Photo credit: Beyond Wrestling
SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…
Former Evolve Tag Team Champion and longtime independent wrestler Jaka (Jonathan Echevarria) is dead at age 39 after suffering a recent heart attack.
Jaka’s family announced he had suffered a heart attack last week and launched a Go Fund Me to help with the expenses for his care. The Go Fund Me is still open to help support his family. “Jonathan is the kind of person who brings laughter and energy wherever he goes—a fun, lovable pain in the butt who means the world to us,” wrote his sister Annette last week on his Go Fund Me page. “Seeing him in this state has been incredibly difficult, but we are staying strong for him and for each other.”
Beyond Wrestling confirmed Jaka’s death on Sunday on X (formerly Twitter) writing: “The original Ace. RIP Jaka.” The company later announced on X that Monday’s episode of Wrestling Open was dedicated to Jaka.
Jaka was a staple on the northeast independent scene wrestling for numerous companies after making his in-ring debut in 2007. He made his name as a regular for Beyond Wrestling, which was based in New England. In Beyond Wrestling, he was best known for teaming with Chris Dickinson as the tag team Doom Patrol. At one time they were also part of a larger faction called Team Pazuzu with Mike Santana of TNA and Angel Ortiz of AEW. Jaka recently had been taking bookings in Florida where he wrestled most notably for Full Impact Pro.
Jake’s most notable career achievement occurred when he went to Evolve with Dickinson and they became multi-time Evolve Tag Team Champions. When WWE and Evolve were affiliated in 2018, Dickinson & Jaka made an appearance at the WrestleMania 34 Axxess event with their manager Stokely Hathaway. They also wrestled in a match at the Axxess event defeating WWE contracted wrestlers Biff Busick & Danny Burch.
Former Evolve announcer Lenny Leonard wrote on X about what a big deal it was for Jaka & Dickinson to appear at a WWE event at the time, as WWE working with other promotions and having wrestlers do crossover appearances was still very new. “Also with all the forbidden door stuff & folks randomly showing up now being a regular thing, I don’t think folks realize that even though there was a WWN/WWE connection in 2018 just how INSANE it was for Stokely/Jaka/Chris to show up w/the Evolve titles @ Wrestlemania34 Axxess,” wrote Leonard.
Former Evolve booker Gabe Sapolsky paid tribute to Jaka on X: “A true tragedy, wrote Sapolsky. “No one will say a bad word about the man. My deepest condolences to his family and friends. Thank you for everything, Jaka.”
There have been countless tributes to Jaka today on social media by his colleagues today paying tribute to what a great person he was.
“I hate that a bigger audience didn’t get to experience how good jaka really was,” wrote Angel Ortiz on X. “For those who have, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I love you tio…rest easy my brother….”
“Rest in Peace, Jaka,” wrote Beyond Wrestling ring announcer Rich Palladino on X. “It was an absolute honor to have known you for the past 12+ years. I love you, my brother. Prayers to his family and friends. Absolutely gutted right now.”
“Rest in peace, Jaka,” wrote current NXT wrestler Jordynne Grace on X. “One of the good ones. Hitting hard especially with my husband’s recent health issues. You just never know what’s going to happen. One of the first to embrace Team PAWG.”
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