Sara Amato on the Importance of the Mae Young Classic and More

Listen to her. If you like the Women’s Revolution, odds are you’ve heard of Sara Amato. Originally known as Sara Del Ray, there might not be a better women’s wrestling trainer in history, including names such as the Fabulous Moolah. She’s a huge reason why the women have gone from nothing to one of the featured attractions on the shows and now WWE is giving her some attention.

Amato was recently interviewed on WWE.com on the upcoming Mae Young Classic, including the diversity of the tournament’s lineup, how important the tournament is for the Women’s Revolution, her picks for potential winners of the tournament and how the tournament will change things in WWE. Here are some highlights:

On the Importance of the Tournament

It’s huge. The women of WWE are breaking barriers monthly, it seems. I just think about when I was an active wrestler. There was an independent promoter, Dave Prazak of SHIMMER, that believed in women and put us all together and gave us our own events. That was so significant for me and my own development, to be around all these strong, competitive women who pushed each other. I’m blessed right now to have that at the WWE Performance Center with my group of ladies. It’s just so significant to bring them all here and put them on a platform like this, and for WWE and WWE Network to trust them to carry their own tournament TV show is huge.

On Her Favorites

Well, I have a very special place in my heart for Mercedes Martinez because she was my first rival in SHIMMER, and I’m just so fond of her and her work. She’s been doing this for so long, and so she’s come a long way to be in this environment. I know from training with Bianca Belair and Lacey Evans that they’re going to surprise a few people, too. They’re probably my top three picks that I’m pulling for and watching for. I’m also curious to see Piper Niven. She just has great conditioning and is unique. She moves well and is very unpredictable, very agile for her size and strength.

And on What the Tournament Means for the Main Roster

It’s going to be a challenge for the girls on Raw and SmackDown LIVE. The women of NXT already continue to push and challenge them, too, and force them to raise the bar. The Classic is going to be very disruptive. It’s going to show that there’s a lot of competition out there and that everyone’s gunning for a spot.

You can read the full interview here.

Opinion: Amato might be the foremost authority on women’s wrestling in the mainstream wrestling world today and certainly the foremost in the company. The Mae Young Classic could do a lot of good things for WWE but it needs someone like Amato to help walk us through the process.

How important do you think Amato is to WWE? Who do you think wins the tournament? Let us know in the comments below.