Author: DJ Jarka

Empire State Wrestling returns today to Medina, N.Y., with Spring Smash 2024 to host another fundraiser event for the East Shelby Volunteer Fire Company. Spring Smash will once again be held at Medina High School. Previous fundraiser events took place at the Orleans County Fairgrounds in Albion. The switch led to an increase in attendance. “We’re thrilled to partner with ESW for the fourth time on a fundraiser for our fire department,” – said event organizer Ryan McPherson. “Last year, we moved the event to Medina Jr. Sr. High School and got our biggest turnout to date at over 450…

Hello everybody. Thank you for taking the time to read my newest blog on my referee journey. It’s been some time since my last post. My life outside of wrestling was quite busy over these last two months, compounded with some extra duties arriving wrestling-wise for me, which led to this delay. With that, let’s jump into my time at Off The Ropes Studio’s Pop Off at the Red Papaya that occurred on February 5. Pop Off at the Red Papaya Presented by Off The Ropes Studio This was my second time working for Off The Ropes, my third booking…

Several weeks ago, the Buffalo wrestling community was devastated upon hearing of the passing of one of its own – “None of a Kind” Anthony Gaines. The sudden news deeply affected many people and the impact continues to reverberate to this day. Tough Luck Presented by Empire State Wrestling His passing was felt especially hard for those involved with Empire State Wrestling. ESW was Gaines’s home promotion through the bulk of his wrestling career. Gaines created many memorable moments in its ring. His talent and uncanny charisma shined in matches against the likes of Jimmy Jacobs and Zachary Wentz, throughout…

When the opening match starts at Gem City Madness this Saturday, a new era of pro wrestling will be ushered in to Erie, Penn. On March 9, Pro Wrestling Rampage will return to its longtime home at the Saga Club. PWR began holding events in 2007 and moved its events to the Saga Club in 2011. The last PWR event took place in June 2023.  However, Gem City Madness will be under PWR’s newest owner and operator: the Buffalo, N.Y.-based Empire State Wrestling. “I’m very excited to begin promoting events out of the Saga Club,” said ESW owner Brett Stymus.…

Hello, everybody! This blog is about my time at Empire State Wrestlings Frontier Freeze their latest event on January 19 in Niagara Falls. Let’s jump into this fun time for me! Frontier Freeze featured one of my favorite wrestlers of all-time: 2 Cold Scorpio. I started liking him when he was Flash Funk. Even for a future metalhead, I thought the gimmick and aerial maneuvers were cool. When he jumped to ECW and went by the Scorpio gimmick again, I liked him even moreso. I even bought the Pure Funk CD just because he came out to “Jungle Boogie”! In…

Although Western New York’s was smacked with a cold spell recently, ESW will look to counter it with hot action within its ring at its first event of 2024 as Empire State Wrestling presents Frontier Freeze. Frontier Freeze will feature three marquee matchups at the Frontier Fire Hall in Niagara Falls, N.Y., this Friday. One of the most buzzworthy of these bouts features the debut of one of the innovators of high-flying wrestling. After appearing in nearly every major wrestling promotion over the last several decades, 2 Cold Scorpio will finally make his ESW debut.  “I’m very excited to finally…

Hello, everybody! This blog is about my return north of the border for wrestling – at Off The Ropes Studio’s Punk Rock Slobberknocker Vol 2 in Kitchener, Ont. This event was truly off-the-wall and a ton of fun to ref on. Here are the details! I wanted to add a booking to my wrestling calendar for December as it was blank, and did not want to go two months in between shows without reffing again. This year, I learned that if I want to continue being a decent referee, I need to make sure I still ref regularly. Off The…

Hello, everybody! This blog is on my time at Empire State Wrestling’s big year-end event, WrestleBash XIII. Let’s dive right into the details on how we ended 2023 in a major way. Going into WrestleBash, we sought to increase our sponsorship and vendor opportunities. I led this effort and think it turned out well. We brought in Crush-It and Next Level Nutrition, who provided healthy drinks; Universal Chiropractic, who gave adjustments to the wrestlers after their matches; Jocifer Exotic Drinks; McKinger’s Collectibles; Buffalo Frenzy, who sold Buffalo sports gear; Roc City Rewind, which sold some vintage collectibles, Buffalo Brews Podcast,…

When former World Wrestling Entertainment stars make appearances on an independent wrestling event, they typically generate the biggest buzz around the show. But at Empire State Wrestling’s WrestleBash XIII, happening this Friday at Buffalo RiverWorks, the biggest spotlight will be shined on two of the promotion’s top homegrown talents in the main event is headlined by a Steel Cage Clash. ESW Heavyweight Champion Kevin Bennett will defend the title against Vince Valor in a steel cage match. The highly anticipated bout is the capstone of a year-long feud between the two competitors. Entering the bout, Valor feels confident in his…

Hello, everybody! This blog is about my time at Buffalo Championship Wrestling’s latest event, Big Fall Bash, which took place on September 30, 2023. Let’s dive into the details! It was a full day for me all around. On top of taking my daughter to her dance lessons that morning, I worked a few hours of overtime for my day job. Luckily for me, I work mostly from home, so after I reached the required amount of hours, I finished preparing for the show and left. Big Fall Bash was held at the Arlene Mychajliw Community Center in the Babcock…