Author: DJ Jarka

After its return show under new management in March, the revived Pro Wrestling Rampage will hold its next event this Saturday, Changing the Game. Changing the Game will take place at PWR’s traditional home venue, the Saga Club, in Erie, Pennsylvania. The event will feature many familiar faces and new faces to its audience. Changing The Game Presented by Pro Wrestling Rampage After a several-year absence, Zoey Skye will return to PWR’s ring. PWR was one of Skye’s regular promotions, and she worked for it when establishing herself in the pro wrestling industry. She even held the PWR Women’s Championship.…

Hello, everybody and check out my exploration of the night I refereed for Buffalo Championship Wrestling’s WrestleSunday II! It’s been a while, but I’m back with another entry regarding my referee journey. I worked on several events over the last few months, and I am doing my best to catch up. Between taking on more office responsibilities with Empire State Wrestling and being super active as a dad with my kids’ activities, I did not have time to sit down and pound out these entries. I just upgraded my laptop to something that runs much faster. Hopefully, that will allow…

The biggest pro wrestling event in the Queen City of the season is set to occur this Saturday when Empire State Wrestling returns to its familiar stomping crowds.  ESW will return to Buffalo RiverWorks for Brawlfest 2024. As one of ESW’s marquee events, Brawlfest will feature a star-studded lineup that will include a former World Wrestling Entertainment star plus a litany of top independent wrestling talent from North America and the local scene. “I’m really excited for what this year’s Brawlfest lineup is going to offer,” said ESW promoter Brett Stymus. “When it comes to wrestling in the City of…

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…