David Jarka Talks Being A Wrestling Referee

David Jarka, aka D.J. Jarka, is a 35-year-old referee for Empire State Wrestling and a seasoned veteran of the independent circuit. Jarka was gracious enough to answer all our questions about life in the wacky world of pro wrestling.

What is the typical breakfast for you?

David Jarka: “I don’t have a typical pre-show breakfast, but lately I’ve been having a plant-based protein shake for breakfast most mornings.”

What are you go-to songs before matches?

David Jarka: “Before my matches, I’m focusing on what I need to know going into each one or being on-call for anything that might be needed at a moment’s notice.”

What is the farthest you’ve driven for a show?

David Jarka: “When I was a trainee, we drove from my home base in Buffalo, NY, to Windsor, Ontario, Canada, which is just across the river from Detroit. That was about a five-hour drive. For shows I was booked on, I was on drives over three hours long to Binghamton, NY, and Lakewood, OH (suburban Cleveland).”

What made you want to be a referee?

David Jarka: “I originally wanted to be a manager when I started to train with my friend who was training to wrestle. However, our trainer told me that being a referee would be better because I would get more bookings, so I went with that.”

What does the referee scene look like on the indie circuit? Are you all friends? Are there jerks that keep spots to themselves?

David Jarka: “When I first started to ref, there were some that trained to be referees and took it seriously and then there were some that were just friends with promoters that were happy to just be on the cards and treated the wrestling business like a joke. Over the years, the latter group diminished significantly, thankfully, as more people in the business realized how important a solid referee is to a match and as wrestling schools became more known thanks to social media. In the circles I run in, we are mostly friends and are not as cutthroat as the wrestlers’ side of the locker room can be at times. There have been times where certain referees keep spots for themselves, but now, mostly at the places I ref, the promoter or producer makes the decision on reffing assignments. They are open to input from us as well, so it’s a good setup.”

https://t.co/4x2dD9dyh6 pic.twitter.com/kOCjllZHSj
— D.J. Jarka (@Jarkaster) August 4, 2020

What is your goal as a referee? Do you want to be hired by AEW or just have a steady job on the indies?

David Jarka: “Over the years, I’ve set goals focused on continuing to grow as a referee on a gradual basis. These were mostly focused on working in different promotions and adding more states that I reffed in on my resume. I found along the way, I accumulated highly valuable experiences in the wrestling industry and life in general. Over the last few years, I have become more focused on my life away from the ring, which has made me settle more on my home promotion, Empire State Wrestling. Thus, lately my main goal is to be the best ref I can be for ESW and help it become the best it can be through my own means. Looking to the future, I still would like to get back on the road more often someday. Referees have a longer shelf life than wrestlers – we receive much less wear and tear on our bodies. So once my children get older, I could see myself traveling more frequently again.”

How did you come across Empire State Wrestling?

David Jarka: “I found out about ESW as a fan when I was in college. My friend that I trained with introduced me to ESW and we started attending ESW shows whenever we could.”

What is your favorite venue that ESW has booked?

David Jarka: “ESW’s old home at the St. Johnsburg Fire Hall in North Tonawanda, NY, holds a dear place in my heart since it was where I attended ESW shows as a fan, and it meant a lot to me to be able to ref in that venue eventually. It’s unfortunate that ESW will not be running there anymore, but the Radisson Hotel in Grand Island can be a very special place, as well. I also like the Kenan Center in Lockport because that was the first place I reffed a show in New York. The Lockport shows are also ESW’s ‘super shows,’ so they feature wrestling legends and draw some of the biggest crowds.”

How has COVID-19 impacted you?

David Jarka: “Since the COVID-19 epidemic started, it shut down any real prospects of reffing on any shows in the immediate future. Thankfully, my home life has been very stable throughout everything but from a wrestling aspect, I have not been able to do anything and I’m very uncertain when that might change.”

Name a wrestler that if you see you have their match, you are excited.

David Jarka: “I’m always excited to see when I am assigned to ref a Brandon Thurston match because I know it will be a good bout and it will test me as a referee. I also have a lot of fun reffing R.J. City matches. They are highly interactive and the fans always have a ton of fun with them.”

Pick one match of the past you wish you could go back and ref.

David Jarka: “I’d like to go back to when Kevin Bennett won the ESW Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat against City and Pepper Parks. Bennett cashed in an opportunity to challenge for the belt he secured earlier that night in the middle of City-Parks and it shot the energy of the crowd through the roof.”

Name a match that you’d like to referee.

David Jarka: “My pick would be Colt Cabana vs. longtime Buffalo indie star Jonny Puma. Cabana is probably the top comedic wrestler today and Puma is a former comedian who would be huge on the indies today, but was a generation too early.”

List all the ways we can follow you on social media and any other plugs.

David Jarka: “You can follow me on Twitter and Facebook @jarkaster and read my blog on ProWrestlingPost.com. You can catch me reffing for ESW on IndependentWrestling.TV. I also write a little about the NFL for 2-pt Conversation.”