Author: DJ Jarka

As independent wrestling promotions continue to navigate running events during the COVID-19 pandemic, Absolute Intense Wrestling revealed the details behind its latest endeavor for its audience called “Go For Broke.” Go For Broke will be an episodic wrestling game show in which participants will be wrestling matches in an effort to secure a spot in the upcoming Chandler Biggins Memorial Tournament to be held on a later date. The winner of the tournament will receive their choice of a title shot for any of Absolute Intense Wrestling’s championship at any event. Match participants will earn Biggins Bucks whenever they win…

Hello, everyone. Here is my last of a three-part blog series about my relationship with professional wrestling prior to my referee career. This final piece is about my initial training and my start of reffing on the independent wrestling scene. This is the journey into the wrestling school. ******* At the end of my last retrospective post, Mike approached me about attending wrestling school with him. He began training early in 2005 at a school called the Buffalo Pro Wrestling Gym (BPWG) located in Buffalo, N.Y. Jake joined him later that year as part of a small class of students. …

Remembering Brodie Lee The day after Christmas, I finished snow blowing and shoveling around our house. I undressed from my winter clothes and sat on my couch. Was ready to treat myself after digging my family out from the latest snowstorm to hit our area by drinking some hot tea provided by my wife and watching some football for the rest of the night. I decided to check my phone as I saw some alerts popped up while I was outside. Seeing that I received two text messages from friends and a slew of Facebook messenger notifications. They all said…

Hello, everyone. And welcome to another step on The Jarkaster Journey! I apologize for not writing any blogs since May. On top of living in our current pandemic world, my son arrived in the world in early October. And my drive and time to sit down, write, and find old photographs was compromised. I aim to rectify that now that I am on parental leave from my full-time job. I think some additional time off can rejuvenate me and reignite my writing spirit again. Hopefully, this blog can provide at least a brief respite from these difficult times we presently…

As society continues to navigate life while dealing with the spread of COVID-19, so does the American independent wrestling scene. The Cleveland, Ohio-based Absolute Intense Wrestling was not immune to these struggles but found a way to bludgeon ahead and plans to put on its second show during the pandemic era. On Friday, October 9, Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW) presents “Thunder in Indianapolis” as part of Game Changer Wrestling’s The Collective at the Marion County Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Ind. The show is part of a larger multi-day event in which several of the top United States indie wrestling promotions will…

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 everyone. This latest blog entry is about my time at Empire State Wrestling’s Rochester event on February 22 called “Second Coming”. Let’s dive right into the happenings and some other tidbits on this show. My preparations for the day went a lot smoother than the previous month. I started getting everything prepared as soon as I woke up and it was a lot less stressful of a situation. My wife stayed home with our daughter for this one. I ended up driving there by myself. Earlier in my referee career, I made this drive to Rochester a lot. This…

A year after making its debut in the Greater Rochester, N.Y. area, Empire State Wrestling will come back to the region with an event headlined by one of the most buzz-worthy names in the pro wrestling industry. Empire State Wrestling (ESW) will return to Village Sports in Fairport, N.Y. on Saturday, February 22 with “Second Coming”. The show will feature current All-Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Orange Cassidy. Cassidy is set to face Rochester, N.Y. native “Your Captain” Nick Ando. The match was announced at ESW’s January event, which was named “Shipwrecked on Grando Island” after him, following Ando’s bout with…

Hello, everyone and thank you again for checking in on the Jarkaster Journey! This entry will be about my time at Empire State Wrestling’s latest event “Shipwrecked on Grando Island” on Saturday, January 25 as my home promotion started out the new decade by debuting at a new location. I liked how my last entry worked out when I formatted it with bullet points, so I plan on doing that again here and moving forward. Shipwrecked on Grando Island was held at the Radisson Hotel in Grand Island, N.Y. Not only was this the first ESW event at this venue…

After finishing off 2019 with one of its biggest events in years, Empire State Wrestling (ESW) will look to keep the good times. It is rolling into the new decade. ESW presents “Shipwrecked on Grando Island” on Saturday, January 25. Shipwrecked on Grando Island will be ESW’s debut in Grand Island, N.Y. It takes place at the Radisson Hotel. The venue is popularly known throughout Western New York for allegedly being haunted by the spirit of a little girl. The event is a play off the name of “Your Captain” Nick Ando, one of ESW’s roster staples from Rochester, N.Y.…