Meet the Pro Wrestling Stories Team!
JP Zarka
Founder and Editor-in-Chief
JP Zarka created Pro Wrestling Stories in 2015. He’s a writer, editor, producer, former co-host of The Genius Cast with Lanny Poffo, and assistant principal who enjoys playing guitar and spending time with his lively daughters! You can see him in recent episodes of “Autopsy: The Last Hours of…” on Reelz in the United States and Channel 5 in the U.K. Originally from Chicago, he has called London home since 2008.
Javier Ojst
Senior Writer
Javier Ojst is an old-school wrestling enthusiast currently residing in El Salvador. He’s been a frequent guest on several podcasts and has a few bylines on TheLogBook.com, where he shares stories of pop culture and retro-related awesomeness. He has also been published on Slam Wrestling and in G-FAN Magazine.
Evan Ginzburg
Senior Writer
Evan Ginzburg is a published author and was an Associate Producer on the movies “The Wrestler” and “350 Days” starring Bret Hart and Superstar Billy Graham. He is a 30-plus-year film, radio, and TV veteran and a voice-over actor on the radio drama Kings of the Ring.
Bobby Mathews
Senior Writer
Bobby Mathews is a published author and award-winning journalist whose bylines have appeared in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Birmingham News, The Denver Post, as well as other newspapers around the US. He currently lives in suburban Birmingham, Alabama.
Jim Phillips
Senior Writer
Jim Phillips has been a journeyman writer for the past decade, a wrestling fan since the late ’70s, and senior editor at TheGorillaPosition.com.
Benny Scala
Senior Writer
Benny J. Scala is a writer and co-host of the podcast Dan & Benny In the Ring. He works as a Senior Specialist for a major consumer finance organization and has been a fan of professional wrestling since the late ’60s.
Griffin Kaye
Senior Writer
Griffin Kaye is a life-long pro wrestling fan and historian with a love for ’80s and ’90s WWF, the NWA, WCW, ECW, and AEW. His favorite wrestlers include Ricky Steamboat, Bret Hart, William Regal, Tito Santana, Stan Hansen, Mr. Perfect, Ric Flair, and Chris Jericho.
Ian Aldous
Senior Writer
Ian Aldous is a former boxing writer who currently represents the International Boxing Organization as a fight supervisor. He briefly covered pro wrestling in the late 2000s for WrestlingNewsWorld.com and the PWB Podcast before finding a home for his work on Pro Wrestling Stories.
Joseph Finnegan
Senior Writer
Joseph Finnegan is a published author and produced screenwriter, who has earned a BFA in Creative Writing from Full Sail University. He also currently works in the business as a producer/director at a northern New Jersey-based independent wrestling company called Pro Wrestling Magic.
Braeden Farrell
Senior Writer
Braeden Farrell is a long-time wrestling fan and contributor of Pro Wrestling Stories based out of Adelaide, Australia.
Si Powell
Senior Writer
Si Powell is a married father of four, obsessed with rock/heavy metal music, and all things wrestling for over 30 years. You can hear him weekly on the Chain Wrestling and SJP Wrestling Podcast.
Tim Buckler
Senior Writer
Tim Buckler is a writer, presenter, and lover who hosts the geeky magazine show “Tim Buckler’s Thursday Night Geek Out” every Thursday at 8 p.m on Radio Woking.
Christa Pagliei
Contributing Writer
Christa Pagliei lives in Brooklyn, New York. Her fiction and poetry have been published in various outlets such as Fictionvale, Frostwriting, Strangelet, and Pseudopod. Christa is also the co-creator of the audio drama Lost Signal Society. In film, she’s worked on Succession, Sneaky Pete, and Mr.Robot. In addition to pro wrestling, Christa enjoys NJ Devils hockey, hiking, botany, 35mm photography, collecting rotational media, and cooking.
Ron Matejko
Contributing Writer
Ron Matejko is an award-winning writer and filmmaker for Turnbuckle Magazine (@TurnbuckleMag on Twitter / @turnbucklemagazine on Facebook), curator of Old Wrestling Pics (@OldWrestlingPic), and has covered MLB and NHL for ESPN.com.
Stosh Jonjak
Contributing Writer
Stosh Jonjak is a lifelong mark who proudly jobs to his three kiddos. A researcher by day who bends guitar strings at night, Stosh has never been afraid to wear Zubaz in public.
Matt Pender
Contributing Writer
Matt Pender is an old-school wrestling fan who currently lives in New Zealand. He is also a musical performer with his band OdESSA.
Dr. Mike Lano
Contributing Writer
Dr. Mike Lano, DDS, has had his photography and writing featured in wrestling magazines since the 1970s. He has done freelance work for WWF/E, was on staff for the WCW Magazine in the 1990s, and has been the Cauliflower Alley Club’s board photographer since 1987 after serving on its executive board in the ’90s.
Ebony Nash
Contributing Writer
Since childhood, Ebony Nash has been a wrestling fan. She is based out of Cleveland, Ohio, and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 2020.
Conor McCorkindale
Contributing Writer
Conor McCorkindale is a wrestler based out of the UK under the name Axel Strife, and also a YouTuber on his channel linked below.
Will Gray
Contributing Writer
Will Gray is a chef by trade and a mark by choice. Will earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from MTSU and is the host of Botched Spots and Chair Shots, a pro wrestling podcast and blog. He also contributes his freelance work across the web.
Luke Marcoccia
Contributing Writer
Luke Marcoccia is a writer based out of Alberta, Canada. He trained briefly in professional wrestling and has attended over 20 WWE events, including WrestleMania 31 and 32. Luke is an avid wrestling VHS tape and memorabilia collector.
Joey Mills
Contributing Writer
Joey Mills covers pro wrestling for Pro Wrestling Stories and SPORTbible. He also has bylines with Wrestling Travel, Boxing News 24/7, and BBC. Joey’s work as a video editor has been seen on LADbible and the UFC Facebook page. He also co-hosts The Devils You Know, a weekly Manchester United podcast (@TDYKpod).
Jordan Talbot
Contributing Writer
Jordan Talbot is a lifelong wrestling fan who loves to write about the business. He enjoys helping out with the local wrestling promotions in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and can be heard on the Wrestle Geeks Podcast on YouTube.
Rob Ireland
Contributing Writer
Rob Ireland is a long-time wrestling fan and contributor of Pro Wrestling Stories based out of the UK.
Jack O’Hara
Contributing Writer
Jack O’Hara is a writer and host of Belly Up Sports’ 50/50 Booking Podcast and The O’SHOW Podcast, both available on Spotify and Podbean.
Ryan K. Boman
Contributing Writer
As a syndicated columnist and feature writer, Ryan K. Boman regularly has bylines on Sportskeeda.com. He has also appeared in The Miami Herald, AdWeek, SB Nation, The Southern Illinoisan, 1wrestling.com, and his former website, TheGorillaPosition.com.
Chris Toplack
Contributing Writer
Chris Toplack is a corporate trainer, voice-over artist, former host of “The Signature Spot” and The Pro Wrestling Stories Podcast. You can follow his latest work on his website, TheSignatureSpot.com.
Marc Madison
Contributing Writer
Marc Madison was one of the very first writers to join the Pro Wrestling Stories family back in 2016. You can find his latest bylines on his website, ProWrestlingPost.com, where he gives a voice to independent wrestling promotions while also embracing the best and latest from wrestling past and present.
Lanny Poffo
Special Contributor
Lanny Poffo, formerly known as “The Genius” and “Leaping Lanny” of the WWF, is a published author, motivational speaker, host of The Genius Cast podcast, and brother of WWE Hall of Famer “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
April Hunter
Special Contributor
April Hunter is a television writer, short story author, and blogger. Her work appears in a variety of publications, including RxMuscle, Page & Spine, Medium, and European journal FONT. She is a model and former pro wrestler and can be heard on The A Show with April Hunter & Aron Stevens.
Bob Roop
Special Contributor
Bob Roop had an active career in wrestling from 1969 to 1986. He is regarded as one of the great mat technicians, wrestling with Championship Wrestling from Florida, National Wrestling Alliance territories including Japan and Australia, and a dozen additional foreign countries. He also wrestled for outlaw group International Championship Wrestling run by the Poffo family.
Richard Steinberg
Special Contributor
Richard Steinberg is a retired Corporate Advertising, Marketing, and Research Executive with credentials covering all facets of television and professional sports (including MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, roller derby, and professional wrestling). One of his most unique engagements was the Director of Marketing Services for World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
Joel Eisenberg
Special Contributor
Joel Eisenberg is an author, screenwriter, and producer. Joel has also developed or sold projects to TNT, Fox Studios, CBS-Decades TV, Atari, Roddenberry Entertainment, Garry Marshall, Cinemax, Warner Brothers, EUE/Sokolow, and Reelz Channel, among others. Joel frequently writes articles on sports entertainment, politics, social issues, and the arts.
Jon Finkel
Special Contributor
Jon Finkel is the award-winning author of Hoops Heist, The Life of Dad, Jocks In Chief, The Athlete, Heart Over Height, “Mean” Joe Greene, and more. His books have been endorsed by everyone from Mark Cuban and Tony Dungy to Spike Lee, Kevin Durant, and Chef Robert Irvine. He has written for GQ, Men’s Health, Yahoo! Sports, The New York Times and has appeared on CBS: This Morning, Good Morning Texas, and hundreds of radio shows, podcasts, and streams.
Vinny Berry
Special Contributor
Vinny Berry is an award-winning photographer, author of “Lance by Chance: Wrestling as a Von Erich,” lead writer for wrestleville.com, and has written for various combative sport websites.
Arthur Nager
Special Contributor
Arthur Nager is an award-winning photographer, photo educator, and author of the book, “Wrestling – Sunnyside Garden Arena, November 27, 1971.” The discovery of the Sunnyside Arena photographs has inspired his interest in wrestling history and the stories behind the wrestlers.
Joe Stasi
Social Media Team
Joe Stasi is behind many of the great, nostalgic wrestling photos you see shared on our social media accounts. He has been a wrestling fan since the ’70s, is an avid belt collector, and was a neighbor of the Poffo family before their WWF years in Lexington, Kentucky! He runs the “International Championship Wrestling – ICW The Poffo Years” and “Bruiser Brody – Wrestling’s Last Rebel” Facebook groups and has been mentioned on various podcasts such as the 605 Superpodcast, Jerry Jarrett, Jim Cornette, Booking the Territory, Kentucky Fried Rasslin, The Genius Cast with Lanny Poffo, Breaking Kayfabe with Bowdren and Barry, amongst many others!