RADICAN’S DVD REVIEW SERIES
BEST ON THE INDIES: SARA DEL REY
RELEASED BY SMART MARK VIDEO 2011

Sara Del Rey is the best female wrestler in America. She proved it this past year on independent scene wrestling standout matches in Shimmer and CHIKARA. Most notable was her work in CHIKARA this year where she took on some of the best male and female wrestlers from around the world.

Smart Mark Video’s “Best on the Indies” series has a track record of putting together credible DVD releases for the top talent on the independent scene and this release continues that trend. As with other “Best on the Indies” releases I’ve seen from this series, this release comes complete with an interview and a deep set of matches.

The interview only lasts an hour, but a lot of bases are covered as Del Rey talks about her entire career in-depth. She began training in California. It wasn’t long before Del Rey ended up going on tour in Japan. Del Rey discusses her overseas experiences and it’s a lot of fun to listen to her talk about wrestling Manami Toyota during her second tour in Japan.

Del Rey’s journey from a shy high school student to a dominant ass-kicking wrestler didn’t occur overnight. She’s paid her dues and discusses her evolution as a wrestler from when she started in 2001 up until last year when she was one of the more over acts in CHIKARA.

I would have loved to hear more about Del Rey’s career in Shimmer, which was only touched on briefly during the interview. Del Rey covers the process of training in Los Angeles with the likes of Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan in WWE) and hearing about promotions like ROH and CHIKARA from Danielson and Chris Hero.

Once Del Rey moved to the East Coast, she began getting regular work in ROH and CHIKARA. Although Del Rey wrestled for a number of years in ROH, she didn’t really get a chance to grow as a wrestler and performer until she was inserted into the B.D.K. heel stable in CHIKARA in 2009. Del Rey talks in-depth about the differences between working with men and women. It’s really interesting to hear Del Rey talk about how she has to go into a match against a guy with a different mindset.

Specifically, Del Rey discusses a great match she had in July against Claudio Castagnoli once she had left the B.D.K. Del Rey is great to listen to, as she talks about what it meant to her to wrestle in the main event at The Arena, although she doesn’t feel the atmosphere held up on DVD.

Del Rey also talks about the benefits of working in CHIKARA and says that she got a chance to grow as a character and performer in a long-term storyline. CHIKARA is a well-booked promotion, as they present long-term storylines that progress from show to show. Del Rey’s rise in CHIKARA is no accident, as she started as a background player in B.D.K and worked her way to a main event spot once she turned face.

It was really sad to Del Rey talk about working with Larry Sweeney in CHIKARA and ROH. She discusses what a wonderful talent Sweeney was and breaks down discussing the topic of his death. Once Del Rey composes herself, she tells a really funny story about sharing a hotel room with Sweeney when he decided to wear nothing but bikini briefs in the room.

Another fun part of the interview is when Del Rey is given a list of names to react to. When she hears Bryan Danielson’s name, she says he’s the best in the world and that C.M. Punk doesn’t deserve that title. When Bobby Dempsey’s name is mentioned, she tells a hilarious story about doing his hair backstage at ROH events when they were managers for the Sweet n’ Sour Inc. stable.

Overall thoughts: (9.5) This is a must-have release. Del Rey is one of the best wrestlers in the world and that includes both men and women. During the past year, she has gotten into great shape and progressed so much as a character and a wrestler while working in CHIKARA against men and Joshi talent from Japan in 2011.

The matches included in this three disc set are fantastic. One thing I admire is when independent companies work together, as a number of Del Rey’s matches from SHIMMER are included on this release. Her match against Mercedes Martinez from SHIMMER Vol. 1 is an incredible match that helped put SHIMMER on the match that featured an all-out war between both women that ultimately went to a draw.

The match selection clearly shows Del Rey’s progression as a wrestler and includes several matches from CHIKARA in 2011. These matches are worth the price of admission alone, especially Del Rey’s excellent match against KANA and the Claudio Castagnoli match that she discusses on the interview portion of this release. Huge thumbs up for this release!

You can purchase this release at SmartMarkVideo.com.

Contact Sean at PWTorchSean@gmail.com. Also, you can follow Sean on Twitter at Twitter.com/SeanRadican. To join the Radican’s Wrestling Community Fan Page, click like at Facebook.com/SeanRadicanRWC

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