and won praise for her body of the work in 2011, including a main event bout with Claudio Castagnoi;, not one, but two stellar matches with Joshi star Kana; a dream match with Aja Kong, as well as another great clash with Ayako Hamada at JoshiMania.
As we wrote earlier this week when we announced Del Rey as our Wrestler of the Year, Del Rey’s in-ring resumé in 2011 was simply “heads and shoulders above the rest of her competition.”
Speaking exclusively to Diva Dirt on her win, Del Rey said: ‘Wrestler Of The Year!!! I am a bit curious how I won… don’t get me wrong, I’m not surprised, just curious what the exact qualifications are.”
“All kidding aside, this has been a huge year for me and it is just now sinking in. From traveling across the globe to wrestling my idol [Aja Kong] it has been non-stop (awesomeness). I didn’t have time to really look back and realize what was happening, it just all kind of [happened], [but] seeing the efforts of all my hard work pay off with a great recognition like this is really something.”
As we pinpointed above, the Diva Dirt writers had a few specific matches that we loved this year, but does Sara have any particular favorites of her own? “I am very proud of every match I had and it would be impossible to choose one that stood out above the rest.”
Speaking of those matches, some of Del Rey’s best bouts from 2011 are featured on a new “best of” DVD which also contains a 50 minute interview with the Queen.
Of the future ahead, Del Rey signed off by saying: “I hope 2012 brings even bigger and better things for Sara Del Rey.”
With a Ring of Honor women’s division possibly on the way, we’re confident that Del Rey’s statement will ring true, as she will no doubt be a big part of the division and hopefully receive much deserved television exposure. However, as she revealed to us last month, Sara’s goal is to join WWE in 2012. Can she make it happen? We couldn’t think of anything bigger or better.
But for here and now, all hail the Queen of Wrestling and the Wrestler of the Year!
“The Queen of Wrestling: The Sara Del Rey Story”, featuring a 50 minute interview with Sara and over 20 matches, is available now at Smart Mark Video.
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