Years ago, TNA Knockout Sarita left her home in Canada to become a “professional” wrestler in Mexico, where she is known as Dark Angel, as well as an icon of discipline. She discussed her life-changing move during an interview with Milenio Online.
Sarita, who’s real name is Sarah Stock, began wrestling training in December 2001 in her hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba. After working for various independent promotions, she moved to Monterrey, Mexico in 2003 in an effort to improve her ability. She packed her suitcase and made the move with little concern for her well-being as she was determined to become an elite performer.
(Note – rough Spanish to English translation)
“So I came in a truck from Winnipeg to New Laredo, and from there to Monterrey,” Stock recalls. “I saw a great adventure and something that I needed to do, but to leave my family, to learn a new culture, the language, the struggle to learn Spanish, but the hardest part was being away from home and how to behave in a different culture to mine
“I did not bring much money when I arrived to Monterrey. A person who makes my equipment rented several rooms in a building, which is where I stayed. It was something very different for me, as my old house had heating in the winter and air conditioning in the summer, it was a comfortable house. I came to live in a room made of stone, with the bath and shower outside on the patio, and full of cockroaches, lizards, mice, all of that. I had to get used to it, it was hard. Those changes were far from easy and to live like this was a shock to me.”
In spite of the difficulties, it never passed through her mind to return home, nor was she fearful.
“My parents taught me that regardless if you want to do something there is always a way to do this, I am a woman of challenges and make plans to achieve them,” she said “Nor was I afraid. I do not know if it was youth or the excitement of a new adventure. I thought it was an opportunity to achieve my dream and I was only afraid of my greatest desire and my passion. I just thought about it and not the dangers of what could happen to me.”
At the suggestion of a promoter, Stock began competing while wearing a mask; she also took on a new ring name, Dark Angel. She initially found it difficult to work with the wrestlers in Mexico, as she did not speak Spanish and could not communicate with them throughout the match. On October 17, 2003 she defeated Simply Luscious to win the Lucha Libre Femenil Juvenil Championship. Months later, Stock lost her mask in a forty-five minute mask vs. mask match against Princesa Sujei. Shortly thereafter, she decided to leave Monterrey to move to Mexico City and wrestle for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración. Although Stock began appearing with AAA under the assumption that she would be wrestling, the company had her start out as a ring girl. Stock did not wrestle regularly for AAA, and she stopped appearing for the promotion after a few shows.
Stock signed with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in 2004, AAA’s rival promotion. She began competing regularly for CMLL as Dark Angel in the promotion’s newly-rebuilt women’s division, while also competing for various independent promotions in North America and Europe. Sarah was rewarded for her dedication as on July 1, 2005, she debuted at Arena México, “the cathedral of lucha libre.”
She recalls, “I was nervous before going out, but people responded very well and I felt very excited when fans recognized me, this fight is a memory and an unforgettable feeling.”
Stock has achieved numerous accolades since then and is considered the face of women’s wrestling in Mexico. Her notoriety in the country led her to TNA Wrestling in 2009, where she reigns as one half of the TNA Knockout Tag Team Champions. She sends a message to the dreamers out there.
“You have to take life and seize it,” she says. “Someone will want you to feel less, but if you want to do something, that will start without asking permission. Do not be afraid. It is never too late to follow your dreams.”
The article can be read here.