Author: DJ Jarka

Following up on its highly anticipated return to action in July, Empire State Wrestling will return to Buffalo RiverWorks on Sunday afternoon in dramatic fashion with “4th & Gold 2021”. The event will feature a bout between two of the hottest names currently on the independent wrestling circuit. “There is a big ticket feel on the matches announced for Sunday and I’m looking forward to ring announcing this event,” said Empire State Wrestling ring announcer Chris Gullo. Freshly off being heavily featured on All-Elite Wrestling’s programming, Empire State Wrestling Heavyweight Champion “Red Death” Daniel Garcia will return to ESW for…

ESW presents Brawlfest 2021 Hello, everybody! It is great to finally write about being a referee again. My roughly year-and-a-half hiatus concluded last weekend when I donned the stripes once again at Empire State Wrestling’s Brawlfest at Buffalo RiverWorks. After months of wondering about when I would enter the ring again and my daughter asking me if I was still a referee, it felt fantastic to be in front of wrestling fans, around my wrestling friends, and doing what I love to do again within the squared circle. Here are my thoughts and experiences about my time at Brawlfest: First…

Western New York’s top independent wrestling promotion, Empire State Wrestling, returns with Brawlfest this Saturday. When the opening bell rings on Saturday to kickstart Brawlfest, it will mark the end of a 525-day event hiatus for ESW. But Brawlfest represents more than just a return for Empire State Wrestling. The comeback event on July 31 will be the first ESW event held at Buffalo RiverWorks. It is the first ESW show within the City of Buffalo in 16 years. “It’s been a long 18-months since there was wrestling in the Buffalo-Niagara region,” said ESW promoter Brett Stymus. “I haven’t been…

Hello, everybody. I did not intend to take this long in between blog posts, but here we are. Life moves fast. Days turn to weeks. Weeks turn to months and so forth. But I am glad to finally write about one of my favorite pet projects: a genuine (mock) wrestling world cup. Over the years, there were several instances of international pro wrestling competitions in which the participants represented their native countries. Among the more modern conceptions, Impact Wrestling’s World X Cup tournaments comes to my mind. But the idea I came up with is more extensive than that. My…

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…