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PWInsider.com is extremely saddened to pass along that former EVOLVE Tag Team Champion Jonathan Echevarria, who wrestled as Jaka on the independent scene, passed away yesterday in Florida at just 39 years old. Echevarria had suffered a heart attack days before after wrestling his last match for Boca Raton Pro Wrestling on 8/31.
Echevarria, who had a background in Taekwondo before entering professional wrestling, was trained by Magic and debuted back in 2007. He was a stalwart of the Northeast independent circuit. Initially wrestling as Jonny Mangue, he was a regular in WXW run by Afa Anoa'i, AIW in Cleveland and Beyond Wrestling in New England, where he probably wrestled the most.
Echevarria also made appearances in JAPW, IWA Deep South, Dragon Gate USA, CHIKARA, GCW, Wrestling is Fun and GCW, among many other companies. He was absolutely loved in the locker room and was someone everyone liked to be around as he was extremely funny and often brought the morale up.
“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,” his sister Annette wrote when a GoFundMe campaign to assist Echevarria was launched. “Seeing him in this state has been incredibly difficult, but we are staying strong for him and for each other.”
Jaka's regularly teamed with Chris Dickinson, who he held the EVOLVE Tag Team belts with several times. As champions, they made appearances at Wrestlemania AXXESS in 2018. In 2021, Echevarria worked AEW Dark.
In Beyond Wrestling out of New England, Echevarria worked as a member of Team Pazuzu with current TNA star Mike Santana and AEW's Angel Ortiz. He was a big part of Beyond and worked lots of names that went on to be major stars on a national scene there in competitive bouts. Both Ortiz and Santana took to social media to pay tribute in recent days.
As word began to spread of Echevarria's passing, Santana wrote, "No words. GUTTED."
Ortiz wrote, "I love you tio"
Beyond Magic, Echevarria had credited Harley Race with his training after attending seminars the WWE Hall of Famer had presented.
In recent years, Echevarria as Jaka had teamed back up with Sean Maluta as The Island Boys, holding Tag Team belts in both BRCW and Full Impact Pro out of Florida.
PWInsider.com sends our deepest condolences to Jaka's friends, family and fans.
The GoFundme to support Echevarria's family can be found at this link.
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