ESW: Inside the Empire

The newest episode of Inside the Empire features one of the founding fathers of Empire State Wrestling - Jonny Puma! Puma goes into great depth not just on the beginnings of ESW, but also his own career and the early days of independent wrestling in Western New York. He also touches upon such topics as the early years of ESW's history, Ballpark Brawl experiences, his comedy career, the sale of ESW to Ray Erway before leaving off at the transition to NWA Empire. This is our longest episode to date, as it's also filled with many fun stories from over the years. However, there's so much more that still needs to be covered that Puma's career will be broken down into multiple episodes. Stay tuned to your favorite podcast streaming feed for future episodes featuring Puma throughout the rest of the year. *NOTE: The mini-prize pack giveaway winner will be selected at the end of the final Puma episode.

Daniel Garcia returns to Inside the Empire on this episodes, and this time he does so as the ESW Heavyweight Champion! Recorded live at the WNY POD-CON, Garcia discusses bouncing back from the injuries he sustained from the Buffalo Brothers car accident, winning the ESW Heavyweight Championship and his expectations for himself in the near future.

Chris Cooper is the next guest on "Inside the Empire". As a 3-time ESW Heavyweight Champion and one half of the current tag team champions, Cooper has been an integral part of ESW over the years and goes into detail about his experiences.

The next guest on Inside the Empire is three-time former Empire State Wrestling Champion Will Calrissian. He is joined in this episode alongside special co-host ESW Commissioner The Caesar, regular host Chris Gullo and engineer Brandon Thurston. Calrissian talks about a variety of topics, from what he loves about pro wrestling, why decided to return and answers several fan questions. He also told quite a few interesting stories from throughout his wrestling career. This is a great episode. Check it out! Link to Calrissian's Mullet promo: https://youtu.be/dn3FTx4pFTM Photo Credit: TMK Ringside Photography

This episode of "Inside the Empire" features current ESW Heavyweight Champion and podcast engineer Brandon Thurston! Listen to how Thurston fell in love with professional wrestling, his thoughts on his 15 year career and answer many questions submitted by the fans.

Our hiatus is officially over! The next guest on "Inside the Empire" is former Empire State Wrestling wrestler turned commentator "Maverick" Matt Milan! Matt goes into detail about how he became a wrestling fan, breaking into independent wrestling, the ups & downs of being in the business and his move to the commentary table. We also recap the recent happenings in ESW, including experiences at WrestleCon and briefly preview future events.

It's been a while, so here is one from our archives - our very first episode in December 2017 with ESW promoter Brett Mednik! Stay tuned for some new content over the next few months.

"Inside the Empire" kicks off 2019 with "Sparkle Hunter" Kate Carney as its next guest!  Hear about how Kate started in the Pacific Northwest then ventured to South America before eventually landing in Western New York. She also gives her perspective as a woman in the professional wrestling industry and her views on where the business is heading. Kate also answers a few fan submitted questions. This is a fun episode that you will enjoy listening to! ***Producers Note: This episode was recorded prior to the car accident involving the Buffalo Brothers. Donations toward their recovery can be made at this Gofundme page: https://www.gofundme.com/buffalo-brothers-car-accident-recovery-fund

With 2019 upon us, this episode of "Inside the Empire" features one of indy wrestling's fastest growing stars: Kevin Blackwood! The Albion, N.Y. native goes into detail about how he fell in love with wrestling, how he began training and his quick ascension into one of Western New York and Ontario's biggest performers on the independent wrestling scene. You can check out Blackwood's matches and many other of ESW's top stars on Powerslam.TV!

The "Inside the Empire" crew sits down with ESW promoter/owner Brett Mednik and reflects back on ESW's 2018. Hear about ESW's biggest highlights and challenges over the last year and what 2019 holds in store for Western New York's independent wrestling destination! Checkout ESW events on Powerslam.TV!

On the newest episode of "Inside the Empire", we take a deep dive into the life and times of The Caesar! We get a taste of Erie, Penn. wrestling history, plus many fun stories involving storylines he was involved with, factions he managed, the close relationships he's made over the years and what his future in ESW holds. This was a truly enjoyable episode to create and one you don't want to miss! Check out "The Clown Must Die" video here: https://youtu.be/Y747jevmrhA Catch up on the latest ESW events on Powerslam.TV!

Superbeast is a longtime mainstay of the Western New York indy wrestling scene, and our latest guest on "Inside the Empire"! With a plethora of knowledge and stories, Superbeast tells infamous wrestling tales involving former WWE superstars Virgil and Brian Christopher, his experiences working for former popular Central New York promotion Squared Circle Wrestling, his current role backstage at ESW and being chased by a chainsaw. This is a fun episode that you don't want to miss!

This is a special live edition of "Inside the Empire" as we sat down with "The Butcher of Buffalo" Andy Williams at the Buffalo Sports Pod-A-Thon! We dive into how he go into wrestling, his favorite Buffalo wrestling moments, how he met his tag partner Pepper Parks and how he came up with his butcher character. Special thanks to Trainwreck Sports for recording this and please take a minute to learn more information and donate to BB&G Charities at: https://www.bbgcharity.org/

We sit down with one of the quickest rising stars in the Northeast independent wrestling scene on this episode of "Inside the Empire": Puf! The super charasmatic Puf talks about he broke into pro wrestling, how he's worked and interacted with numerous indy wrestling stars at such an early stage in his career and how he almost got lured into a pyramid scheme!

"Big Time" Bill Collier is featured on this episode of "Inside the "Empire". Bill talks about starting his wrestling career on the Pennsylvania independent scene as "The Insaniac", who he wants to face in future matches and goes in-depth on wrestling psychology!

He's one half of North America's Most Wanted and wrestled on WWE 205 Live. Daniel Garcia talks about how he broke into the wrestling business and his quick rise in independent wrestling on this episode of "Inside the Empire"!

This episode of "Inside the Empire" deviates a little bit from our usual format. Chris, Brandon and D.J. sit down and recap the happenings at "4th and Gold" and the pre-show tailgate party! There are also run-ins by Steve Gage, Brett Mednik, Kevin Bennett, Daniel Garcia, Puf, Anthony Gaines and Timekeeper Todd Brantley. If you missed "4th and Gold", stay tuned to Powerslam.TV to be able to watch this event in its entirety!

Empire State Wrestling executive producer Johnathan Ashe is our next guest on "Inside the Empire"! Ashe is a longtime mainstay of the Western New York independent wrestling scene who has worked in nearly every role on and off camera on a wrestling show. He shares his own personal history of the area and goes indepth on his role running the backstage area at ESW events. Never one to shy away from opinions, this is an episode you do not want to miss!

This episode of "Inside the Empire" features the man formerly known as "Braxton Sutter"  - Pepper Parks! The reigning Empire State Wrestling Heavyweight Champion talks about how he started with ESW and the current state of the promotion, among various other topics. Brandon Thurston and Chris Gullo also give their personal insight into the North Tonawanda Bear!

This episode of "Inside the Empire" features James Sayga, who is part of the reigning ESW Tag Team Champions Game Over! Sayga talks about growing up as a wrestling fan and how he got his start in ESW. He also discusses how his Christian faith influences him inside and outside of the ring, and how the message on one of his t-shirts helped save someone's life. You can also check out Sayga's personal blog at: https://jamessayga.wordpress.com/

Empire State Wrestling's Senior Referee Andrew Mollon is our next guest on "Inside the Empire"! We take a deep dive into how Mollon went from a loudmouth fan at ESW shows to reffing WWE talent. This episodes also ventures off into his love for pop music, adult beverages and entertainment as well as numerous other stories.

This episode of "Inside the Empire" features one half of the Empire State Wrestling tag team champions, Vince Valor! The Niagara Falls, N.Y.-native goes into detail on what sparked his love for professional wrestling and gives an indepth look on his path to ESW. ***It was brought to our attention that there were some audio issues with this episode. These issues are now fixed. Thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy the show!***

In this episode of "Inside the Empire", Empire State Wrestling fan favorite Frankie Feathers describes how he became introduced to independent wrestling, which future opponents he would like to face in the ring and how is old job negatively affected his wrestling endeavors. Feathers also described a very awkward promo he once did with Ring of Honor star Dalton Castle.

In this episode, Kevin Bennett talks about his journey from backyard wrestling in North Tonawanda to becoming the ESW Heavyweight Champion!