This past Saturday night, on Halloween Eve, at SLAM! Wrestling’sRagnaRÖCK & Wrestling 2020 supershow in Tallinn, I captured my fourth European championship in my near-27 year in-ring pro wrestling career!
My previous European title wins came in 2006 and again in 2009 (vs. Bernard Vandamme of Belgium) for the Eurostars European Championship title; in 2011 (vs. Michael Kovac of Austria) for the TopCatch European Championship (operated by the oldest governing body in all of European pro wrestling, VDB Catch); and now, in 2020, the Mitti Del Wrestling European Union Championship, which I beat Italy’s top gun, Fabio Ferrari, for this past weekend in Tallinn, Estonia!
You can now relive and witness the entire RagnaRÖCK & Wrestling event online HERE and enjoy the awesome action from Tallinn this past Halloween night!
This summer, my heavy rock band Stoner Kings sees its 20th anniversary roll around, as I founded the group in the summer of 2000, up in Jyväskylä, Finland.
Over the course of the years, through the ups and downs of trial, we went through four line-up changes, break-ups, a period of prolonged AWOL and somehow, in the midst of all that, made three full-length albums. We toured in the Baltics and in Central Europe, garnered international praise and hatred alike for our music, and rose to become one of the most visual show bands you’ll ever witness live on stage.
This past July 25 at On The Rocks in downtown Helsinki, we played our 20th Anniversary Revolution milestone gig, complete with former members guesting from our Brimstone Blues early era (Perttu “Gonzo” Sutinen), Fuck The World era (Reeo Tiiainen) and our 2007-2008 transitional era, right before the band went AWOL (Harri “Grandy” Räsänen). In addition, we had our friend, Finland’s top exotic dancer, Irina Tundra, join us on stage and channel Hawkwind with their dancer, Stacia, from the 1970s.
Here are a cool set of photos from that celebratory gig by top German photographer, Sander Burmeister!
In addition, here is another visually stunning gallery from top Finnish live gig photographer, Saara Planting:
Next up for Stoner Kings: PowerSLAM in Põltsamaa at the Nahh Klaffen 2020 MC festival in Esku, Estonia on August 15 this coming weekend, and in addition, I will be wrestling live at that event with SLAM! Wrestling Finland. Come on out for a helluva great time outdoors, two hours from Tallinn!
Today marks 26 years since my professional debut as a wrestler. I owe it to my coaches, Lance Storm (WWE, WCW, ECW), who is currently working for WWE as an agent, and Karl Moffat, who used to wrestle in the ’80s and ’90s as Jason the Terrible under a hockey mask (Stampede Wrestling, Capitol Sports Puerto Rico, All-Japan and New Japan Pro Wrestling), as they started me off right and gave me the mindset and tools to make it this far.
After 22 countries on four continents, coaching in seven countries worldwide since 2003 and being a champion and main event player the world over, I can only be grateful that my career is still rolling strong at the age of 46.
I’ve had setbacks and injuries, faced the challenges that age brings to the game, navigated through the shark-infested waters of wrestling politics and petty shenanigans, and steered the course so that here in 2020, I’m spearheading my own wrestling promotion, SLAM! Wrestling Finland, with operations in both Finland and Estonia, with much more to come.
I’m thankful to the Good Lord above, in whom I steadfastly trust as any credible rebel these days would, for giving me the health, longevity and blessing to extend an in-ring career and professional achievement that no one in the Nordics of Europe has yet to surpass.
Here’s to the future, and to the challenges and victories that lay ahead!
StarBuck at SLAM! Wrestling Finland Mega Launch, 22/3/2019 Helsinki (photo: Marko Simonen)
Hello, folks! It’s been a spell since I posted last but things have been rather trialsome toward the end of 2019. I went through elbow surgery on my left arm, removing broken calcification from the triceps tendon. It’s been very slow to heal and on top of that, life threw a whole lot of lemons my way here in the past few months, leaving me to make loads of lemon juice, so as to not waste them.
From the x-ray above, you can see the “fang” sticking out of the elbow. This had to be surgically removed back on November 21, as it had broken into three pieces, causing continual inflammation and pain.
Anyway, I do have some good news. My heavy rock band Stoner Kings signed to Sliptrick Records several months ago and now, at the beginning of February 2020, we’re told that our new Alpha Male album will be out on CD throughout Europe and in North America.
We’ve been busy playing gigs toward the end of this past year and now, we just released our second music video off of the new album, a song entitled Fucked A.D.
So as all of you wait for our impending Alpha Male CD release, enjoy the video and pass on the goodness to other folks, too!
And remember, when Stoner Kings are playing live in your area, you really do owe it to yourself to come on out for some prehistoric headbanging fury!
Check out some of the stellar band pics live, by ace photographer Saara Planting, from one of our past shows this autumn 2019.
My southern rock act Crossfyre recently covered the famous Badstreet USA classic by Michael “P.S.” Hayes of The Fabulous Freebirds fame from the world of professional wrestling. Now, we’ve gone a step further and filmed a music video, plagiarizing the original video from 1987.
Michael Hayes originally recorded and released Badstreet USA as a single in 1983, which his tag team trio of The Fabulous Freebirds (comprised of Hayes, Buddy Jack Roberts and Terry Gordy) used as their official ring entrance theme henceforth.
Hayes is widely regarded as the first-ever rocker/wrestler, creating his own, original music before anyone else jumped on the bandwagon. The song has only once been covered by punk act Antiseen and now finally, come 2019, Crossfyre did the honors.
Now, for the first time in known history, a current rocker/wrestler pays homage to a classic rocker/wrestler in covering the most well-known wrestling rock theme in pro wrestling lore. As arguably the most accomplished and acclaimed pro wrestler out of Northern Europe, I’m proud to be the catalyst that made this project happen. Sit back and enjoy our Crossfyre rendition and you can catch the song otherwise in iTunes and Spotify.
One week back, on June 29 in Rauma, Finland, we held the most significant international pro wrestling card in all of Northern Europe this summer, entitled Wrestle Aid 2019.
With top talents flying to Finland to take part in this big event, in the end we had wrestlers from 10 countries represented: Japan, USA, Puerto Rico, Spain, England, Estonia, Holland, Ireland, Canada and Finland.
This all was done to help raise charity funds for the Finnish Muscular Dystrophy Association, Lihastautiliitto, to help those with ALS and Duschenne Muscular Dystrophy to take part in wheelchair-assisted sports.
The entire concept of Wrestle Aid came about as the brainchild of one of the event organizers, Riku Forsström of Rauma, where the event was held. Riku is a long-time Duschenne patient, eclipsing the typical lifespan of contemporaries with his condition by well over 10 years. It was at the express request of Riku that I booked all of the talent that was on hand at Wrestle Aid, allowing the man to live his dream and see the top-notch international stars that we had at the event live.
In the opening cruiserweight match, “MDogg” Matt Cross (Son of Havoc from Lucha Underground) defeated Finland’s “Luchadore of Lapland” Jami Aalto in 7:49 following a picture-perfect Shooting Star Press off the top rope.
The second match featured tag team action, with Carlos Zamora of Spain and Mikk Vainula of Estonia besting the Finnish tandem of Polar Pekko and Patrik Mieto in 8:28 when Vainula delivered a thunderous Jackhammer to Mieto for the winning pinfall.
In what was billed a Medieval Rules match sans disqualifications and countouts, Finnish “Wildman” Heimo Ukonselkä defeated Holland’s big man, Jurn Simmons, in a wild brawl after a big boot out of nowhere in 10:29.
Ireland’s phenomenal 18-year-old sensation Scotty Davis fell to Finland’s Viktor Tykki in 7:48 of match time after a ring-shaking backpack slam.
Local son of Rauma, Toni Tamminen, bested long-time Finnish ring veteran Stark Adder in 12:31 after nabbing a crucifix pin in mid-action.
“The Japanese Buzzsaw” TAJIRI overcame arch-rival “The Rebel” StarBuck after 20:02 via pinfall upon finally delivering a successful Buzzsaw Kick to the Finnish pro wrestling pioneer’s head.
Meiko Satomura of Japan defeated Ivelisse Velez of Puerto Rico and Sadie Gibbs of England in 10:10 in a heated women’s Triple Threat match when she pinned Ivelisse following her renowned Death Valley Driver.
This coming weekend on Saturday, June 29 in Rauma, Finland, I’m one of the main organizers behind the biggest, international pro wrestling supershow in the Nordics of Europe this summer: Wrestle Aid 2019!
With top professional wrestlers from nine different countries worldwide, this event is arguably – even on paper alone – the most significant show of its kind on a continental level.
“The Japanese Buzzsaw” Yoshihiro Tajiri and Meiko Satomura from Japan, Matt Cross from the USA, Ivelisse Veléz from Puerto Rico, Scotty Davis from Ireland, Jurn Simmons from Holland, Sadie Gibbs from England, Mikk Vainula from Estonia and Carlos Zamora from Spain join a host of Finnish professionals to bring you Wrestle Aid. Oh, and in case you are wondering, Yours Truly represents my home country of Canada at this big event.
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With seven matches on the card and two gigantic, intercontinental main events on the menu, Wrestle Aid offers something for everyone, and especially action and thrills for the whole family.
Part of ticket proceeds will be going to the Finnish Muscular Dystrophy Association, Lihastautiliitto, to help patients with ALS and Duschenne muscular dystrophy to take part in wheelchair sports while their condition still warrants it. This is a great cause and you really can make a difference by being an active part of it live!
The event will be held outdoors under the Finnish blue sky at Potkur shopping center on the rooftop of the establishment in the western coastal city of Rauma, Finland this coming Saturday, June 29. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster in Finland so get yours now and come out to see the greatest live action spectacle in Earth!
On June 29 this month, I’ll be promoting a huge, international professional wrestling supershow called Wrestle Aidon the West Coast of Finland in the city of Rauma. Along with three other organizers, including local hockey team Rauman Lukko, local DJ Toni “Protoni” Järvinen and a disabled gentleman named Riku Forsström, we’re bringing the largest scale wrestling event to Finland that has arguably been witnessed to date. Yes, even bigger, arguably, than SLAM! Wrestling Finland Mega Launch back on March 22 this year in Helsinki!
With Wrestle Aid, we are giving part of the ticket proceeds to charity through the Finnish Muscular Dystrophy Association, Lihastautiliitto, to help those with ALS and Duschenne Muscular Dystrophy partake in assisted sports like wheelchair football and the like. It’s a very noble cause, and this stems from the wishes of the aforementioned Riku Forsström, who himself has an advanced Duschenne condition.
Wrestler Toni Tamminen, Mikael Eklöf of hockey team Rauman Lukko, Toni Järvinen, StarBuck, wrestler Stark Adder and in the forefront, Riku Forsström (photo: Jussi Hietikko)
With this event, I am reminded of the work that WWE does with Make-A-Wish in the USA, as I parallel what we are doing with Wrestle Aid. Riku Forsström is a long-time wrestling fan who loves his grappling and is very knowledgeable about the international wrestling scene. About a half-year ago, Riku gave me a list of names he would like to see wrestle in his hometown of Rauma this summer, at the event that would become Wrestle Aid itself. As the most accomplished pro wrestler in history out of the Nordics, having traveled the world, I set out to procure the talent that Riku had made a wish to see. After all, this signaled a big deal in Riku’s life on a personal front: the doctor’s never gave him the outlook to see his 40th birthday, which took place this past May. The average mortality rate for people with Duschenne is 26. So Riku’s request was in the hopes of seeing a dream come true, in the celebration of life itself, as he has greatly defied the odds, regardless of his severe physical condition.
In so telling, I am super-excited to announce that we will be bringing one of the greatest female professional wrestlers in the world today to Wrestle Aid… Meiko Satomura from Japan! Meiko is Riku’s all-time favorite wrestler, and that said, her coming to Finland is something special indeed. If anything, this truly is a Make-A-Wish moment come true for Riku Forsström. And that said, in honor of making this dream come true, I believe as matchmaker of SLAM! Wrestling Finland, I will put the ladies on last with Meiko as the show-closer.
Meiko fought current WWE NXT UK women’s champion Toni Storm in the semi-finals of the 2018 WWE Mae Young Classic women’s tournament.
Ladies and gentlemen, come join us on June 29 at Wrestle Aid in Rauma, Finland for the greatest professional wrestling card you will probably see all summer anywhere in Europe. Tickets are available right now through Ticketmaster in Finland and by supporting and attending, you are helping to also support those with ALS and Duschenne Muscular Dystrophy in Finland. It’s a noble cause and you should be part of it.
Top professional wrestlers from 10 countries represented: Japan, USA, Puerto Rico, Ireland, England, Portugal, Spain, Canada, Estonia and Finland.
What is rock music? At the core, its history and its origin?
Well, for anyone who has ever done any homework whatsoever into the roots of rock, into its rich background of years past and the groundwork that its early fathers laid down, you’ll know that that the answer lies in rebellion.
Rock has always been the voice of the counter-culture. It has stood against the widely-accepted norms of the day. It’s been the voice of dissent in the face of the bullshit propaganda lines of the day. Whether it was the Vietnam War, the televangelist money-mongering of the 1980s or the political agendas to go claim oil from other countries at any expense, rock music has always toted the banner of counter-statement. And so it should, for rock music itself was founded as a voice of rebellion.
The Sex Pistols. Would they ever have meant a damn thing if they’d been PC?
For decades, rock was exactly that: the inconvenient message that bucked the system and pulled no punches in doing so. It was riding the edge of the razor blade. It was, as Gene Simmons from KISS said it should be… dangerous. Yes, rock HAS to preserve an element of danger to be viable and potent.
All of that was fine and dandy for years upon years. It was what was expected of rock. Everyone knew the name of the game. Hell, many even tried to plagiarize the agenda, making it come off as cheesy and absurd at times. But then came the modern era that we now find ourselves living in and everything… and I mean EVERYTHING changed.
Rock lost its grit, its soul. It lost the spirit of rebellion in the hopes of artists appeasing the social media masses, towing the company line of modern day thought and mass social conditioning, all under the haunting fear of social media backlash. In pandering to the social justice warriors and accepted public opinion and social pressure, musical artists themselves changed with the times. They forgot their roots. They forsook their heritage.
It became more important to get likes and follows and re-posts than stand as a bastion of counter-culture. The fear of getting blackballed and labelled whatever the social justice neophytes of the day like to throw around as easy shame tags created a play-it-safe atmosphere of toothless, soulless, non-confrontational pop. Hell, even the much-ballyhooed black metal acts became redundant, beating on the dead horse of anti-Christian sentiment long after our western world became as secular as anyone could ever hope for. Indeed, rock lost it’s identity.
This all brings me back to something that I recall a lady named Kristen Mulderig telling me back in 2013. Kristen – the manager for Slayer, Bullet For My Valentine and Ghost – told me as we were sitting down for supper one night, that every single rock act that ever made it big understood the day and age they were living in and were able to tap into that day and age through their music and message.
This brings me to 2019 and the return of my much-beloved Stoner Kings, as we stand here on the cusp of releasing our third studio album since 2001. It’ll be on May 17 that Alpha Male is slated to hit the digital airwaves on platforms like iTunes and Spotify.
Stoner Kings 2019, photo by Marko Simonen, clockwise from top left: StarBuck (vocals), Rude Rothsten (bass), Joonas Vepsä (guitar), Janne Kontoniemi (drums)
It’s absurd to think that since our inception in the fall of 2000, we’ve only put out two albums up ‘til now — 2001’s Brimstone Blues and 2006’s Fuck The World. We were arguably infamous back in our day, a sore thumb and Ichabod amongst our peers, hated yet a cult phenomenon at the same time. Then, there was an eight-year absence, an exile in limbo, between 2008-2016. We came back from that, determined to make an impression yet again. I had a vision that the guys shared. A vision to re-establish what rock was meant to be. Yes, Stoner Kings’ late, third coming would be a roar of rebellion in and of itself.
So some of you will ask what is this rebellion? What’s the big fuss and big talk about?
Well, it’s in the lyrics. It’s in the message. It’s in the meat of the matter, as I lyrically pillage the socially-accepted dogmas of our times, aiming to dissect and dismantle the myriad lies fed to us in the name of whatever suits the agenda at whatever turn and point in modern days.
Already in name and title alone, Alpha Male bucks the system. We’re not looking to kowtow to the masses. We’re not looking to win brownie points and play nice. Hell, we’re looking to not only rock the boat but turn the whole damn thing over!
So yes, Stoner Kings ARE bringing back the spirit of rebellion to rock. But it’s not the spirit that you’ll recall with familiarity from times past, because times have changed. Now, we’re calling everyone’s bullshit and bluff in the face of modern times. We’re offering the bitchslap that others fear to dish out. We have no fear, because we care not for public sentiment, nor is our house hingent upon social media likes, follows or ass-kissing to buck up our self-worth.
Fuck it, Stoner Kings are coming again with Alpha Male to kick ass, take names and overturn the lies that we’ve all been sold in the name of political correctness.
Get ready. May 17, the Earth rumbles in tribulation once again!
The album cover for Stoner Kings – Alpha Male (2019)
Hear the first single from our upcoming Alpha Male album, Fucked AD, here!
For those of you who might have missed it, I was on my old buddy Chris Jericho’s Talk is Jericho podcast recently. You can check out the whole episode HERE!
Also, I’ve got some huge news for you all! The next super-spectacular SLAM! Wrestling Finland event happens on June 29 this summer on the West Coast of Finland in Rauma. It’s called Wrestle Aid 2019 and part of the proceeds are going to the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation (Lihastautiliitto Ry) in Finland to help those with ALS and Duschenne Muscular Dystrophy to partake in sports while their situation still warrants it.
It’s a fantastic cause, and you certainly should be supporting this big event and the ethical framework of its intent. We’ve got top wrestlers coming in from eight different countries for Wrestle Aid: TAJIRI from Japan, Ivelisse from Puerto Rico, Matt Cross from the USA, Jurn Simmons from Holland, Chris Ridgeway and Sadie Gibbs from England, Shanna from Portugal and several others are slated to appear in action on June 29 at the biggest, international pro wrestling mega-event of the summer in the Nordics of Europe!
Tickets for Wrestle Aid are NOW AVAILABLE through Ticketmaster in Finland HERE.
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