History was made this past Wednesday, July 27 and Thursday, July 28 in Lahti and Helsinki, Finland, respectively. These were the days when my thrash metal band, Angel of Sodom, performed the only two gigs we will ever potentially play in history, period.
Now, I will address the question “why”, which has been on everyone’s lips, as the news spread about the rarity of these events. The answer is simply that our guitarist/songwriter/founding member Eero Tertsunen moved to the USA last year, and only this summer did he plan to come back to Finland to pull off these two special shows. Other than that, Eero is not planning on coming to Europe in the next four years. That said, Angel of Sodom will still release a second album, which we are preparing as we speak, but we will not tour.
Angel of Sodom creating havoc in Lahti at Ravintola Torvi
If anyone out there questions why we will not tour, the answer lies in the sad state of the music industry at large. We will not be buying on to any larger tours as a support act for a potential headliner. That is simply not economically feasible. For those who are unaware, only established large acts have a chance at making any real money with touring and shows. Everything that remains local has little to nil chance of making any real turnover. Therefore, the financial arguments are not in place for Angel of Sodom to plan gigs in the interim, while our guitarist Eero lives in the USA. The price of airfare alone would have to be covered and justified by monies coming in from potential shows, and as anyone who is in the music industry knows, that would require a set of larger stages and a considerable number of monetarily healthy shows.
Yet, for those who were on hand this past week here in southern Finland for these Angel of Sodom concerts, you witnessed something special. I have heard it from pretty much every single person that came out to witness the sonic devastation that we left behind. The Helsinki show was filmed with four cameras and footage will be upcoming down the line, as we wanted this on tape for posterity.
My good friend and ace photographer Kari Helenius of MetalPhotos.com took these stellar shots from Helsinki at Semifinal. Enjoy!
On July 29 at Ropecon (Role-Playing Convention), to be held at the Helsinki Expo and Exhibition Center, I will take on my Spandex Sapiens arch-rival, the gender-bending Jessica Love one last time. I say one last time because this time, I will stamp out my opponent for good.
Be there when the last bell chimes.
Last time we fought, at the LGBT crowd’s Eurogames on July 1 in Helsinki, I broke Jessica Love’s arm. Like the old saying goes about a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest, so it goes with Jessica Love in a fist-fight. Now, I wouldn’t put it past my adversary to show up with arm in sling, because Jessica is just that thick in the head, daring to brave danger head-on. Actually, that is quite admirable. But it will also prove to be Jessica Love’s downfall on July 29.
Now, a lot of people are still asking why, much like Anakin Skywalker turning into Darth Vader, why did StarBuck turn to the dark side? I find this quite amusing actually.
I said this at the Eurogames event on the microphone in front of the masses, and I will say it here again: I didn’t turn my back on anybody. I have stood for traditional, straight, masculine values as long as I have been around. Certainly, my entire media career I have toted the same line and stood for the same, unwavering cause. I have never flinched or backed down, even in the face of adversity and backlash. Now, in 2016, when my movie Spandex Sapiens came out, people had a chance to take and pick a side. You could either side with my counterpart, the transgender, liberal, Jessica Love, or you could side with a real man in the iconic, conservative StarBuck. It was really a simple choice. Whatever resonated with you and your world, you could freely choose black or white, left or right. And the people chose Jessica Love.
Looking back, I can say that I have not changed at all. I have stayed the course. Society and the flavor of the day has changed. I have lived long enough as the hero to see myself become the villain. The people have chosen. The people have spoken.
So it is now, on July 29 at Ropecon, that I will do what a vigilante and lone wolf would do in terms of personal agenda. I will put down, once and for all, the ambiguous hero of your modern day liberal Finland and western world at large. I will trample underfoot Jessica Love for the final time, arm in a sling and all. And I will do it without remorse.
You, the audience, have given rise to the anti-hero. Now deal with it.
Spandex Sapiens movie theater showtimes this week:
It’s rather peculiar that I wrestled at a Pride event yesterday. A Cro-magnon, retrosexual, hetero heel, the worst possible prototype villain of the queer culture, wrestling at Eurogames. Held in downtown Helsinki under the blazing hot summer sun, Eurogames was an LGBT event, which expressly wanted to see “The Rebel” StarBuck vs. Jessica Love center stage, stemming from the hype surrounding my Spandex Sapiens movie in Finnkino theaters currently.
As most all of you should know by know, Jessica Love is Europe’s only transgender female pro wrestler. In the Spandex Sapiens movie, Jessica Love plays my worst adversary, especially from the point of values and societal values. We are polar opposites, like east and west. Jessica is the all-allowing liberal modern-day representative, whereas I am the conservative caveman who holds on to black and white principles and ideals.
Well, wrestle I did. And not just wrestle. I used the opportunity presented to make some of the most poignant social comments to be heard publicly in today’s suffocating, politically correct environment. I let loose and let it be known, that the men these days are no longer men, nor are the women any longer women. They are confused. Not just gender-confused, I mean confused in general. The statistics prove it! Look at the depression in our society. Look at the kids, how lost they are in terms of their own identities. Look at the mass divorce rates and the ever-growing numbers of single moms. I made my point loud and clear, and the Pride-friendly crowd on hand did NOT like it one single bit.
StarBuck preaches the truth at Eurogames (photo: Pasi Murto)
Yet, it was hard to refute what I had to say. I heard boos, sure. But not the kind of heart-felt boos that come from disdain and spite. They were moreso boos that towed the political line of the day, trained monkey kinds of boos. I believe people in their hearts knew, that I was telling the truth. It gets harder to hate a person when they tell you the truth and the truth is simply inconvenient for you.
So there I was, taking bullets in the chest and in the back for every traditional, hetero person out there, who does not have the spine or the balls to stand up for what they believe in. I went head-long into battle, alone! I sent out a load of emails prior to Eurogames, urging traditional, conservative folks and organizations of that ilk to come out and support me, “The Rebel” StarBuck, as I duked it out with Jessica Love in front of the entire LGBT community in Helsinki at this Eurogames Pride event. Guess what? NO ONE dared to show up. Not one, single group or backer of the traditional nuclear family unit showed up to support StarBuck. For this, the entire traditional, conservative front in Finland should hang their heads in shame!
I went into that match yesterday with Jessica Love a one-man army. A legend in my lifetime. A man who stood, where no others dared to stand. A lone wolf in a strange land. And I destroyed Jessica Love! I broke Jessica Love’s arm in the process. Boo-hoo. I made a statement, because extreme times call for extreme measures. You are going to remember my name! StarBuck. Get it right. It has nothing to do with coffee.
Jessica Love got to take a trip to the hospital after our match and all of a sudden, the LGBT crowd had lost their hero. Now they had a real reason to hate me. But as the saying goes, the best direction to ride a horse is in the direction that it is already headed. Haters are going to hate anyway. Give them their anti-hero. Give them what they deserve.
Jessica Love was scheduled to face me a second time in the main event of the Eurogames wrestling program later yesterday night. Well, there was no Jessica Love in sight, so out comes King Kong Karhula, defending his friend. This, in and of itself, has more to it than can be seen at surface value. Karhula recently wrote a blog of his own about his friendship with Jessica, telling of how close they are and have been for many years, even when they were feuding. In the pro wrestling business, that is called breaking kayfabe, and it is considered a cardinal sin. Karhula not only pissed all over the traditions of our business and age-old tradition, he conveniently went “into business for himself”, trying to push Jessica’s starpower in my Spandex Sapiens movie through aligning himself at this time with my transgender foe. I saw it as shameless mooching on Karhula’s part, reeking of desperation to get his own rub off the whole shebang.
Be that as it may, since Jessica Love could not wrestle with a freshly-broken arm, in comes Karhula to take Jessica’s place in the main event against Yours Truly! Toting a gay pride flag on his way to the ring, I really wondered where Karhula’s true feelings and allegiances lay. I found it both amusing and pathetic. But I will say this: Juhana Karhula came to fight. He was incensed, full of piss and vinegar. He attacked me with the kind of emotion that is rarely felt, and the people on hand felt it too. The heat was off the charts. Karhula was a man possessed, tearing into me as we brawled, before I could turn the match in my favor and run him head-first into the ring post.
My wife Diana happened to be at ringside with her new camera, taking pics:
I was able to find one single sympathizer to the traditional, conservative family cause, and that was FCF Wrestling’s Teuvo. Although he’s a beer-swigging hick, Teuvo is a man of principle. He still believes in black and white, too. So I had him come out with a Straight Pride sign and act as my one, single backer at this LGBT Eurogames event. Teuvo even got in some kicks of his own on Karhula, once I left him laying at ringside.
I blasted Karhula with all I had, having a hell of a time doing it, too! The crowd was irate and hot as hell. I hammered Karhula until we both got knocked down center-ring. Karhula had that entire Eurogames crowd behind him, as he rallied a comeback against me. Teuvo made his presence known at the most-critical moment, blasting Karhula with an open beer can in the face, allowing me to capitalize on Karhula’s misstep and roll him up for the pin and win. Sure, he got up and dropped both Teuvo and I with a Death Valley Driver afterwards, but my win was already in the history books, right in front of the most antagonistic crowd that I could ever imagine wrestling in front of.
My main event win was not only a win for StarBuck, it was a win for the entire Straight Pride cause. Where no one has the guts to stand up and make some noise for what they really believe in, should it deter from the ruling PC thought of the day, because they fear public sentiment and others’ public opinions so much, one man took the bull by the horns and led the charge. The man that took the bullets and arrows for everyone else, for those who didn’t have the guts to stand when called upon, that man stood tall in the end. Isn’t that what an anti-hero is? It sure as hell is in my book.
Here are some stellar clips from my match against Jessica Love as well as the other matches at Eurogames, filmed and edited by the talented Juha Sihtola of Mad-Cam!
Yesterday, the long-awaited feature film story about me, Spandex Sapiens, came out in Finnkino movie theaters across the country of Finland. To celebrate and promote this monumental occasion, FCF Wrestling held a 6-hour wrestle-thon, outdoors in downtown Helsinki, smack-dab in front of the city’s main movie theater, Tennispalatsi.
In the main event, to tie in to the Spandex Sapiens movie release, I fought against transsexual Jessica Love in a battle of both values and polar opposites, as Jessica is the main, free-thinking, liberal antagonist vs. my traditional, conservative, masculine prototype in the movie.
As I wrote in one of my latest blogs, I really believe that the people at large on a societal level will find themselves choosing a side in this movie and the themes and values systems presented therein. This was proven in blazing, vivid colors last night on the premises of Kampin Keskus, where the wrestling ring was set up in front of Tennispalatsi theater, when I got into the ring to take on Jessica Love.
Telling the truth, and having a whole audiences mindset turn against me. (photo: Aki Mäki)
I gave a heated and hearty promo prior to our match, where I chagrined over the lack of moral absolutes and black-and-white principles in our modern society. I challenged the crowd on hand to look into their souls and ask themselves if they really exemplified real masculinity as men, and real femininity as women, seeing how messed up our modern culture is in all its ambiguity. The people started to turn against me, almost as if they were programmed to do so. Brainwashed by the mass media and public sentiment of the day, the crowd became an angry mob. Someone told me afterwards, that they were afraid that someone from the audience would rush the ring amidst my match with Jessica Love.
Taking control of the match! (photo: Aki Mäki)
Jessica Love and I had a damn war of attrition (hell, I even penned the lyrics to a song by the same name by my thrash metal band Angel of Sodom!), in which we tore into each other with the kind of malicious intent that only two polar opposites could create! The ring was slippery as hell, as the sky began to sprinkle rain just as our match began. The canvas might as well have been an ice skating rink, making it damn hard to maneuver and get one’s timing down. It was risky all around, but the sheer personal nature of our battle overrode all else. The people present could certainly feel the tension in the air. It was as real as it gets, folks!
Balsara.net captures the raw emotion of the finish of our match!
In the end, I had such trouble getting my footing because of the rain, that Jessica was able to crack me with a nasty enzugiri, which put me down on the mat. Jessica climbed the ropes to come off the top onto me with a senton splash, which I was able to roll out of the way from. I then immediately hit my trademark spike piledriver for the inevitable pinfall and win.
The audience erupted in boos and jeers. The people had spoken. A virgin wrestling audience, peoples of all different nationalities, chose a side. They went with the liberal, free-thinking brainwashing that they have been programmed to believe. Somehow, I am not surprised. As the referee in our match, Teemu, stated a few weeks ago on social media in regards to my person, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
This is only the beginning. Just as the theater run for Spandex Sapiens has just begun this weekend, so the issue between myself and Jessica Love goes on. The next time we meet in the ring, it will be in front of Jessica Love’s own LGBT demographic. On July 1 in Helsinki, an event called Eurogames will take place in the city center. It’s a huge sporting event, in conjunction with the annual Pride parade in Helsinki.
There could be no greater heel than StarBuck when it comes to this event. There could be no more sympathetic a babyface than Jessica Love when it comes to this event. When the gates open to the public at 12:00 on July 1, right out of the blocks, this war of attrition gets a second chapter. Jessica Love vs. StarBuck takes center stage at Eurogames, and it’s going to be a cold day in Hell-sinki for my transgender opponent when he/she goes down again, only this time, in front of his/her own people.
StarBuck vs. Jessica Love – chapter 2 – Eurogames, Helsinki – July 1
For anyone who missed the mass media exposure for Spandex Sapiens in Finland this week, here are a plethora of links to check out!
Without further ado, here is the official theatrical trailer for Spandex Sapiens, the movie about Yours Truly that comes out in Finnkino theaters nationwide on June 17 in Finland.
Also, keep your eyes peeled for a huge feature article on the movie and myself, appearing soon in Finland’s largest newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, and there will also be a separate video segment with me on their website.
Be sure to go out and see the movie on the premiere week! Let’s make history in the Nordics, and from here, spread it to the rest of the world!
For over a century now, professional wrestling has given spectators and fans worldwide a platform to voice their opinions and choose their idols and heroes, and conversely, choose their villains and anti-heroes.
For anyone who has ever seen the A&E channel’s “The Unreal Story of Pro Wrestling” piece from the late-’90s, there is a quote in there about the psychological impact of pro wrestling as a catharsis for the average person in modern society, offering a conduit to purge the soul through the role of the “face” or “heel” counterparts in any given wrestling match. Pro wrestling is the last bastion of living folklore in a world that has arguably forgotten their heritage and roots, especially in the day and age of multi-culturalism, TV and film.
In pro wrestling, the viewer or fan is compelled to pick a side, living vicariously through the protagonist as they battle against the antagonist, and thereby being able to dispel any possible antipathies or angst that they might have. It’s one of the last, great open forums of unconstrained and uncensored debate in today’s increasingly politically correct environment, where free speech is being drawn back and slowly, but surely, eradicated.
World culture and the media slant these days pushes the message hard that we must all be tolerant and “just get along”, as has been seen in Europe of late with the mass influx of refugees flooding the continent, along with current hot topics, such as transgender toilets in public schools and other institutions. This same pitch has also crossed moral and ethical boundaries, with the gay rights and LGBT movement aggressively moving forward through Hollywood and TV culture at large, where formerly-noted minority groups are now not only given a regular platform, but they are pushed into the faces of everyone at large, whether you agree with it or not. And you, regardless of your personal beliefs, are supposed to simply stand there and “accept” it. Be tolerant. Silently agree. But don’t you dare publicly disagree! Because if you do, the masses, who have largely been programmed by the media at large to think a certain way, will blackball you and ruin your good name! Yeah, this is the paranoia and spirit of the day that we have arrived at. People are damn afraid to speak anything that isn’t in line with the generally-accepted thought of the day.
Jessica Love, seen here, representing the transgender community at Helsinki Pride
The great thing about pro wrestling is that we all don’t have to simply “just get along”. No, if you have a differing opinion than the person sitting next to you, you are free to voice that opinion loud and proud. You can boo and cheer who you want! You can freely choose a side to stand on. Whatever resonates with your values system, you can pick that side and roll with it. Let the warring parties fight it out in the ring and back whichever one tickles your fancy!
The “babyface”, or “face”, has traditionally been the good guy in pro wrestling jargon. They represent the noble, honorable virtues and morals held to be true. The “heels”, on the other hand, represent the bad guys. They have traditionally been the unscrupulous bastards, who are only in business for themselves and they use the collective sentiment of the given day as their personal roll of toilet paper.
Now, all this brings me to a promo that I held yesterday at Helsinki’s Pressa Club during FCF Wrestling’s Wrestling Show Live! event, after transgender fan favorite Jessica Love and Finnish wrestling veteran Stark Adder proved victorious in a tag team outing. I took the mic and proceeded to cut a verbal message to Jessica Love, who is my counterpart in just about every conceivable way, and also happens to be my main antagonist in this summer’s theater release of Spandex Sapiens, the movie about my life and pro wrestling travels around the globe. While Spandex Sapiens is not a wrestling movie in and of itself, showcasing a much wider array of topics and meat on the bone besides pro wrestling, it does serve as a very open platform over the polarizing discussion of modern, overt liberalism vs. old school, conservative values.
This morning, when I opened my Facebook, I saw a private message for a certain wrestling fan asking why I opted to go heel yesterday. I simply sat back, amused at this estimation.
Since when did standing for traditional values become a negative thing and something to be frowned upon? Since when did being a real man, in the most traditional sense – standing for solid, unmoving principles – become a heelish thing to do? Maybe I’m the one missing the boat here, but I just don’t get it.
I have not changed my views, opinions or message during my entire pro wrestling and media career. Since 1999, when I first began getting media exposure to a larger degree, I have kept the same image and approach, regardless of what has been “in”, “hip” or “pop” at any given period in time. I have stemmed the tide, stayed the course, and been consistent. I have not wavered or changed my tune because of deriding opinions or attacks on my character. Even back in 2006, when my Stoner Kings band released our Fuck The World album, I/we got blasted by certain medias and people, who completely shat all over our piece of business, but even then, I stood my ground and stood tall. Nothing has changed. In my estimation, this the measure of a man. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. Stand for what you believe in, regardless of who is against you or whatever is the popular consent of the day.
In the last Rambo movie from 2008, Sly Stallone’s John Rambo character summed up the message of the film in one, single, iconic line: “Die for nothing, or live for something.”
Me personally, I have done just that. I have stood for traditional, masculine values in an ever-changing world and vastly convoluted age. I have offered the iconic view of masculine forte, for better or worse. It’s been the kind of prototype that kids could look up to, as I have heard several parents attest to. I believe the man is the head of the household, the one that leads the dance with the girl, the one that takes charge and carries his own responsibility and stands like a rock for what he believes in. Take it or leave it! I make no apology.
So therefore, I come back to my promo regarding Jessica Love and the theater debut of my story, Spandex Sapiens, on June 17 this summer across Finland and Sweden. Yeah, right up here in this neck of the woods, where PC thought reigns supreme and the gospel of tolerance of all kinds is espoused over and beyond reason. And I find it peculiar, that my movie comes out just before Pride Week in Finland, where the exact demographic that “heels” on my kind of beliefs and traditional values will have it’s annual day in the sun.
Jessica Love represents everything that Pride Week is about. Jessica is the perfect posterboy/girl/person for the LGBT community and exudes the liberal sentiment of our current state of society, especially here in the Nordics. In pro wrestling, especially for fans in the southern, capital region of Finland, along with a plethora of Swedes in cities like Gothenburg, Malmö and Stockholm, all find Jessica Love to be a sympathetic “babyface” to rally behind. Indeed, you would be hard-pressed to find a more complete opposite of myself than Jessica Love.
So this summer, take a stand. Choose a side! If you believe in the man being the head of the house, and still believe that a man must be king in his own home, leading the charge and taking responsibility, standing where others fall, then I welcome you to my side. Stand with me and represent classic, traditional masculinity! If the Russel Crowe movie The Gladiator rang bell with you, then my call goes out to you!
If you vehemently oppose my train of thought or simply cannot stomach traditional societal roles, then I welcome you to join the opposing side with Jessica Love, where the colors of the rainbow shine brightly.
If being a real man in the classic, iconic, traditional sense makes StarBuck a heel, then so be it. I have no misgivings and no regrets.
Get your tickets to Spandex Sapiens around the country at Finnkino theates HERE. It all starts on June 17!!!
On Friday, June 17, the day that Spandex Sapiens hits Finnkino movie theaters across Finland, there will also be a huge pro wrestling one day festival outdoors in downtown Helsinki in front of Tennispalatsi Finnkino theater. Matches will start at 12:00 noon, with a series of three matches at the top of every hour, until 20:00 when the main event and apropo theme of the Spandex Sapiens movie takes place, as I wrestle against Jessica Love in the last slot of this eight-hour-plus action extravaganza! Plus, remember folks, outdoors it’ll be free to the public!
StarBuck vs. Jessica Love — LIVE on June 17 outdoors in Helsinki at Tennispalatsi @ 20:00
There is history in the making here in Finland currently, as we speak. A very ambitious effort is underway, in the form of a film project named Rendel, which will be the first-ever Finnish superhero movie and in the same breath, the first-ever action movie out of this country also!
Slated for a late 2016/early 2017 pending theater release, Rendel is the vision of writer/director/producer Jesse Haaja, who heads up an advertising agency named Haaja & Arwo Design Ltd. out of the city of Mikkeli.
I was signed for a key role in Rendel, after being approached by Haaja to play the part of a Russian mercenary, who is enlisted in the film to snub out the lead hero. The filming of the movie is in its final stages now, and one week ago, I traveled up to Kajaani to lay down my parts in the film. I have to say that I had an absolute blast, especially doing the fight scenes, which were a breeze to pull off!
I really believe that movie goers will be totally blown away by the visual dynamics in Rendel, as Jesse Haaja has assembled some of the most talented people in the Finnish film industry to collaborate with on this landmark project. The genius of the camera angles, the cuts and the color scheme of the movie is on par with anything out of Hollywood from the same superhero genre, if not better and more intriguing. Take a look at some of these movie stills from the production process by photographer Juuli Aschan to better understand what to expect…
The one thing that I really have to credit Jesse Haaja and the other producers of Rendel for is the fact that they chose to cast a completely new set of faces for the line-up of this movie, in lieu of the same old names that seem to pop up in nearly every Finnish movie that comes out. Haaja and Co. went after new talents, people like myself, Renne Korppila, Sami Huhtala, Kris Gummerus and Rami Rusinen, in addition to newer international faces like Bianca Bradey of Australia, Sheila Shah from the USA and Johnny Vivash from Ireland.
Take a look at this stunning teaser trailer for the movie and try to hold your breath in wait afterward!
Last night in Helsinki we almost had a tragedy take place. FCF Wrestling held it’s 10th anniversary of Finland’s equivalent of Wrestlemania, Talvisota X (Winter War 10). With 500 frantic fans showing up to our mega-show, we had nine matches slated on the card, with the FCF title bout between champion Valentine and challenger King Kong Karhula in the main event.
However, earlier yesterday, we got word that my opponent for the evening, Chaos of Denmark, had been delayed in Copenhagen. His SAS flight had left for Helsinki and had been turned back after take-off due to a fuel shortage. SAS rerouted him through Prague later in the day, only to make it to Helsinki airport for 22:30!
Now just me personally, talking not only for myself but for the fans on hand, and in light of the significance of my imprint on the Finnish pro wrestling scene in general, as the pioneer of the sport in our country, for my match to have been left off the card of this 10th anniversary show would have been an all-time low.
Back in 2006, when the first, inaugural Winter War took place in Vantaa, Finland, I was the main event against Bernard Vandamme of Belgium for the Eurostars European championship. At that event, I won the European title for the first time in my storied career, putting Finnish pro wrestling and FCF as a company on the continental wrestling industry map.
The night I took the European title off of Bernard Vandamme in 2006
Now, 10 years later, the boys that were in the opening match of the very first Winter War in 2006 found themselves at the top of the card, in the advertised main event of Winter War / Talvisota X this year, a decade later. Valentine and King Kong Karhula had one hell of a match last night, which stands to be applauded on all levels, and I was amazed at the public reaction to the newly-turned Karhula as a babyface. It seems that the Finnish fans really vouched for him and have taken him as a fan favorite fore-runner. Pitted against one of the greatest heels ever – if not THE greatest heel ever – out of the Nordics, Valentine, both challenger and champion tore the house down with a multi-faceted, highly intricate and masterful match. Valentine retained his strap, but Karhula won over the entire audience with a moral victory.
About half-way through Valentine’s match with Karhula, Chaos arrived at the Töölö Sports Hall, rushed to the venue via taxi to make it for our advertised match. He had changed into his wrestling gear during the ride to town, and he was primed and ready to go 15 minutes before our match went on. Talk about a near-miss!
My Eye of the Tiger theme music began to play and I wondered if Chaos and I could follow the stellar main event match set by Valentine and Karhula. Still, as a 22-year veteran, I knew I could be certain of what I could produce. I was also dead-certain of what my opponent could produce. We had an issue to attend to, a rivalry that crossed national boundaries. I wasn’t expecting a high-flying match or a technical showcase. No, what I was expecting was a WAR. And a war I got!
Chaos lambasted me from behind with a steel chair from the blindside as I made my ring entrance, beating me six shades of senseless before I even knew what was going on! The man tore into me, literally like a pit bull, unrelenting and vicious in his assault. I found myself literally fighting for my life in there. There was no surcease, no slowing down, as Chaos just kept the pressure and heat on me.
Yet, I wasn’t succumbing. I wasn’t laying down or staying down. This was Winter War 10, dammit! Winter War, my personal brainchild and concept, which has since been branded and recognized as the most important pro wrestling event annually in the country of Finland!
Chaos blasts me with a mean uppercut! (photo: Timo Muilu)
My adrenaline started kicking in. I struggled hard to clear my head of the cobwebs of Chaos’ vicious assault. I got in one punch… then another… and another. I rallied hard, fighting back with the intestinal fortitude of a dozen Finnish war veterans that fought hard to retain Finland’s independence in 1940. I wasn’t just fighting for my professional wrestling heritage in this country, I was fighting for every person at the Töölö Sports Hall that rallied with me. Every punch and blow that I could land was delivered with the force and emotional investment of the people that believed in me and my personal contribution to pro wrestling in Finland since 2003. All of a sudden, my fight became larger than life itself in that moment.
A brief rally that didn’t last too long, but did the damage intended! (photo: Timo Muilu)
I finished the first Winter War with my head held high back in 2006, and I wasn’t willing to leave the ring last night with anything less than that same feeling and raw emotion. I finally nailed Chaos in the face with a boot as he charged me in the corner. With the Dane stung, I blasted him with a second rope clothesline that would have done former WWF world champion Bret “Hitman” Hart proud.
After a spirited last-ditch, desperation comeback, I got caught out on the outside of the ring by Chaos, as he ran my kidneys hard into the ring apron. Rolling me back into the ring, Chaos hit his trademark moonsault and damn near crushed my legs on the landing. It would be hard to kick out, with my thighs knotted up, but kick out I did!
Chaos hits a mean moonsault on my fallen corpus (photo: Xeniya Balsara)
Chaos picked me up for a side back breaker and then ascended the ropes for another huge moonsault, which he hit perfectly across my chest cavity, knocking the wind out of me. He went for the cover, but just barely, I managed to kick out once again.
At this point, Chaos seemed to be scrambling for ideas, so he went after the steel chair that he used before the start of the match to beat me senseless. Bringing the chair to the ring, he prepared to blast me with it, but I hit a superkick into the chair, sending the steel into Chaos’ face and knocking him senseless for a change.
Now was my time. It was now or never. I hoisted Chaos for my trademark spike piledriver and dropped him with the very maneuver that has put away competition all over the world during my wrestling travels in 20 countries worldwide. But… he kicked out!!!
My piledriver has a match-ending odds on favorite rate of about 98% (photo: Xeniya Balsara)
I was stunned. Hardly ever had anyone… anyone at all… kicked out of my spike piledriver. In Japan, “The Japanese Buzzsaw” Tajiri managed to kick out of my piledriver once, and once only. On that night, Tajiri became the FCF champion back in 2010. But such are so scarce occasions, that they only happen once in a blue moon, or perhaps, as with most, only once in a lifetime.
I blasted Chaos with yet another spike piledriver and that was finally enough to put away the tough bastard at Winter War 10, as the audience counted with every slap of the referee’s hand against the mat, as Chaos’ shoulders were pinned for the 1-2-3. And my goodness, the sound of the pop that the live audience emitted at that point could have been registered on the Richter Scale!
What could have been a disastrous night on many levels turned into one of the most satisfying and memorable matches of my 22+ year pro wrestling career. Thanks to everyone who was on hand, and for those who weren’t, there is a DVD of this event in the works, which will be out in the coming months for sale!
The FCF Wrestling veteran crew that has taken part in every single Talvisota / Winter War to 2006 -2016: (left to right) King Kong Karhula, StarBuck, Valentine, Stark Adder (photo: Satu Tapaturma)
A heated rivalry has been brewing for over a half a year now between myself and former Danish wrestling champion Chaos. This issue stems back to last summer, back on August 22 in Randers, Denmark, where I was scheduled and booked to face Chaos in the first-ever cage match of my 20+ year pro wrestling career. This was a landmark for me personally, something that I was highly looking forward to, until the rug got pulled out from underneath me.
In a baffling turn of events, Chaos lobbied with his DPW (Danish Pro Wrestling) organization to get his scheduled match on August 22 with me changed to him vs. Ken Anderson of TNA Wrestling. It seemed that Chaos opted to let his ego do the talking when the situation presented itself, and thus, as a “consolation prize”, DPW sent me into the Anderson-Chaos match as a special guest referee. This was a true slap in the face to me both personally and professionally.
So in a case like this, what do you think I opted to do? You guessed it: I took matters into my own hands and righted a small iota of personal wrongs with some vigilante justice. I refused to count the pinfall when Chaos had Anderson down and out after a moonsault and then I proceeded to superkick Chaos’ teeth down his throat, enabling an easy win for the former Mr. Kennedy of WWE.
This didn’t sit well with Chaos, and I certainly can understand that. But then again, he drew first blood in all of this by pulling out of our scheduled match. He should have been well-prepared for what happened, after his organization put me in there as a referee for his match. He could have lobbied to have me out of the picture completely, and just hope that I didn’t take offence and attempt to do something about it. But no. Chaos walked willingly right into the lion’s den and got what was coming to him.
So now, it’s become personal. Chaos has a stick up his ass about the way that I handled my business, and I am less than happy about how he handled his business initially with me. So what does he do? Chaos sets up a couple of crowbars to take me out and make a hit, performing his dirty work for him. Norwegian tag team champions Bjorn Sem and Hannibal dished out a very painful beatdown on my person back in January following a wrestling show at Helsinki’s Pressa Nightclub, as you can see in the footage below.
So once Chaos had sent me his receipt for what happened last summer in Denmark via the Norwegians, I thought to organize a little receipt of my own to the SOB a few weeks back when he worked a card in Sweden. Take a look…
So here we are, and eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. I issued a challenge for Chaos to meet me, man to man, at FCF Wrestling’s Talvisota X (Winter War 10) event in Helsinki, Finland on March 19 at the Töölö Sports Hall to settle this thing between us. No more messengers, no more “telescope” receipts. This time, it’ll be just he and I, inside of the squared circle, and the fists will do the talking that night. I’ll even be a good sport and let Chaos present any stipulation he wants for our match, should he have the brains for it. All I know is that on March 19, it’s going to be two time-tested, ornery veterans against one another, with a collective amount of over 40 years of experience between us, tearing apart the ring that night.
May the best man walk out of Winter War with his hand held high.
Just a week back I wrestled in Russia, which was a huge landmark opportunity for me. In doing so, I finally capped off 20 countries in pro wrestling.
Looking back on my career, I have been blessed to see the world, visit four continents as a wrestler, become a name and drawing card in several promotions and stake out a legacy in the annals of wrestledom as we know it.
Russia presented a unique opportunity for me to work in the biggest country in the world. The Independent Wrestling Federation (IWF) booked me to appear in Moscow on February 27 against a wrestler of theirs named “Big Sexy Papa” Ruslan.
Ruslan put up a good fight, but he was nowhere in the physical condition that I was, and I ended up trouncing him pretty damn good by the time the dust settled. The Russian fans took to me like a fish in water, which made for a welcome reception to the former Soviet superpower.
Judging from the public response to our match, it seems like there is a rematch brewing in the booking sheets for me to return to Russia and once again tangle another round with Ruslan, who now has a much better picture of what he is up against. Heck, I even took his girlfriend and carried her out of the venue over my shoulder, like a true caveman, adding insult to injury. So man up, Ruslan! What are you going to do differently the next time that you and I meet in Moscow?
Yet for me, conquering Russia was a great way to celebrate my 20th country in the game!
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