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.
Here at the end of 2017 as the New Year is about to turn a new page for all of us, I reflect back on what the past 12 months have meant for me personally and professionally.
I have to say from the bottom of my heart that this past year has been one of the best overall years for me on record, especially in terms of my professional wrestling career and movie actor ambitions. I once stated that if I could do with my life what I dare dream, it would be to become a world-traveled professional wrestler, a touring rock artist and a movie actor. Here, at the age of 44, I have achieved all of those things and more. That is certainly something to be proud of, and I can only look to make the good things in life prosper and grow in the fact of each new challenge as life rolls on.
2017 saw me claim my 21st country in pro wrestling, that being Pakistan, this past May. Pakistan is about as exotic as a location as it gets, and the treatment we got from the local PWE promoters was top-notch. Five-star hotels, bodyguards and even a presidential suite were all in the offering, as we were treated like royalty by fans and organizers alike. I was the only wrestler on the international roster out of the Nordics.
With the big boss of PWE in Pakistan!
Getting the upper hand on Chris “Bambikiller” Raaber in Lahore, Pakistan
My long-awaited autobiography, Battleground Valhalla, also came out in May through Crowbar Press in the USA, a highly-esteemed publisher of wrestling autobiographies, whose earlier releases include Donnie Fargo, Ole Anderson and Stand Hansen to name a few. My book has sold great to this date, as I’ve even mailed out a ton of signed copies to folks far and wide who’ve asked for personalized copies. My story also got released through Kindle on Amazon as a digital e-book, which was icing on the cake!
2017 was the year that I was named the inaugural Valhalla Nordic Wrestling Champion by ’80s pop sensation Samantha Fox and STHLM Wrestling out of Sweden. After being lauded the honor of interim champion in (again) May, I went on to defeat a very capable up-and-coming young star in Timmy Force on July 8 in Stockholm to become the undisputed, first Valhalla Nordic champ. This match was highly-praised by one of the heads of WWE, who was on hand, front-and-center ringside to witness this 30-minute classic that will go down as quite possibly the greatest match to date on Swedish soil.
Timmy Force falls to my world-famous finisher, the jumping spike piledriver in Stockholm (photo: Fredrik Streiffert)
2017 was the year that I ventured into the studio with my reformed Stoner Kings band, recording new material after a decade of absence. We even filmed the first-ever music video we ever did with the band for a single called Cro-Magnon, which was a very proud moment for me as the founder of Stoner Kings.
2017 was the year that I took three unprecedented vacations, something I had never done in that number per annum, in Morocco, Romania’s mountains, Spain and Thailand. Thanks to my wife, Diana, for arranging these trips, as she’s quite the tour organizer and could easily be a commercial tour guide if she chose to do so.
2017 was also the year that I captured my fifth Finnish wrestling championship. On December 2 in Helsinki at Finland’s biggest annual pro wrestling spectacular, Talvisota XII, I unseated Juhana “King Kong” Karhula in a 25+ minute mat classic, becoming a double-champion this year.
StarBuck – FCF champion for the fifth time, December 2017 (photo: Marko Simonen)
2017 also saw me featured in two ground-breaking movie releases: It Came From The Desert and Rendel. Both films have been sold worldwide now and have been dubbed in multiple, foreign languages like Japanese, German and Spanish. My roles in both movies were incredibly intriguing and important characters, both of which for I was able to channel my vast pro wrestling experience into.
My Russian mercenary character in Rendel has arguably the best fight scene in the whole movie
All in all, I can only be thankful for the awesome year that was 2017. Even as a personal trainer and voice-over speaker, I accumulated several new clients and commissions. As a graphic artist, several customers utilized my talents as a traditional illustrator. With my voice, I was able to parlay my talents as a guest ring announcer at various boxing events, in front of new audiences.
The cover of a children’s coloring book for Vesileppis Sport & Spa hotel in Finland, featuring Yours Truly as the human lead.
I have said that for some unexplained, divine reason, particularly good things happen to me in seven year installments. This year was one such waypoint. My previous seven year boon was in 2010, when I debuted as a professional wrestler in Japan – my career goal – where I became a star on the national stage overnight. Seven years prior to that in 2003, I started the entire professional wrestling phenomenon in Finland, bringing the fighting art form to this neck of the Nordics and teaching it to the very first class of Finnish students in history. Seven years before that, in 1996, I moved to Finland from my homeland of Canada to begin rewriting personal life history and create a legacy which even I had no inkling of, nor the its magnitude, as the years would roll on. That said, here at the very end of 2017, I can say with all humility and honesty, that I am the most accomplished and successful professional wrestler in history to this day out of Northern Europe.
I eagerly await to see what 2018 brings. While the world at large seems to be headed into a maelstrom of uncertainty, I can honestly say that the Good Lord above has blessed my life and continues to do so. All respect the Big Man upstairs. For me, the proof is in the pudding!
Well, ladies and gents, it seems that 2017 is turning out to be one of my better years in the wrestling game.
Firstly, my long-awaited autobiography Battleground Vahalla came out through Crowbar Press, and it has since been released on Kindle also! This book has been selling great, and I am stoked about its success!
Shawn Khan, the Director of the Middle East and USA for Pro Wrestling Entertainment Pakistan, whom I wrestled for in May of this year, mugs with my autobiography!
Whereas this summer, I became the first-ever Valhalla Nordic Wrestling Champion, a title covering four Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark), I also find myself as the number one contender for the Finnish FCF Wrestling championship title, with a title shot pending and upcoming on December 2 against current FCF titleholder Juhana “King Kong” Karhula at the biggest annual event in Finnish pro wrestling, Talvisota XII.
As of late this autumn, I’ve traveled on several occasions to Germany to wrestle, doing very well for myself there against the top European competition, against the likes of Pascal Spalter of Germany and James Mason of England. Just this past weekend, I toppled Native American superstar and former WWE name Tatanka in Delmenhorst, Germany.
I had one hell of a technical match in Hannover, Germany on October 14 against POW Intercontinental champion James Mason.
On November 11, I will travel to Wittorf, Germany to wrestle a mammoth of a man in Voodoo from the UK at DWA Harley Night XVII, and on November 25, I travel to Moscow, Russia to fight at Wrestliada 2017, which is the biggest Russian pro wrestling event of the year on an annual basis.
In addition, I have some marquee gigs with my band Stoner Kings coming up on November 17 in Helsinki in support of Swedish heavy rock powerhouse Sparzanza at Nosturi’s Alakerta venue and on November 18 in Tallinn, Estonia at Rockstars, where Stoner Kings will be joined by Redneck Rampage from Estonia and Hold from Finland.
Stoner Kings are back on the attack, with monsterously potent new music soon coming out! (photo: Marko Simonen)
Right now, I am in the studio with both my Stoner Kings and Crossfyre bands, as we have new music coming out at the end of this year also!
In closing, get this: the It Came From The Desert movie (based on the famous 1989 Amiga video game) that I play a key role in has now been sold worldwide, as far as Japan! Add to that the fact that Finland’s first-ever superhero action movie Rendel has been scooping up tons of international acclaim and licenses, and I’d feel comfortable saying the snowball of momentum is super-hot right now!
This past weekend, some major developments were made over in Sweden, where the brass of STHLM Wrestling, along with European pop rock legend, Samantha Fox, came together to name Yours Truly as the interim Valhalla Nordic Wrestling Champion!
Samantha Fox vouches for StarBuck also!
I have to mention here, that when I was in my early-20’s, I had a large poster of Samantha Fox adorning my wall, much like many other strapping young lads at the time. She was the quintessential blonde babe and sex symbol of the 1980s before Pamela Anderson rolled into the picture and Baywatch caught on. Below is a pic of the poster I just mentioned, as I stumbled on this online. It’s one of her most popular poses and pics.
And here is one of her most popular – if not THE most popular – song that Samantha Fox ever released…
I am the first titleholder of this new Nordic championship, and the decision to crown me was based simply on my longevity and standing as the most successful and acclaimed professional wrestler in history out of Northern Europe.
On July 8 in Stockholm, wrestlers from Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden will ascend upon the capital to do warfare and when the dust settles, the undisputed Valhalla Nordic Wrestling Champion will rise. Trust me, I heartily plan on that man being me. “The Rebel” StarBuck.
A bevy of Nordic wrestling promotions are all sending their top guns to the event on July 8: Norway’s NWF, Halmstad Wrestling out of Sweden, GBG Wrestling out of Sweden, SWS Wrestling out of Sweden, Bodyslam Pro Wrestling out of Denmark, DPW out of Denmark, FCF Wrestling out of Finland, in addition to STHLM Wrestling, the host organization, will have their best wrestlers present to compete at this mega-event.
Me personally, I find it somewhat peculiar, that my autobiography about my life in pro wrestling, Battleground Valhalla, came out just a week ago, and now, one week later, the Nordic Wrestling Championship is bestowed upon me.
The Nordic Wrestling Championship is sponsored by Valhalla herb liquor, which is produced by Finnish alcohol manufacturer, Koskenkorva. Kudos to the Finns for dipping their proverbial oar in the great cauldron that is professional wrestling – the Sport of Kings and the King of Sports!
Now, bow to the new King – the “God of Northern European Wrestling”, like Yoshihiro Tajiri coined me in Japan … “The Rebel” StarBuck, your new interim Valhalla Nordic Wrestling Champion!
Good grief, it has taken a looooonnnnggggg time to get my autobiography finished and finally out, but alas, it is now HERE!
This is a project that I started in June of 2010, while on tour with my southern rock band Crossfyre in Europe, as something to pass the time and just finally get underway. In truth, I had been contemplating writing a book for a long time by that period already. I figured thousands of miles spent on the road inside a tour van would be a good place to start, if for nothing else, then to kill the boredom and time. It was a smart move.
The more I reminisced and wrote, the more I quickly began to realize that this would be a lengthy project. Indeed, I had lived a life of which many only dream. Heck, I’d lived more up to that point than a dozen other people that I could name off the top of my head! I had a full wellspring of memories and happenings to draw literary water from.
So I wrote … and wrote … and wrote. Up until the summer of 2015, when once again, I found myself in the same tour van with the same band, back in central Europe, with a laptop at my disposal and the tail-end of my autobiography left to pen.
So much had happened in five years between starting the book and finishing the book: I had become a breakout superstar in Japan, I had gotten married, I had added several countries to my list of countries that I had grappled in, I had recorded new albums with my bands, I had created album covers and characters for the most successful children’s heavy metal band in history, etc!
My story was sure to inspire and wow audiences far and wide, I was sure of that. I went to every length to make a truly memorable saga out of my life story. Being the perfectionish I am, it truly was worth taking my time and fleshing everything out over five years. I went back and re-wrote certain segments, adding to memories as they came to mind, and generally, just re-worded parts here and there to make them more interesting.
This was originally supposed to be the cover photo for my book, taken by master lensman, Jarmo Katila. Over time, I came to choose the current pic of the published book cover, taken by Marko Simonen.
I am super proud of the opus that I now have in my hands, entitled Battleground Valhalla! It’s my testament to the world. My showcase of the path of the lone wolf, who ventured out into the world and made something truly remarkable of his life, becoming the most acclaimed and successful pro wrestler in history out of the Nordics and Northern Europe in general.
Many of my top opponents and other key players throughout the years in my wrestling adventures and escapades have written inserts for my book, giving you, the reader, a truly unique perspective into who Michael “StarBuck” Majalahti truly is: “The Japanese Buzzsaw” Tajiri, Steve Corino, Amin Asikainen, Akira Nogami, Michael Kovac and a plethora of other notables have their testimonials in my tome.
starbuck.fi 