FCF Wrestling |

Posts Tagged ‘FCF Wrestling’

First Blood and the Winter War

Posted: March 8, 2016 in Entertainment, Professional Wrestling
Tags: cage match, Chaos Denmark, FCF Wrestling, Finland, first blood, Helsinki, Ken Anderson, Mr. Kennedy, Pro Wrestling, StarBuck, Talvisota X, TNA, Winter War 10, WWE

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.

The Veteran’s League

Posted: January 9, 2016 in Entertainment, Life, Professional Wrestling, Social commentary
Tags: Chris Jericho, Dave Finlay, FCF, FCF Wrestling, Finland, Helsinki, Keiji Muto, Lance Storm, Pro Wrestling, Ricky Vendetta, StarBuck, Stark Adder, The Undertaker, Triple H, Valentine, Wrestlemania, WWE

One week from today, it’ll be time to lace up the proverbial boots and step into the pro wrestling ring for the first match of 2016. Just this past week, on January 7, I passed my 22-year mark since my first live wresting match as an active competitor. Now, here in 2016, this old dog is still alive and kicking.

Hell, I’m sure there are some that would just wish an old warhorse like me would die out and fade away, but that just ain’t happening. Not yet. I will be the one to dictate when and where, barring serious injury or an Act of God.

There are days that I wonder how long I will want to keep up actively wrestling. There is a limit to all things, a bump card that keeps filling up, and every year, I just have to find a way to wrestle smarter and navigate better. It’s a challenge, but one that I embrace. After all, at heart, I am a fighter.

At 42-years of age, I look at many contemporaries in our business and size myself up against them. Old friends like Chris Jericho are a mere couple years older than me, and still in good stride, able to compete at the highest level. My old wrestling coach Lance Storm of Storm Wrestling Academy in Calgary, Canada, gets in the ring daily with his wrestling students and has actual matches against them to help them improve, and Lance is three years my senior. Heck, when I lost the SMASH championship title to Dave “Fit” Finlay in 2011 in Tokyo, the legendary Irishman was just over 50 at that point, and he ran me ragged!

Dave Finlay was an absolute beast inside of that ring past the age of 50!

Alas, here in 2016, I sit at my desktop computer, writing this blog, and I ponder my own situation. I’ve been at this grappling game for a good number of years now, putting in the miles, flying here and there, up against the best competition around the globe. I look at a guy like Keiji Muto in Japan, a man whom I look up to greatly for his legacy and longevity in our business, and see how beat up his knees are past the age of 50 now. I think of guys like Triple H, in his mid-40s now, wrestling a very limited schedule, with only a few shots a year at most. And then there is The Undertaker, who continues to hang on, also grappling a mere few times a year, as everyone asks when his last Wrestlemania moment will be.

As a veteran, it’s hard to hang it up, because at the heart of it all, we are all fans of this game. Look at Terry Funk, the legendary old NWA World champion and hardcore wrestling legend. He could never exorcise the wrestler out of his system, and the number of his announced “retirements” has been baffling. That’s because Terry Funk loves pro wrestling. Just like the other veterans out there, who refuse to die out and fade away.

I recall Bret “Hitman” Hart saying in his autobiography, that he never wanted anyone to see him wrestle as an old fart, past his due date. I can relate to that, as it becomes a matter of personal pride in your own legacy and accomplishments. You don’t want to be in a place where you are just a shell of what you used to be at your prime. As long as you can produce top-notch matches and carry your personal piece of business with your head held high, I say go. Don’t let anyone stop you.

And so it is in 2016, that 22 years into the pro wrestling game, I look at the date of January 16 at the Pressa Club in Helsinki. I look at the match I will have that night and the tag team partner that I am paired with that evening: Stark Adder.

Adder is another veteran, a year older than Yours Truly, but equally a warhorse of high fortitude and morale that keeps the flame alive. We’ve fought each other numerous times over the past decade, and we have nothing but the highest mutual respect for one another.

Now, on January 16, Adder and I will join forces to do battle with Adder’s former tag team partner and ex-protege, Ricky Vendetta, and his partner, FCF champion, Valentine. This is a huge tag match on paper, a monumental bout that will see Adder and Vendetta lock horns for the first time since Vendetta turned on his former mentor about a half-year ago.

I warmly welcome you all out to Helsinki on January 16 to see what very well may be deemed as “The Veteran’s League”, as we clash with the kind of opposition that will surely translate into a classic match at the Pressa Club in Helsinki, with a showtime start of 18:00 and doors opening at 17:30, tickets 20e/person.

Celebrating my movie premiere!

Posted: November 8, 2015 in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Professional Wrestling, Spandex Sapiens
Tags: FCF Wrestling, film, Jessica Love, King Kong Karhula, masculinity, movie, Night Visions Festival, Petrov, Pro Wrestling, role model, Spandex Sapiens, StarBuck, transsexual

After over six years since the initial shooting began for the trek that would become my story on the silver screen, Spandex Sapiens finally had it’s grand world premiere in Helsinki this past Thursday! And to be honest, what better place to hold the premiere than here in Finland, as the movie was funded with Finnish money and tells a tale about the pioneer of Finnish pro wrestling? Rather apropos. I would wager to say!

Today, I heard the good news that Spandex Sapiens had won the “Audience Favorite Award” at this year’s Night Visions film festival in Helsinki, which ends today. People genuinely seemed to be touched, moved or otherwise stirred by the movie, as I was witness to myself this past Thursday night, as I shook hands with movie goers after the premiere.

Having now seen the movie myself on the big screen, I must say that it truly is a powerful piece of cinema. Several people have told me the same thing, “It was much better than I initially expected”, which, after so long of a time in the making and having so much money put into it, shouldn’t be too much of a shock.

FCF afterparty wrestling show at Gloria, Helsinki, Finland.

I was especially proud to stand at the end of the movie, on stage with the producers, my family and a host of FCF wrestlers, for an open Q&A about the film itself. Viewers presented a plethora of questions, and one that that was directed toward my father, Taimo, specifically had an impact on me. Or moreso, my father’s answer to the question presented stirred me, as he said: “Michael said at one point that he wanted to become a role model for the young boys and teenagers of today. Not some ambiguous figure who wants to be half male and half female, but a true embodiment of solid masculinity.”

That statement, in and of itself, also spoke volumes of the movie itself, and the impact of my personality and character in the film. I was truly humbled to receive such high adulation from my own Dad in front of a host of strangers, acquaintances and friends alike. It felt like I had done something right in my life, especially the following day afterward. when I ran into an online article about a 100% increase in gender role confusion amongst today’s children.

All that said, I have seen a clear change in the social consciousness of our modern age, where the lines of clear gender roles are being stealthily erased. It is no longer accepted to call a spade a spade, or to have clear, dauntless black and white principles. The world has become a melting pot of grays, or perhaps thought otherwise, a mixture of all of the colors of the rainbow, as it were. Solid absolutes are being done away with, as people look to justify everything about their lives through relativism. The only problem is that when absolute truth is done away with, the foundation of one’s society ultimately crumbles. So there you have it, my brief moment of social commentary in the midst of this milestone of celebration.

FCF afterparty wrestling show at Gloria, Helsinki, Finland.

On the night of the movie premiere, following the Q&A, we had an afterparty wrestling show at Gloria Cultural Arena in Helsinki, where I faced my counterpart from the Spandex Sapiens film, transsexual wrestler Jessica Love. It was a damn good match, too, which was building to a classic, when the Musta Aukko (Black Hole) contingent of King Kong Karhula, “Executioner” Petrov, their manager Mr. Tapaturma and female cohort Julia Kyy all interfered. As the heels beat down Jessica and I, Karhula took the mic directly thereafter and spouted something about being sick and tired of seeing my face in the spotlight, and in addition, having no regard for Jessica Love, who Karhula boasted he had beaten to a pulp on countless occasions. Karhula blasted that now was his time, and that didn’t seem to sit all too well with his teammates.

FCF afterparty wrestling show at Gloria, Helsinki, Finland.

Jessica and I took advantage of the confusion amongst our foes’ ranks and laced into them with a counter assault, sending them out of the ring. I stepped up to the proverbial plate and challenged Petrov and Karhula to a tag team match right then and there against Jessica and myself, to which they eagerly accepted. What followed was a donnybrook that saw Jessica Love pin King Kong Karhula with a double-arm DDT after a timely superkick assist from Yours Truly. We put aside personal, philosophical differences to fight a common enemy and we came out on the winning end, which brings to mind something I have long held to be true: “I don’t have to like you to be able to do business with you.”

FCF afterparty wrestling show at Gloria, Helsinki, Finland.

Spandex Sapiens’ world premiere was just the beginning. From here, the film is sure to hit various international film festival stages and then get an official theater distribution release in Finland, come the spring of 2016!

All photos by Marko Simonen – www.markosimonen.com

Up against the best

Posted: October 12, 2015 in Entertainment, Professional Wrestling
Tags: Doug Williams, FCF Wrestling, festival, Jessica Love, movie, Night Visions, Nordic Fitness Expo, Pro Wrestling, Rumble in Rauma, Spandex Sapiens, StarBuck, Steinbolt

The past couple of weekends have been great wrestling extravaganzas here in Finland, featuring strong cards of internationally-flavored excitement and action.

On October 3 in the western coastal city of Rauma, I wrestled the UK’s top grappler Doug Williams (ex-TNA/ROH/NOAH star) in a truly classic, catch-as-catch can pro showdown between two vets of the game. I have to say, that I heartily enjoyed working against the ultra-talented Doug Williams, who is without question one of the premiere talents in Europe today in all of professional wrestling. Our match was technical, complex and very trying. In the end, Williams beat me fair and square, hitting his “Bombs Away” top rope kneedrop on me for the pinfall win, as I failed to kick out before the fatal three-count. I have no qualms in losing to a man the caliber of Williams, as this match could have gone either way, but on this night, Doug walked away with the victory and all my respect goes out to the man as a stellar athlete in our game. Check out these stellar pics of the match taken by FightSport magazine photographer, Marko Simonen!

This past weekend on October 9 in the city of Lahti, FCF Wrestling featured the official warm-up for the 2015 edition of the gigantic Nordic Fitness Expo, with a night of wrestling action at Ace Corner Finland. The motorcycle-themed restaurant setting was a truly special and unique, intimate place to hold the gig, as the spirit of Americana was alive and well in the confines of Ace Corner, which is part of the Finnish Motorcycle Museum (unique in the world, featuring the only Harley-Davidson ever produced in Japan, the Rikuo model from the first World War era). At this event, I was scheduled to face The Beast from Sweden, who is the reigning Swedish pro wrestling champion, a man whom I trained earlier this year. However, The Beast pulled out of our match – a true low blow – refusing to defend his title against me in our scheduled match, citing supposed restraints imposed on him by his sports supplement sponsor. In his stead, Gothenburg’s Steinbolt came to Lahti to face me in a Sweden vs. Finland encounter, which was spirited to say the least! After Steinbolt trash-talked the Finnish people and downplayed our country in a pre-match promo, I promised to make him scream for his life and tap out. And tap out is what he did, after I finally managed to lock him into a sharpshooter, after I thwarted his dropkick off the second rope, and thus I was able to pay homage to another great Canadian wrestling hero, Bret “Hitman” Hart.

StarBuck battles Steinbolt in Lahti in a battle of Finland vs. Sweden!

I have to say that I am truly excited about the next Finnish wrestling event, upcoming on Thursday evening, November 5 in Helsinki. This special weekday gig will be in conjunction with the world premiere of the Spandex Sapiens documentary drama movie, telling of my wrestling career and persona. This movie has been five years in the making, filmed on three different continents, across seven countries, and finally it is here. After much delay, the Night Visions movie festival in Helsinki will feature this slamming world premiere on the evening of November 5, after which the Spandex Sapiens Afterparty & Wrestling Show will take place at Gloria Cultural Arena in Helsinki.

By the way, the artwork on this year’s Night Visions poster was done by me!

In the Spandex Sapiens film, my main counterpart and antagonist is Finnish transsexual wrestler Jessica Love, who represents the liberal, free-thinking spirit of our modern age, while I represent the traditional role of conservative masculinity and black and white absolutes. It’s a major clash of ideals and values, in addition to personas, as Spandex Sapiens is set to really rattle a few cages and I am sure that the critics will have a field day with the powerful viewpoints expressed herein. But hey, it doesn’t matter what they say about you, as long as they get the name right! On the evening of November 5 as the wrestling action heats up at Gloria Cultural Arena, Yours Truly battles it out one more time with Jessica Love to honor the elements of the movie itself. Make plans to be there for this historical evening!

A veteran rivalry

Posted: August 26, 2015 in Entertainment, Professional Wrestling
Tags: FCF Wrestling, festival, Helsinki, Pro Wrestling, Ricky Vendetta, Snacky Slam, StarBuck, Stark Adder, veteran, We Love the 90s

This coming Saturday, August 29 in Helsinki, FCF Wrestling and the Snacky fast food franchise will hold the last installment of SNACKY SLAM – the finale in a four-show series over this past summer in the capital region of Finland – right next to Kalasatama in the Sörnäinen suburb of Helsinki. Right next door, during this final SNACKY SLAM event, the Kalasatama premises will host something called the We Love the ’90s festival. The SNACKY SLAM card takes place at 14:00 this Saturday upcoming, with a huge attendance expected flowing in from the festival.

In the main event of this grand finale SNACKY SLAM card, I will be facing Finnish ring veteran, Stark Adder. It was Adder to whom I lost the Finnish wrestling championship in May 2006 after my first reign as champion, dating back to my tournament final win over Adder in October 2005.

Just over a week and a half ago at the SNACKY SLAM event in the Niittykumpu suburb of Espoo, I faced Adder again for the first time in a long time. We had one hell of a dandy match, which was sabotaged by Ricky Vendetta, who had just recently broken up his Constrictors tag team with Adder, turning on his former mentor and going his own way. In Espoo, Ricky Vendetta attacked Adder in the middle of our match, causing me to get inadvertently disqualified for his blatant actions. Obviously, this was no way to end a phenomenal battle between two of Finland’s oldest dogs in the game.

Both Adder and I went to FCF General Manager Tuho Torvinen and asked for Vendetta to be banned from this coming weekend’s SNACKY SLAM event, as we will step into the ring one more time to settle the score. This time, we don’t want anyone with any personal agendas on site. Adder and I have an issue to lay to rest, and it will be done fair and square, in the center of the ring, with no one sticking their nose into our business.

Photographer Kari Helenius captures the classic battle between Adder and I in May 2006

It’s damn hard to get two more technically sound, catch-as-catch-can style grapplers that Adder and StarBuck in Finnish pro wresting today. Experience speaks for itself, and you would be foolhardy to miss out on this coming mat classic this coming Saturday afternoon in Helsinki, as all SNACKY SLAM events are free, outdoor shows open to the general public.

Come on out this Saturday afternoon as FCF Wrestling closes the summer season of 2015 with a bang at the last SNACKY SLAM in Helsinki’s Sörnäinen district at 14:00 in the afternoon!

For all your wrestling news go here!

The rise of The Beast

Posted: April 10, 2015 in Entertainment, Professional Wrestling
Tags: coaching, Daniel Atterhagen, FCF Wrestling, Goldberg, Ken Shamrock, StarBuck, STHLM Wrestling, The Beast, WWE

It was early February this year when an impressive brute of a man from Sweden came to me for training. His name was Daniel Atterhagen, and at 1,92m tall and weighing 115kg, he was a former Gladiator (the TV show) and now he was in the process of changing lanes in his life. He wanted to become a professional wrestler.

The Beast has a mean game face.

Nicknamed “The Beast”, Daniel undertook to my coaching like a fish to water, learning incredibly fast. In a matter of mere days, I could already see that this guy was going to become something special in the world of pro wrestling.

Daniel already had a background in submission wrestling prior to coming to me for professional schooling, sent by STHLM Wrestling promoter Chris Sahlgren. He even took the bronze medal in the Swedish national submission wrestling championships in December 2014. His MMA career saw him go to the time limit with Sweden’s most prized MMA export, Alexander Gustafsson of UFC fame, only to lose by judge’s decision.

The Beast made his professional wrestling debut outside of his native country here in Finland at FCF Wrestling’s biggest annual flagship event, Talvisota IX, on February 7 this year in Helsinki. It was there, that after a very brief initial schooling period, he already took and demolished his opposition in a handicap 2-on-1 match. From there, Daniel went on to lay waste to the opposition in Sweden mere weeks later, further impressing in his young pro wrestling career.

With less than five pro matches under his belt, The Beast was already touted as the “next big thing” out of Sweden, with the explosiveness of Goldberg and the game face of Ken Shamrock, garnering the attention of the world’s premiere pro wrestling monolith, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Can you believe that?!? I think the pro wrestling world should be taking notice.

The coach and the protege.

And so it is, that Daniel “The Beast” Atterhagen will get his WWE tryout at the O2 Arena in London, England this coming weekend on April 18-19. I have never had a student in all of my years in the pro wrestling industry whom I have coached, who has risen as fast as The Beast and gotten a WWE tryout in the same short time.

I have to say that I am proud of Daniel for the effort, commitment and determination that he has put in after changing lanes in his personal life and choosing the new path of pro wrestling.

Now is your chance to go claim the big one. Make it count!

The Beast knocked out rookie Make Smooth at Talvisota with this chokeslam.

Celebrating 20 years in wrestling

Posted: November 17, 2014 in Entertainment, Professional Wrestling
Tags: comedy, FCF Wrestling, funny, irony, MTV3, NRJ, Radio Rock, Renne Korppila, Roast of StarBuck, sarcasm, satire, Wilma Schlizewski

This past Saturday night in downtown Helsinki at Sokos Hotel Presidentti, my homebase promotion FCF Wrestling celebrated my 20 years in the grappling game with a special Roast of StarBuck. This roast was the first of its kind ever to be held at a Nordic wrestling event, and several folks showed up to grill me that evening. My uncle Lasse arrived from Oulu for the occasion. Former FCF General Manager and famed media personality Wilma Schlizewski came up from Tallinn for the event. Multi-time amateur wrestling champion Jouni “Easyrider” Mörsky, my first assistant coach dating back to 2003, came in for the show. NRJ radio DJ Renne Korppila joined the list of roasters also, as did FCF’s Valentine and my Eurosport co-host Robert Holmström. Photographer extraordinaire Marko Simonen took these following photos from the event:

I feared a lot worse than I got at the roast, to be honest. I thought I was going to get literally dragged through the mud by every single roaster, but my both my uncle and Mörsky let me off easy. Those were the only breaks I got, as once the rest of the roasters got busy, I got the royal pasting treatment. I have to admit, some of their sarcasm, satire and jokes had me rolling around in laughter. I mean, what else could I do? Hide my head under my seat? Nah, I took it in good sporting fashion, remembering that there is often some truth sprinkled in between the insults.

My wife Diana even entered the ring after I thought the whole affair was finished and done, wanting to surprise me with a sexy lapdance and a trophy for my 20 year milestone, but wrestler Ricky Vendetta chose to ruin that moment. Diana had blindfolded me for the dance that she was performing, so that I could only feel what she was doing. At a certain point, I realized that not all was well and I felt an entirely different pair of hands – and rougher, larger hands at that – making contact with me. I ripped my blindfold off and saw Vendetta mocking my wife’s mannerisms, as he ripped the trophy from my hands and tried to whack me with it. I moved out of the way in the nick of time, and then I tore into Vendetta with a vengeance for soiling my milestone moment.

That said, the next time Vendetta and I meet in the ring, I want it to be a submission match. In my eyes, that would only be fitting. I have long since promised to make Ricky Vendetta tap out, and that hasn’t occurred yet. Now I’m going to make good on it, and I’m lobbying with current FCF GM Tuho Torvinen to sign the submission-only match for February 7, 2015 at Talvisota IX at the old Helsinki Sports Hall.

My wife Diana gave me her own award for my 20 years in wrestling

The good news surrounding my 20 year milestone in pro wrestling received a very good amount of mainstream media attention in Finland, as Radio NRJ, Radio Rock and MTV3 all gave me a healthy amount of coverage over the past week, culminating today with a Good Morning Finland (Huomenta Suomi) appearance on television before about one million viewers. The link to my morning show interview can be seen here: http://www.katsomo.fi/?progId=413411

The Roast of StarBuck

Posted: November 9, 2014 in Entertainment, Professional Wrestling
Tags: comedy, FCF Wrestling, irony, Renne Korppila, roast, Robert Holmström, satire, stand-up, standup, StarBuck, tribute, Wilma Schlizewski, WWE

This upcoming weekend on Saturday, November 15 in downtown Helsinki, FCF Wrestling celebrates my 20 years in the pro wrestling industry with The Roast of StarBuck as part of FCF’s Marraskuun Mättö wrestling show at Hotel Presidentti.

This particular evening will see me get grilled like never before, as I put my proverbial ass on the firing line to get verbally lambasted. I am sure the satire will be thick and I will have to take a few uncomfortable jabs, as I am not expecting to get off easy here. Acting as roastmaster will be Robert Holmström, my Eurosport TV co-commentator for WWE wrestling on Monday nights here in Finland. Robert has known me since 2006, and having worked with him at Eurosport for the past 5,5 years, I doubt there would be a more fitting person to host the entire roast than him. He’s seen the good, the bad and the ugly, as it comes to one “Canadian Rebel” StarBuck.

Amongst those roasting me will be Renne Korppila from Radio NRJ, media personality Wilma Schlizewski, my outspoken uncle Lasse, and several others whom I won’t mention, so as to not ruin the surprises in store!

Be sure to come on out on Saturday, November 15 in Helsinki if you happen to be in the capital region of Finland at the time. This will be one for the ages, a landmark for my 20 years, for my imprint on the pro wrestling industry on the whole.

I will also have a slew of new t-shirts available for sale at the event, drawn and designed by Yours Truly, to celebrate this 20 year milestone.

Dirty deeds done dirt cheap

Posted: September 16, 2014 in Entertainment, Professional Wrestling
Tags: Boogie Mustonen, FCF Wrestling, feud, Finland, Helsinki, Pro Wrestling, Ricky Vendetta, StarBuck, Syyskuun Selkäsauna

What a noteworthy event Syyskuun Selkäsauna was for FCF Wrestling this past Saturday in Helsinki! First and foremost, the MMA barrier in Finland has been breached and busted now with the arrival of Tuomas “Unbeatable” Simola. For anyone who doesn’t know, this guy has an astounding MMA record of 77-0-1. Now, he has stormed the gates of FCF Wrestling, issuing an open challenge to anyone in the FCF locker room to take him on. Take a look at this video from the event to see it all go down:

We had the new Class of 2014 make their debut at the show. Actually, five out of seven students made their debut, of which only one – Julia Kyy – was able to claim a victory. Nonetheless, this new group of students showed heart and good fighting spirit, which is a good case to build on, heading into the next FCF event upcoming on November 15 in Helsinki.

Syyskuun Selkäsauna also saw the departures of both Aurora Flame and El Excentrico, who are moving out of Finland to try their luck abroad in the wrestling world.

Yet, amidst all of the hulabaloo (as the people in Finland say), the one thing that left a bitter aftertaste was the underhanded chicanery of Ricky Vendetta, who assaulted me with a monkey wrench during my introduction of the Class of 2014 to the live audience, causing a hairline fracture in my ribs. I had to get taped up for my match against Vendetta that night, and I am lucky that my physiotherapist friend Tuija Pelkonen from Lihashuoltamo was on hand in the audience. I had asked her to come, since we were filming some things with my cornerman for the evening, former 7-time Finnish bodybuilding champion, Boogie Mustonen, and I needed Tuija’s expert advice on some of Boogie’s medical operations, since Boogie wants to return to pro wrestling next year.

Ricky Vendetta really did a damned dirty thing, attacking me in his orchestrated manner. There was no way that I was backing out of my match against Vendetta. Not after he has spent all spring and summer this year boasting about pinning me twice in tag team matches, after other opponents have offered him timely assists in making those wins come about over myself. Syyskuun Selkäsauna was supposed to me the moment of retribution for Ricky Vendetta as far as I was concerned, but he managed to thwart my plans by injuring my ribs before the match ever took place.

In the match, Vendetta assaulted me straight from the opening bell, blindsiding me and laying it on heavy. I had to literally fight for my life, looking for every opportunity and small opening to make a comeback, and finally, I was able to catch him out at one critical moment of the match, turning the tide for a short spell. Vendetta however assaulted my ribs with knees and kicks again and again, and soon, I was back down trying to find air. I managed to trap Vendetta in a crossface submission, which I will now purpose to take as my hold of choice in my quest to make Ricky boy tap out, as I have promised to do. Heck, I’ll even christen my version of the hold and call it the Canadian Crossface, or the Rebel Lock! How about that, Ricky Vendetta? Put that in your pipe and smoke it, as you think of the inevitable hour when StarBuck clamps that Rebel Lock on you and makes you wish you were back in your mother’s arms, nursing like a baby!

Vendetta’s cornerman and tag partner Stark Adder ran interference at the most crucial moment of the match, just when I had Vendetta tapping out to the crossface! Luckily, my cornerman, Boogie Mustonen, saw to it that Adder was eliminated from the equasion, but not before Vendetta was able to jab me with a shoulderblock to my damaged ribs and sneak in an illegal leverage pin, which, for the life of me, I cannot understand how the referee did not see. Even the fans at Hotel Presidentti were howling disparagingly at the official for the crappy call, and rightfully so. How the ref could have been so ignorant of Vendetta’s feet on the ropes as illegal leverage in making the pinfall is beyond me!

I have to admit that Vendetta is determined, at any cost, to try and make me a stepping stone in his wrestling career. Yet, after this past weekend, he is going to have hell to pay for choosing this latest route of indiscretion. I will not stop until I have beaten this young, belligerent bald-headed punk within an inch of his life. It’s one thing to aspire to greatness. It’s another thing altogether to miscalculate the cost of getting there.

Ricky Vendetta has now posted a check that his body cannot afford to cash.

Countdown to a showdown

Posted: September 1, 2014 in Entertainment, Life, Life coaching, Professional Wrestling, Social commentary
Tags: FCF Wrestling, feud, mentorship, Pro Wrestling, Ricky Vendetta, StarBuck, Syyskuun Selkäsauna

It’s been brewing for quite awhile now. Since April of this year, a young, brash (albeit beligerant) wrestler by the name of Ricky Vendetta here in Finland has been boasting high and mighty about how he managed to pin a 3-time European wrestling champion in myself.

Vendetta’s hunger to rise to the top in his chosen field cannot be slighted. I was once his age, in the same situation as he finds himself now: hungry and determined, willing to take any risk, regardless of its price tag, to achieve greatness. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m actually honored. Honored to have this young doberman pup come after me, as the oldest dog in the yard, looking to take my mantle. I welcome his challenge, and I will take great personal pride in ripping him apart, as I re-establish to Ricky boy who exactly he has chosen to meddle with.

The thing about young men is this: they become blinded by their ambition. Life has not yet taught them the hardest lessons of all. They are in the learning phase, the educational phase of what it takes to really be called a Man. During this rite of passage, from youth to full adulthood, a young man takes unwitting risks, the kind that will ultimately cost him dearly. I should know. At 41-years of age, I can look back on my own life and see these same lessons scattered about. In hindsight, I can clearly assess what each and every step cost me, what battle scars they left on my being in their wake.

Ricky Vendetta has a world of talent. He has the kind of burning heart for the pro wrestling business that I have seen few exhibit here in Finland, where I am the founding father and pioneer of our grappling game. Over the past 11 years, all the way back to 2003, I can count on one hand the other Finnish contemporaries that have tunnelvisioned and set themselves to succeed and achieve like young Mr. Vendetta. That’s saying alot.

I believe it becomes a literal obligation for mature men to pass down the life lessons that they have learned along this path of mortality to those who are following behind them. It’s called mentorship, and the lack of such in today’s self-serving society is all too obvious. All too many young men, and even grown men, don’t have a damn clue. They wander about aimlessly, not sure of their masculinity, their power, their calling or their talents. It’s sad, really. In this light, those who “have it” are morally obligated to pass it on and educate those who are still searching for their personal pot of gold, potential, or what have you.

Ricky Vendetta is going to learn the hard way what it is like to earn your stripes in this game of life. That lesson will be afforded to him inside of our sacred squared circle, the testing ground of guts and intenstinal fortitude. It’s a place where men are broken, where boys find themselves missing their mothers. It’s a ruthless stage, where the wheat is mercilessly separated from the chaff.

On September 13 in Helsinki at FCF Wrestling’s Syyskuun Selkäsauna event, Ricky Vendetta’s shallow boasts about going over not once, but twice, on the patriarch of Finnish professional wrestling, “The Rebel” StarBuck, will come to an abrupt end. I will not only punish young Ricky, as a father would his son, I will make him submit and scream for his life. This is a personal vendetta.

For all your wrestling news GO HERE!

Latest Posts

Categories

Posts Tagged ‘FCF Wrestling’

First Blood and the Winter War

Celebrating my movie premiere!

Up against the best

A veteran rivalry

The rise of The Beast

Celebrating 20 years in wrestling

The Roast of StarBuck

Dirty deeds done dirt cheap