Shooting At Angles

I think this is a brilliant idea! And funnily enough a while ago I was thinking about what if Saint Saito was just a character and the lady playing her was, like, the mirror opposite of her. You know, this really sweet, kind girl who wouldn't hurt a fly, lol.

So, that said, here are the questions presented (plus one of my own), as answered by Sara Saint, the woman behind Saint Saito.

So how did you come by your moniker?
Well, 'Saint' is my real last name and 'Saito' comes from my Mom, Emi Saito. During my career I've worked under three other names besides this one: There was KG Saint--don't ask me where the 'KG' comes from, because I honestly don't know. That one was given to me by the first promoter I worked with. I also worked under the names Yoshiko Saint--'Yoshiko' being my middle name, by the way--as well as Yoshiko Saito and now I wrestle under the name Saint Saito. Have done since 2015.

I decided to go under Saint Saito because I wanted...I don't know...I guess I wanted to honour both my Mom and my Dad. They were both wrestlers themselves, back in the day, and by calling myself 'Saint Saito' it sort of pays homage to both of them, everything they've both accomplished in their respective careers, and it also reminds me where I came from--who I came from--you know?

It's pretty silly of me, I know, but it was really important to me at the time. It still is, if I'm completely honest.

Is there anything you regret, or wish you could do over?
Are you asking me as Saint Saito the professional wrestler or as Sara Saint the person behind her? As Saint Saito, I have no regrets. Well, actually, I tell a lie--there is one thing that I do regret as a wrestler and that was agreeing to a gimmick my boss at the time gave me. It was godawful, and the getup I had to wear was worse: this weird, blue vest and short combination that came with the worst hat I ever wore. There are even pictures of me back then wearing that stuff, if you're curious.

But anyway, I hated it but what could I do?! I was thirteen years old and I was fresh from wrestling school, working my first gig as a pro wrestler. You can't exactly say "no" to your boss when you're a rookie. Or a Young Girl, to use the Japanese term.

Now, if you asked me the same question as Sara Saint...I'm sorry, but I can't answer that. There is one regret I have in my personal life and it's deeply personal to me, not to mention still very painful to remember. Sorry. I hope you understand.

What was the one match that stands out in your mind as your favorite, and why?
This was when I was still fairly new in the wrestling world. It was the Summer holiday of 2012, I was fourteen and I was working some of the indy promotions in California over the Summer so I can earn a little money for myself. I didn't have to, by the way--my folks have money, but Dad always used to say that earning your own built character, so... I love to wrestle, anyway, so I would have worked for free, haha.

Anyway, Dad got a call from a promoter he used to work for...back in the nineties, I think. He wanted Dad to go back to Texas and wrestle this guy for his title belt. Dad was a pretty big draw in Texas, back in the day, so I guess this promoter wanted some 'comeback tour' ticket sales or something.

Dad said no, but he did mention that I was a wrestler, too. They got to talking, and I was put in what would have been Dad's spot for this title. It was pretty scary, because I've never worked with this crowd, before. Were they going to laugh at me? Hurl abuse at me for being "just a kid"? What if they hated me? I was so nervous, you know--I was literally shaking, haha.

They did laugh and hurl abuse at me, by the way, and so did the guy I was wrestling. But anyway, long story short, by the end of the match I was covering the man for the pin. One. Two. And three! And suddenly my Mom and Dad and my little brother were all bursting through the ropes and pulling me in their arms before they shoved the belt in my hands. My first championship, won at fourteen years old.

The tears were streaming down my face--I couldn't stop crying, and neither did my Mom--and when my Dad lifted me up on my shoulders I felt like I was on top of Mount Everest. The crowd still hated me, but at that moment I didn't care. Nobody could have stopped me from feeling that great about myself.

What did others backstage think of you as a person, and more specifically of your character?
You know, I can't really speak for the others about what they think about Saint Saito, but I can tell you what I think about her. I think that...if Saint Saito really existed--I mean, if she were as real as you or me--I think I would hate her.

And that's pretty hard for me to say, you know, because I don't want to hate anyone. Heck, I don't want to even dislike anyone! But there she is, this evil trickster who gets set off at the slightest provocation--or even on a whim, it sort of depends with her--and torments other people like some schoolyard bully lashing out at the world. And people like that...yeah, they're not my favourite people.

That said, Saint Saito as a fictional character is a pretty fun role to play! She is just so unlike me, haha. And I think that people become really perplexed when they approach me outside of a wrestling environment and expect to me to be this unrepentant, belligerent...asshole--sorry, I hate to swear but it's the best I could think of--and they talk to someone who is "really, really nice."

Is there one particular angle that you're especially proud of, or that you look back on fondly? How did that angle take shape?
I'm actually pretty embarrassed to admit this, but I'm a huge fan of soap operas. Most of the stories in soap opera are super cheesy but sometimes you get a diamond that is really compelling--that brings grown men and women to tears through tragedy or joy, that makes them feel every stab of pain and betrayal their favourite characters suffer through, that makes the viewers laugh or gets them so angry they have to buy a new TV because they toss their old one out the window--and that's the kind of storytelling that I love.

And that's the sort of storytelling that I love to create with my colleagues inside the squared circle, especially when I already have such a great rapport with them. I love making the fans laugh and cry, to make them hate me--or should I say, hate Saint Saito--and I especially love it when the fans express their joy when I, the villain of the story, finally get my comeuppance.

That said, I also love it when the bad guy wins, haha.

So, back to your question: Is there one particular angle that I'm especially proud of, or that I look back on fondly? I would have to say no, because with the exception of my first gimmick I am equally proud of and look back fondly on all the stories myself and the people I've worked with have created for the enjoyment of all the fans of wrestling. I know I probably sound like I'm stroking my own ego--nothing could be further from the truth--but there is always at least one thing I can look back on and think to myself, "You can be proud of what you did, Sara."

And I also like to consider myself very fortunate that I have yet to be a part of a story that even I don't like. I would dread being a part of something that involved somebody screaming "I wish you died in the womb!" at me, haha.

Got the inclination to do this for Izumi, so here goes.

Is there anything you regret, or wish you could do over? This may not seem like much to some people, but I regret leaving Global Championship Wrestling. Sure I floundering at the bottom of the roster for a while, but I made more friends there than I've made in many other places. There were good people there, and there was little no threat of me being thrown through any kind of hardcore elements. It was good clean wrestling. I left because I was struggling to get used to how they did things there, and now I wish I'd never left.

What was the one match that stands out in your mind as your favorite, and why? Oh boy, this is a real tough one. All my matches with Tesla St. James have been a lot of fun. But the one that stands out most in my mind was the match against Puma Rhyse. She was a hardcore wrestler, and the match rules were in favor. She threw me around a bunch, bloodied me up quite a bit, but I kept fighting through it all. Even got a few hardcore spots in of my own; including a tiger feint crucifix armbar around the turnbuckle with a steel chair wedged between that and Puma's body. So even though I was a bloody mess at the end, I still got the win. That one was a lot of fun, and it really got over just how much I can take, and how much harder I fight when the odds are stacked so heavily against me.

What did others backstage think of you as a person, and more specifically of your character? Everybody has been really welcoming. I really can't remember a time when I haven't gotten a positive reception backstage. My character has mainly gotten positive feedback as well. Most people see me as a midcarder to upper midcarder, though I have gotten some time in the Main Event in a few places as well - specifically KOKORO and Neon Generation Independent Wrestling.

Is there one particular angle that you're especially proud of, or that you look back on fondly? How did that angle take shape? There's been a few. Training under TSJ was fun. Also that feud with Puma Rhyse and my current one with Kira Izumi. But the one that really stands out was my evolution throughout my early years. I started out with a very naive, happy-go-lucky personality, which made me a big target for larger, more aggressive, more violent women. The idea has always been to put me into situations that you wouldn't typically expect from a pure grappler, until I "grew up" so to speak. Most of that happened in KOKORO, and took a number of years to germinate, but it really helped me up my game and become a more mature personality, and elevated my game which helped me rise up the ladder.