She was a mainstay for Chikara,[5] Ring of Honor (ROH) and Shimmer,[6] but also appeared for many other independent promotions in the US, including IWA Mid-South and All Pro Wrestling,[3] as well as Mexico's Lucha Libre Femenil.

[5] Del Rey also taped several matches, competing under a mask and using the name Nic Grimes, for the MTV promotion Wrestling Society X.

[8] As a child, Amato considered herself a fan of professional wrestling, citing Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior as two of her favorites due to their high energy characters and matches.

Amato admits that in high school, she was "really shy and kind of awkward and scared of social situations", which made her doubt whether she would actually make it as a professional wrestler.

[1][5] Del Rey debuted for Berwyn, Illinois–based Shimmer Women Athletes at their inaugural show in 2005, where she wrestled Mercedes Martinez to a twenty-minute time limit draw.

[18] On July 5, 2008, Del Rey took part in a 21-woman number one contender's battle royal, but she was eliminated by Portuguese Princess Ariel.

However, at Volume 26, Del Rey and Kong failed to capture the titles from defending champions Nevaeh and Ashley Lane after being disqualified.

The duo proceeded to attack the champions after the match, but they were forced to leave the ring by Serena Deeb and Mercedes Martinez.

On March 18, 2012, Del Rey and Courtney Rush defeated Hamada and Ayumi Kurihara, the Canadian NINJAs (Nicole Matthews and Portia Perez) and Regeneration X (Allison Danger and Leva Bates) to win the Shimmer Tag Team Championship, making Del Rey the first woman to have held both of Shimmer's championships.

[2] In November 2009, she was placed in her first major storyline in the company, when she turned into a villain and aligned herself with Claudio Castagnoli, Ares, Daizee Haze, Pinkie Sanchez, Tim Donst and Tursas to form the stable Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (BDK).

[37] During December's JoshiMania weekend, Del Rey picked up wins over Japanese wrestlers Aja Kong, Tsubasa Kuragaki and Ayako Hamada.

[37] On July 28, Del Rey received her first shot at the Chikara Grand Championship, but was unable to dethrone the defending champion, Eddie Kingston.

[5] One of the few female mainstays of ROH, Del Rey was a member of Sweet & Sour Inc., a faction of wrestlers managed by Larry Sweeney.

[1] During her time in the faction, she was paired with Chris Hero by Sweeney and dubbed the "Intergender Heavyweight Tag Team Champions", though in reality, the "titles" were never recognized by ROH.

On the next ROH show which took place the next day, Sweeney claimed, in storyline, that he was "grooming" Del Rey for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and she responded by saying she was a wrestler and not a Diva.

[38] Del Rey returned at the June 29 tapings of Ring of Honor Wrestling, saving Adam Cole and Eddie Edwards from a beat down from Mike Bennett, Brutal Bob and Maria Kanellis.

[39] On August 11 at Boiling Point, Del Rey and Edwards defeated Bennett and Kanellis in a tag team match.

[41] Del Rey debuted for Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) at their very first show on January 10, 2009, where she defeated Daizee Haze.

On the second show on May 9, she defeated Amazing Kong, and later in the night won a battle royal, becoming the number one contender to the inaugural JAPW Women's Championship.

On November 13, Del Rey successfully defended the championship against Alissa Flash at a Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) house show in Wayne, New Jersey.

it was announced that at the next JAPW show, the three women would face off in a three-way no disqualification match, with Del Rey's championship on the line.

After Del Rey signed with WWE in July 2012, the JAPW Women's Championship was declared vacant, ending her reign at 1,108 days.

On September 5, 2009, Del Rey took part at the debut show of NCW Femmes Fatales, where she defeated Cherry Bomb.

[50] Del Rey took part in the tournament to determine the inaugural NCW FF Champion, but lost to LuFisto in the first round on June 5, 2010.