Sweet Saraya
| Sweet Saraya | |
|---|---|
Saraya at an NCW Femmes Fatales show in April 2014
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| Birth name | Julia Hamer |
| Born |
19 October 1971 Penzance, Cornwall, England |
| Residence | Norwich, Norfolk, England |
| Spouse(s) | Ricky Knight (m. 1990) |
| Children |
Paige Roy Knight Zak Zodiac |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) |
Saraya Knight Sweet Saraya |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Billed weight | 126 lb (57 kg; 9.0 st) |
| Billed from | Norwich, Norfolk, England |
| Trained by | Ricky Knight |
| Debut | 1990 |
Julia Hamer-Bevis (née Hamer; born 19 October 1971), better known by her ring names Sweet Saraya and Saraya Knight, is an English professional wrestler and promoter. She is also the mother of two-time WWE Divas Champion, Saraya-Jade Bevis, also known as Paige.
Hamer was born in Penzance, Cornwall. As a child, she was abused by her mother and stepfather, and ran away from home at the age of 15. She lived on the streets and used public swimming pools to bathe herself. She was also raped and became a drug addict, later stating that she now has "no relationship" with her mother due to her mother's refusal to help her during this time. At the age of 18, she overdosed on pills and had her stomach pumped, which prompted her to get clean.
In 1990, Hamer landed a job as a chef at a Pontins holiday camp in Norfolk for the summer season, requesting that her employers wait for 12 hours as she had to hitchhike there. While working in the restaurant, she met professional wrestler Ricky Knight, part of the cabaret circuit. The two became inseparable, and Hamer soon left Pontins to travel with Knight full-time. She became involved in making wrestling costumes and putting the rings up and down. A few months later, Knight said he wanted her to be part of the show, as a manager in his corner. At a show in Camber Sands, Knight made her debut as Saraya. When the summer season finished, she joined the Sensational Superflys (Knight and Jimmy Ocean) as their manager. In 1993, Knight suggested that Saraya may want to wrestle. She agreed and was a quick learner, debuting later that year against Nikki Best.
Saraya made her debut for the Berwyn, Illinois based all-female promotion Shimmer Women Athletes on 26 March 2011, at the tapings of Volume 37, alongside her daughter and tag team partner Britani Knight. Saraya and Britani were managed by the returning Rebecca Knox and made an open challenge, which was answered by Nikki Roxx and Ariel. The Knight Dynasty won the match via disqualification after Saraya tried to hit Ariel with brass knuckles and Ariel grabbed them and got caught hitting Saraya with them. Later that same day, at the tapings of Volume 38, the Knight Dynasty unsuccessfully challenged the Seven Star Sisters (Hiroyo Matsumoto and Misaki Ohata) for the Shimmer Tag Team Championship. During the 1 and 2 October 2011, tapings Britani entered a losing streak, which eventually caused Saraya to turn on her. Saraya and Britani faced each other in a no disqualification match on Volume 44, where Britani managed to pick up the win in her final Shimmer appearance, before heading to WWE. During the March 2012 tapings, Knight feuded with Cheerleader Melissa. The feud drew inspiration from a previous incident between the pair at a Real Quality Wrestling event in Colchester, England in 2007, where Knight suffered a career-threatening knee injury at the hands of Melissa. This culminated in a match on 18 March on Volume 48, where Knight defeated Melissa to win the Shimmer Championship.
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