Empire State Wrestling will hold its first Buffalo RiverWorks event of the year this Friday with Brawlfest 2025. The event will feature several notable names making their ESW debuts including one of the biggest champions currently on the indie wrestling scene.
“I am fully committed to bringing in the best talent available to ESW in an effort to provide the most exciting matchups to all our dedicated fans,”
said ESW promoter Brett Stymus.
Brawlfest 2025 presented by Empire State Wrestling
Reigning Game Changer Wrestling World Champion Effy will make his ESW debut. According to Stymus, Effy is one of the most requested wrestlers by the ESW fanbase.
He will take on “Big League” John McCheseny. No stranger to the spotlight, McCheseny challenged “Invincible” Vince Valor for the ESW Heavyweight Championship in Medina last month. Watch this video filmed backstage afterward to see how the McChesney-Effy match came about:
Valor’s next defense will come against another GCW star making his ESW debut. “Most Marketable” Richard Holliday will face Valor for the belt. Along with his work in GCW, Holliday is also known for his time at Major League Wrestling and Beyond Wrestling.
The third major debut is Holidead, a staple of Women of Wrestling. Like Holiday, she will challenge for ESW gold in her first match in the promotion by going against ESW Women’s Champion “Courageous” Christina Marie.
In April, Marie beat Eden Grey in Medina and Dani Jacx at ESW’s University at Buffalo event all in the same weekend.
Brawlfest will also feature a few major returns. GCW star Atticus Cogar will come back to ESW’s ring after a three year hiatus. In his last ESW match, he defeated Vinnie Moon in November 2022.
This time around, he will lock horns with “Mr. Hardcore” Channing Decker. Decker last competed in the 2024 Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Cup match in November.
“Blue Thunder” Jay Freddie will be back in action. His last match in ESW was in March 2023 when he beat GCW star “Raddy Daddy” Cole Radrick.
Freddie will face the National Wrestling Alliance’s Spencer Slade. After dropping the ESW Interstate Championship in November, Slade returned to the win column in March by scoring the win over ex-Ring of Honor star LSG. The Freddie-Slade matchup will be the first singles match between the two.
Current ESW Interstate Champion “The Holy Hand Grenade” James Sayga will defend the belt against Zach Nystrom.
Sayga pulled off wins in a triple threat match against Cal Keaton and Moon in Medina, plus over Colton Quinn at the UB event. Nystrom wrestled in ESW’s latest Pennsylvania event in March against Cole Benett.
A four-team tag match is scheduled for Brawlfest, with the winner of the bout getting a major advantage in the ESW tag team standings. The teams will be Edge of Hope’s Jeremiah Richter and Darren Crowe, CXR, High Seas plus Will Calrissian and Moon.
Richter and Crowe fought against Starburst at the Medina event in April. In this video clip, Richter and Crowe seem focused on the upcoming match, but Crowe also sees something out of the ordinary:
This will be CXR’s first match tagging together since losing the ESW Tag Team Championship to To Infinity & Beyond in November.
Both Cloudy and Nick Ando of High Seas posted losses in singles action last month as they continue to work through their relationship issues with Dr. William Isaac Thomas Christopher Henderson. Calrissian and Moon posted a win at UB over Frank Feathers and Adam Wacker.
A scramble match is also set for Brawlfest. Five competitors are penciled in for the match: Edge of Hope’s Mattick, Brennen The First, “Buckwild” Tommy K., “A Cut Above The Rest” Gavin Glass and Keaton. Mattick took on Starburst and Maxx Cannon in a three-on-three with his Edge of Hope partners in Medina.
At the same event, Tommy K. defeated Cloudy, Brennen posted a loss to Feathers and Glass beat Superbeast in a Medina Street Fight.
Tommy K. spoke out once again prior to his ESW match in this video:
Lastly, “Ya Boy” Matt McCoy will call out “The Native Wolf” Groff on Friday. Over the last several events, Groff has viciously attacked people while also seemingly being under the tutelage of a shadowy figure.
At the Medina event, McCoy was sick of seeing all of Groff’s destruction and chased away with a chain. See what happened here:
Queen City Roller Derby will be featured at Brawlfest 2025. QCRD’s Evil-Lynn will be the guest ring announcer for the women’s title matchup. QCRD will also have a vendor table for anyone interested in future roller derby events or wanting to join the organization.
Front row seats are sold out but second row and balcony tickets are still available at ESWTIX.com (where service fees apply). TIcket prices rise by $5 on event day.
Doors open at RiverWorks at 6 p.m. with the opening bell set for 7 p.m.
