Author: DJ Jarka

Hello, everyone! I hope the Yuletide season went well for all of you. Mine started in a major way a few weeks ago when I refereed at TID the Season as I closed out my calendar year for bookings. For those of you unfamiliar with TID the Season, the event is a Christmas show put on by hardcore band Every Time I Die (ETID) in its hometown of Buffalo, N.Y. It started several years ago and since turned into an annual tradition that seemingly grew in scale year-after-year.  The first one I attended was in 2008 when I was still…

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. 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 New…

Over the years, Empire State Wrestling held some of its largest events in its promotional and Western New York independent wrestling history at the Kenan Center in Lockport, N.Y. Many legends, like Kevin Nash and Sgt. Slaughter, and future stars of professional wrestling, such as Johnny Gargano and Tony Nese, appeared on these events. These Kenan Center “super shows” drew as many as 1,000 fans. After a three year absence from the Kenan Center, Empire State Wrestling (ESW) will rekindle this tradition when it presents “Wrestlebash X” on Saturday, November 23. “I’m very excited to bring ESW back to the…

On September 21, Brother Christianson entered the ring at Empire State Wrestling’s “Overdrive” event and grabbed the microphone from ring announcer Chris Gullo during the entrance of his client Atticus Cogar. He insisted to the audience that he would announce Cogar’s entrance in a more deserving manner. Was this Brother Christianson’s last testament? As Christianson was lauding Cogar to the crowd at the St. Johnsburg Fire Hall, Cogar leveled his manager with a forearm shiver that sent Christianson to the mat and out of the ring to the joy of many fans. And with that shot, Brother Christianson’s 9-year run…

Hello everyone! Thanks for checking in on my wild ride as an independent wrestling referee. This latest entry is as eventful as any of my prior blogs. So let’s jump straight into this past Saturday’s Empire State Wrestling’s event titled Overdrive. Everything leading up to the start of the show was pretty routine for Empire State Wrestling’s Overdrive. Nothing out of the normal happened of note (although wearing by Buffalo Bills Rob Johnson alternate red jersey did pop a few people). This would be a true juxtaposition how my night would go. I reffed the opening match of the night…

As the fall season approaches, so does we preview Empire State Wrestling as they present Overdrive. It is the biggest event of the year. But before Western New York’s premier independent wrestling promotion can head full-steam toward the prestigious event, it must first launch itself into overdrive. This Saturday, Empire State Wrestling (ESW) will host its next show, “Overdrive”, from the familiar confines of the St. Johnsburg Fire Hall in North Tonawanda, N.Y. Overdrive will feature four qualifier matches for the Ilio DiPaolo Cup match that will be held at “WrestleBash” in November. The DiPaolo Cup match consists…

Hello, everybody and thanks again for checking out another entry on my journey as a referee on the independent wrestling scene this time with ESW and Madmar Entertainment. In this blog, I review my first ever double shot booking (reffing on two wrestling shows in one day) of ESW and Madmar Entertainment. My first booking of the day was for this double shot of ESW and Madmar Entertainment began at the Crawford County Fair in Meadville, Penn for “A Fair Amount of Insanity 18”. With having to go from our meeting spot at the Walden Galleria in Cheektowaga, N.Y. (a…

The drama was tense and the emotions were high at Empire State Wrestling’s previous event at the St. Johnsburg Fire Hall in North Tonawanda, N.Y with Hit Me With Your Best Shot. Those in attendance saw “Red Death” Daniel Garcia make his long-awaited return and capture the Empire State Wrestling Heavyweight Championship from Brandon Thurston. On Saturday, August 17, the wrestlers of Empire State Wrestling (ESW) will look to rekindle those competitive fires when Western New York’s top independent wrestling promotion returns to the St. Johnsburg for “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”. “This is our last show…

In June 2018, “None of a Kind” Anthony Gaines defended the Empire State Wrestling Interstate Championship against Ace Romero at the promotion’s “Summer of Sleaze” event in North Tonawanda, N.Y. The match was highly anticipated among those in attendance. However, no one predicted that the fight would generate one of those most viral moments of the year. We discuss with Anthony Gaines A Year After “The Pounce”. During the match-up, Gaines bounced off the ropes and was hit with a pounce from Romero. The collision sent Gaines flying into the air, clearing the top rope and landing all the way…

In this newest look into my journey as an independent professional wrestling referee, I chronicle my time at Empire State Wrestling’s latest event “Temperature Rising”. My good friend, Jeff, came up from Virginia for the next few weeks and gave me a ride to the show for ESW’s Temperature Rising. My wife was driving up to a bar that was a short walk away from the after-party spot for a benefit that night thus I would drive us back home with her car later. Therefore, this arrangement worked out perfectly. I arrived at the show a little bit earlier than…