Author: DJ Jarka

Last night at the St. Johnsburg Fire in North Tonawanda, N.Y., “Red Death” Daniel Garcia made his long-awaited return to in-ring action at ( ESW ) Empire State Wrestling. The 20-year-old upstart from Buffalo, N.Y. managed to make his comeback in the most dramatic way possible: by winning the Empire State Wrestling Heavyweight Championship. In the main event of Empire State Wrestling’s (ESW) “Temperature Rising”, Garcia defeated reigning champion “The Patron Saint of Professional Wrestling” Brandon Thurston to capture the title via submission. The match was originally supposed to take place at ESW’s “Night at the St. Johnsburg” in January…

Star-studded lineups featuring nationally renowned talent amassed the Empire State Wrestling events throughout 2019 and this upcoming show unquestionably continues this trend with Temperature Rising. However, the most anticipated match of this event may be between two locally-based wrestlers. As ESW Presents Temperature Rising On Saturday, June 29, Empire State Wrestling (ESW) will present “Temperature Rising” from the St. Johnsburg Fire Hall in North Tonawanda, N.Y. The event includes the return of Impact Wrestling star Josh Alexander and the debuts of All-Elite Wrestling signee Brian Pillman Jr. and global independent star Zachary Wentz. But the most anticipated fight on the…

Hello, everyone! My latest adventure in pro wrestling takes me all the way to Cuba. No, not the island nation, but a small town nestled in a remote part of Western New York. This is Collision in Cuba. For this Empire State Wrestling event, I played a small role in its planning. My friend Kip Doyle is an avid pro wrestling fan and also puts on an annual benefit show in Cuba – his hometown – in memory of his good friend that died from cancer a few years ago. In previous installments of “Deschfest”, Kip booked bands to perform…

With aspirations to continue extending its footprint throughout Western New York, Empire State Wrestling (ESW) will debut in a new town this weekend in a legendary way with Collision in Cuba as ESW presents Deschfest III. ESW will hold it’s first-ever show in Cuba, N.Y. at The Old Grey Hound on Saturday, June 15for “Deschfest III: Collision in Cuba” – a charity event.  World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Famer Bushwacker Luke will headline the show alongside many of the regular stars of ESW. Deschfest III: Collision in Cuba is held in memory of Cuba native Zach Deschler, who passed away…

After making its debut in the Greater Rochester area in February, Empire State Wrestling ( ESW ) returns to the Village Sports in Fairport, N.Y. this Saturday with its event “The Next Chapter”. The Next Chapter follows ESW as their biggest event of the spring – “Brawlfest” which was held in North Tonawanda, N.Y. ESW hopes to build off its prior show that included international wrestling legend Ultimo Dragon as the summer approaches. ESW Heavyweight Champion Brandon Thurston successfully defended his title against Major League Wrestling star Fred Yehi at Brawlfest. He will put the belt on the…

Hello, everybody! In my next installment of my comings-and-goings as a referee in the independent wrestling scene, I will go into detail on my experiences at Empire State Wrestling’s “ Brawlfest ” in North Tonawanda, N.Y. My story starts the day before Empire State Wrestling’s (ESW) biggest event of the spring. That Friday, I received a PET scan to evaluate my ongoing medical condition (thankfully everything turned out fine). Due to the substances required to administer the scan, I was considered to be radioactive afterward and was restricted from being around infants, small children, and pregnant women for 24 hours.…

Hello everybody! This is another edition of the Jarkaster Journey and the first featuring another promotion in New York State that regularly books me: Southern Tier Wrestling (STW). This is Gold Rush 2019. Here is a little background on STW. Formed in 2016 by Randy Grey and Jon Osterdahl, STW is based in the Southern Tier region of Western New York with the majority of its events held in Jamestown, N.Y. and its surrounding towns. If you are unfamiliar with Jamestown, the city is located about a 1.5-hour drive south of Buffalo, N.Y. and is most famous for being the…

For the first time in Empire State Wrestling (ESW) history, Western New York’s premier independent wrestling promotion sold out its last event held at the St. Johnsburg Fire Hall in North Tonawanda, N.Y. prior to the show day. At its next event at the St. Johnsburg, ESW will look to build upon that strong showing by bringing in a global wrestling superstar, as Empire State Wrestling present Brawlfest. “We are gearing up for our huge springtime traditional event ‘Brawlfest’,” said ESW owner Brett Mednik. “This is also said to be one of our two biggest shows of the year. This…

Just like last year’s Fairground Fallout, this will be a charity event. All proceeds will go toward the East Shelby Volunteer Fire Company. Coming off its first-ever sold-out event at the St. Johnsburg Fire Hall in North Tonawanda, N.Y., Empire State Wrestling (ESW) looks to continue its strong momentum when it returns to the  Orleans County 4H Fairgrounds in Albion, N.Y. for “Fairground Fallout: Return of the Empire” on Saturday, May 4. “Not only did we raise a significant sum of money for (East Shelby Volunteer) Fire Company from the first event last year, but we also received invaluable positive…

DJ recounts his experience at the recent Sky Is The Limit event and what took place.