Author: DJ Jarka

Hello, everybody! Thanks for stopping by for another installment of my “journey” as a referee on the independent pro wrestling circuit. I put the word “journey” in quotes this time because, with the current state of society, my journey is at a standstill. These are the beginnings. I wish I was previewing Empire State Wrestling shows. Or going into detail about the fun times and weird happenings I encountered at them. But with the global concern about COVID-19 being paramount these days, independent wrestling, as we all know, is at a standstill. With nothing else to really discuss wrestling-wise on…

Hello everybody! This is another edition of the Jarkaster Journey and the first featuring another promotion in New York State that regularly books me: Southern Tier Wrestling (STW). This is Gold Rush 2019. Here is a little background on STW. Formed in 2016 by Randy Grey and Jon Osterdahl, STW is based in the Southern Tier region of Western New York, with the majority of its events held in Jamestown, N.Y., and its surrounding towns. If you are unfamiliar with Jamestown, the city is located about a 1.5-hour drive south of Buffalo, N.Y. and is most famous for being the…

Hello, everyone! On this life entry on my time as a referee, I will sum up my experiences at Empire State Wrestling’s (ESW) Wrestlebash X event held on Saturday, November 23rd, 2019. It was held at the Kenan Center in Lockport, N.Y. which is a very special place for me. This is – my Wrestlebash X experience. As some people may know from my very first post on here, I began my referee career in Ohio in September 2007. I did not ref my first event in my home state of New York until the following summer. That very first…

Hello, everyone! In 2019, one of my adventures in pro wrestling takes me all the way to Cuba, a collision in cuba. No, not the island nation, but a small town nestled in a remote part of Western New York. This is Collision in Cuba. For this Empire State Wrestling event, I played a small role in its planning. My friend Kip Doyle is an avid pro wrestling fan and also puts on an annual benefit show in Cuba – his hometown – in memory of his good friend that died from cancer a few years ago. In previous installments…

Hello, everybody! In my next installment of my comings-and-goings as a referee in the independent wrestling scene, I will go into detail on my experiences at Empire State Wrestling’s “ Brawlfest 2019” in North Tonawanda, N.Y. My story starts the day before Empire State Wrestling’s (ESW) biggest event of the spring. That Friday, I received a PET scan to evaluate my ongoing medical condition (thankfully everything turned out fine). Brawlfest 2019 Due to the substances required to administer the scan, I was considered to be radioactive afterward and was restricted from being around infants, small children, and pregnant women for…

Hello again, everybody! It’s been a while since my last post dedicated to the comings and goings of my referee life back in 2019. Before diving into Empire State Wrestling’s Rochester, NY area debut “Empire State of Mind,” there are a few things that need to be addressed. As my life was a bit tumultuous since last November. After Empire State Wrestling’s “WrestleBash”, I was uncertain when the next time I would referee on a wrestling show. In December, there were two possibilities but both fell through. Then in January, I dealt with a medical issue that I hinted at…

In 2018, after being pulled into the ring post and smashed in the leg with a chair by new Empire State Wrestling commissioner The Caesar, a severely deteriorated Kevin Blackwood was left in a precarious situation. This was done by his former manager. Here is what took place at the Ilio DiPaolo Cup Finals. Related Reads: Kevin Blackwood – Defining UNKILLABLE The Aesthetic Crippler  “Red Death” Daniel Garcia seized this opportunity to apply his variation of the sharpshooter to Blackwood, in which he leans back and applies additional pressure onto this opponent, making one of the most effective submission holds…

Hello, everyone! I am back with another update on my life as a pro wrestling referee! This entry will be on my time reffing at Empire State Wrestling’s October 2018’s show “Overdrive”. We produce the latest edition of The Jarkaster Journey | Overdrive. Before I dive into the event, I considered this show to be my anniversary of sorts. I made my referee debut on September 8, 2007, so this would be my latest show since my 11-year referee “birthday”. It feels weird saying it was over 10 years ago since I reffed my first match in a roller skating…

DJ recounts his experience at the recent Sky Is The Limit event and what took place.

Hello, everybody. It’s been almost a full year since I sat down and wrote a blog on my times as a pro wrestling referee. 2025 was a hectic year for me, filled with ups and downs both inside and outside the ring. I will do my best to recap it here. My last blog left off looking ahead to March 2025 with two Empire State Wrestling events that were coming up. One was an ESW Keystone event called Crisis in Erie, Penn. and the other was an ESW’s Tough Luck ‘25 in Niagara Falls, N.Y.  Crisis was the last ESW…