Posts Tagged ‘SLAM Wrestling Finland’

It’s been nearly two weeks since Halloween night, where I lost the SLAM! Wrestling championship.

Only now, after taking a much needed respite, have I had time to let the dust settle and have things sink in.

In one of the most personal rivalries of my three-decade worldwide professional wrestling career, the culmination of my feud with “Back Breaker” Dylan Broda came to a climax on October 31, 2025 at SLAM! Wrestling’s Halloween Hell event, held in Vantaa, Finland.

StarBuck vs Dylan Broda SLAM wrestling championship Halloween Hell 2025
SLAM! Halloween Hell, Oct. 31, 2025.

It should be noted that Dylan Broda cut his teeth in the pro wrestling game under me. He was among the first students I ever had at the SLAM! Pro Wrestling Boot Camp and he was one of the first two to graduate. He showed an aptitude for the game, picking things up very quickly. Being that he was from Ontario, Canada, I propositioned to him that we ought to start a wrestling podcast for the international market together, and that we did. It was called Shootin’ the Shizzat and it ran for about four years, before Dylan ran into some major personal issues that made it impossible to continue.

Shootin’ the Shizzat was the top pro wrestling podcast out of the Nordics of Europe for its time.

It was during that time that Dylan changed as a person. He got bitter, angry and resentful. Maybe he was just mirroring what was happening in his own life onto the world around him. Regardless, he became an antagonistic man who just avoided doing anything but the bare minimum and then – BOOM! – he was out the door again. Personally, I chagrined seeing him change for the worse. Ultimately, his wayward attitude caused him to resent me as his coach and the learning tree that he grew up under in our business.

On October 31 of this year, it was a No-DQ Texas D€ath Match – the first of its kind ever in the 22-year history of professional wrestling in Finland – and it was so due to the very personal, bitter nature of this rivalry. Dylan said he would only agree to the stipulation if I – as the reigning champion and CEO of SLAM! Wrestling Entertainment – were to put any possible rematch clause, my shares in the company as well as the title on the line. And so I did, because this whole thing needed to end.

SLAM! Halloween Hell, Oct. 31, 2025.

Sometimes in life, the Russian Roulette doesn’t pay off. Such was the case here.

I originally won the SLAM! Championship back on February 10, 2024 in Helsinki at SUPERSLAM!, where I put my three-decade career on the line in my last attempt to vie for the title, then held by former WWE NXT UK superstar, Sam Gradwell. I made good on that quest and kept my career alive, going on to carry the championship for over a year and a half, defending against some of the biggest and best names in the wrestling industry both here in Europe and from around the world.

SLAM! Halloween Hell, Oct. 31, 2025.

Yet, as the book of Ecclesiastes says, there is a time and place for all things under heaven. My time came to a close, at least as champion, on October 31 of this year. I was unceremoniously choked out with a steel chain by Dylan Broda after his good of a bodyguard struck me in the back of the head with said steel chain around his fist. The officiating referee for the match, Aki Mäki, called for the bell and brought a halt to the match after I could not get any more air and fight back. And so, Dylan Broda was crowned the new SLAM! Champion.

SLAM! Halloween Hell, Oct. 31, 2025.

Now, I put up my part of the shares in SLAM! Wrestling Entertainment upon the contractual demands set forth by Broda’s shill lawyer, Urpo Myyrä, in order for his client to accept the terms of the severe beating that he was going to be dealt upon entering the No-DQ Texas D€ath Match at Halloween Hell. Broda has taken the lowest road possible leading up to this match, taking jabs at my ill father and making underhanded comments about my family, in order to get under my skin.

And that he did. I let him get under my skin because he disrespected not just me but went after my family. Any man of any integrity at all would have done the same thing in retort. Unless someone has succumbed to being a beta cuck, there is no way that a man will allow disrespect to pass unanswered.

Yet, things aren’t quite as clear as Dylan and his lawyer would have hoped for. I personally feel that Urpo Myyrä is one of those lawyers at the bottom of the totem pole, who is just looking for his lucky break. Dylan probably took another low road in hiring the cheapest shill possible in the aspirations of claiming head shareholding stakes in SLAM! Wrestling. My legal team has looked at the fine print drafted up by Myyrä & Son’s office and they’ve found some discrepancies that I am not at leisure to go into at depth at this stage. Let me just say that things are a bit… up in the air in that regard at the moment. Like they say: anything can happen in the world of pro wrestling.

SLAM! Halloween Hell, Oct. 31, 2025.

I might have lost any rematch possibility due to the nature of the match contract at Halloween Hell, but in order to defend my honor and that of my family, that was a risk I was willing to take and I have no regrets in that aspect. Dylan has a long list of hungry foes to look forward to, eager to knock him off his lofty perch, while my legal team deals with this outlandish lawsuit that Broda imposed with Myyrä over the summer on SLAM! Wrestling.

SLAM! Halloween Hell, Oct. 31, 2025.

With all that said, I’d like to thank all the fans and supporters who backed me during the epic run that I had as SLAM! Champion for year and eight months plus that I carried the torch of my company. It was one helluva ride.

SLAM! Halloween Hell, Oct. 31, 2025.

Photos: Marko Simonen / SLAM! Wrestling Entertainment Ltd.

This coming weekend on Saturday, April 5, my company SLAM! Wrestling debuts in Sweden with Stockholm SLAM! at Telefonfabriken.

This event will feature premiere European wrestling talents from ten different countries in action, in seven diverse and thrilling matches.

Stockholm SLAM! Telefonfabriken April 5, 2025

The question, then: Why SLAM! in Sweden?

Well, it has always been a goal of mine to expand to new markets. You only live once. And as Walt Disney once said, “If you dare to dream, dream BIG!”.

Sweden has a much larger population base than Finland and Estonia combined; markets that we now serve and have done so since our inception in 2018. Before that, COVID sabotaged any means of moving forward and cast everything into muddy waters.

Now, however, is a new day. This is carpe diem for SLAM! Wrestling here in 2025.

With the release of Dark Side of the Ring’s Ludvig Borga episode yesterday on the worldwide stage, wherein I play a key role, the timing couldn’t be any better.

The match card has been specifically booked to offer a real plethora of interesting bouts for the whole family, featuring: a SLAM! Women’s Championship match, a Triple Threat match, tag team matches and men’s singles matches.

If you want to see professional wrestling presented with a sports-based feel, with high quality talent and international flavor, then Stockholm SLAM! is for you. Ten different nationalties in action, seven diverse and thrilling matches on the card.

Tickets available in limited quantities as the capacity is quickly filling up, so I would advise acting quickly: billetto.se/en/e/stockholm-slam-biljetter-1165479

Man, it’s been a long time.

Some weeks ago, I had a discussion with a business partner about the blogging culture being a thing of the past. They corrected me and said, no, it’s still as vibrant as ever and people read up on interesting stuff. For the longest time, I thought that the blog had gone the way of the attention span at large and had been eaten up by quick videos and the like.

Well, I figured to write after a long time of radio silence on the blog front.

StarBuck photo by Marko Simonen / SLAM! Wrestling Finland

Firstly and foremost because I’ve come to a very pivotal moment in my wrestling career and a milestone year in general. You see, 20 years back in 2003, I started coaching wrestling hopefuls here in Finland, then situated out of the city of Kerava with that first class. Now, 20 years later, I’ve coached all around Europe and even in Japan, and I run SLAM! Wrestling Finland, operating in both Finland and Estonia.

It was this year that I looked at what I’d achieved, creating an entire wrestling scene in a country where we nothing of the like, save what was shown on television since the late 1980s. I looked at two decades of hard pioneering work, the ups and the downs, the trials and tribulations, and I got a little hungry again.

Firstly, I got SLAM! Wrestling onto a Finnish television channel called Eveo this past Spring. That’s channel 17 in this country. They’ve got national exposure, so that means we’re seen in 100% of Finnish households. As a matter of fact, we got two SLAM! Wrestling shows on their channel on a weekly basis: Painin otteessa (In Wrestling’s Grip) and SLAM! Boot Camp, which are consistently in the top three most viewed programs on the station. That’s pretty admirable.

On top of that, we’ve been able to procure bigger and more notable contracts with large organizers in both Finland and Estonia, enabling us to grow the brand through relentless persistence and tireless grinding. It’s been a slow but steady build but things are paying off, finally.

Then, I looked at myself. Where I was here in 2023 at the age of 50.

StarBuck photo by Markus Mueller / WeLoveArtBuying.de

Dammit all, the age of 50. Man, time just flies and here I still am, in this crazy business called professional wrestling, doing what I love to do, regardless of the odds. Here, at the ass-end of the world, up in Finland, right next to the Arctic Circle. Hell, most people in the world don’t even know where Finland falls geographically on the world map!

But yeah. I looked at myself and all that I’ve achieved in this zany, surreal world that has been my chosen passion called professional wrestling. And then I realized… I want to become a champion again.

I’ve got that chance now, upcoming on December 9 in Seinäjoki, Finland, where I face the new face of my company, a man called Sam Gradwell. It’s going to be a match for the one title I’ve never held: the SLAM! Championship. My company’s title.

I’m a bit torn to be honest. Torn because I want this to be a fair shake, without anyone pointing fingers saying that I doctored the result afterward into my own favor. Torn because it is, after all, my company. Torn because I don’t feel that in some light it’s fair that I pursue the championship of my own company.

So I went the extra mile and I outsourced the jurisdiction of this upcoming SLAM! Championship title match at Wrestling SLAM in Seinäjoki at the legendary Rytmikorjaamo club, coming up December 9. I went and reached out to an old comrade and someone I hold in high regard, the grand commissioner of European professional wrestling: Marty Jones of England.

Now, Marty Jones is not only a seven-time world heavyweight champion and one of the most respected legends ever out of Europe. He’s also the man that trained Sam Gradwell.

The SLAM! Champion, Sam Gradwell, who is – right now – arguably one of the most dominant wrestlers of the modern era in all of Europe.

Yes, I handed over governing authority over the coming SLAM! Championship title match between myself and Sam Gradwell on December 9 to Marty Jones, cut and dry.

Marty Jones, William Regal, Johnny Saint (left to right)

Come hell or high water, I am washing my hands of any wrongdoing or coercion when it comes to the outcome of Gradwell vs. StarBuck. Marty has the pen, Marty has the final say. For this match, I’m just a wrestler, not a boss. Not the CEO Michael Majalahti, but the 30-year pro wrestling veteran, “The Rebel” StarBuck.

I don’t just want this match. I NEED this match. I need it for my own sake, for the warrior inside of me, for the competitor, for the lion king inside to rise to the occasion.

Yeah, I want to be a champion again. In the footsteps of champions like Nick Bockwinkel, Dave “Fit” Finlay and my old friend, Chris Jericho – each of them wrestling at a very high, main event level past the age of 50.

Because I’ve always believed that if you want an extraordinary life, you must be willing to do extraordinary things.

December 9 is going to be one of the most important days of my life. I can feel it.

Today marks 27 years since I started my in-ring, active professional wrestling career.

My first match was on January 7, 1994 at the Victoria Park Civic Center in Calgary, Canada. I worked against one of my coaches, Lance Storm, who went on to become a champion in ECW, WCW and WWE.

I recall how my good friend Chris Jericho, now with AEW, lent me a pair of his old tights that he wore alongside Lance in their tag team, Sudden Impact. Chris also gifted me my first pair of wrestling boots for that encounter, a pair of plain black ones, which I have somewhere in storage back in Canada to this day.

My match with Lance was seven minutes on the nose, and Lance pinned me after a competitive outing that I was afforded by hitting a jack-knife pin after a powerbomb. The guys in the dressing room clapped it up afterwards, including my other coach, Karl “Jason The Terrible” Moffat, Lenny St. Clair (AEW’s Luther), Beef Wellington, Jericho and others, claiming it was the second best match on the card that night. The top honors went to Beef Wellington vs. Chris Jericho in the main event.

So here’s to a look back at 27 years ago half a world away. Today, I run my own wrestling company, SLAM! Wrestling, in Finland and Estonia, as well as being an active wrestler at the age of 47, still able to pull 30-minute matches with ease.

Life is for living, so I embrace every day that the Good Lord gives me and I’m thankful for the 22 countries and four continents I’ve been able to ply my trade in, and thanks to all the bookers and promoters who made it possible!

(photos by Sam Leppänen, Sander Burmeister and Rob Haynes)

This past Saturday night, on Halloween Eve, at SLAM! Wrestling’s RagnaRÖCK & Wrestling 2020 supershow in Tallinn, I captured my fourth European championship in my near-27 year in-ring pro wrestling career!

My previous European title wins came in 2006 and again in 2009 (vs. Bernard Vandamme of Belgium) for the Eurostars European Championship title; in 2011 (vs. Michael Kovac of Austria) for the TopCatch European Championship (operated by the oldest governing body in all of European pro wrestling, VDB Catch); and now, in 2020, the Mitti Del Wrestling European Union Championship, which I beat Italy’s top gun, Fabio Ferrari, for this past weekend in Tallinn, Estonia!

You can now relive and witness the entire RagnaRÖCK & Wrestling event online HERE and enjoy the awesome action from Tallinn this past Halloween night!

(Match photos by Sander Burmeister)

This summer, my heavy rock band Stoner Kings sees its 20th anniversary roll around, as I founded the group in the summer of 2000, up in Jyväskylä, Finland.

Over the course of the years, through the ups and downs of trial, we went through four line-up changes, break-ups, a period of prolonged AWOL and somehow, in the midst of all that, made three full-length albums.  We toured in the Baltics and in Central Europe, garnered international praise and hatred alike for our music, and rose to become one of the most visual show bands you’ll ever witness live on stage.

This past July 25 at On The Rocks in downtown Helsinki, we played our 20th Anniversary Revolution milestone gig, complete with former members guesting from our Brimstone Blues early era (Perttu “Gonzo” Sutinen), Fuck The World era (Reeo Tiiainen) and our 2007-2008 transitional era, right before the band went AWOL (Harri “Grandy” Räsänen).  In addition, we had our friend, Finland’s top exotic dancer, Irina Tundra, join us on stage and channel Hawkwind with their dancer, Stacia, from the 1970s.

Here are a cool set of photos from that celebratory gig by top German photographer, Sander Burmeister!

In addition, here is another visually stunning gallery from top Finnish live gig photographer, Saara Planting:

Next up for Stoner Kings: PowerSLAM in Põltsamaa at the Nahh Klaffen 2020 MC festival in Esku, Estonia on August 15 this coming weekend, and in addition, I will be wrestling live at that event with SLAM! Wrestling Finland.  Come on out for a helluva great time outdoors, two hours from Tallinn!

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This summer, I will be hosting and coaching the very first SLAM! Pro Wrestling Boot Camp 2020, just in time for the market to free up enough from the COVID-19 restrictions that participation will be possible and legal.

We have a superb training hall reserved in the Hannus suburb of Espoo, Finland, right beside Helsinki.  The place is located beside Länsiväylä motorway and public transport by bus takes you right beside our training hall.  In addition, a huge, new Lidl food store is next to our establishment and Iso Omena shopping center, voted the top shopping mall in Finland not too long ago, is only 1km away.

This summer, under the auspices of Yours Truly, you will be able to apply yourself to learning all aspects of the grappling game inside the squared circle: from chain wrestling and submissions, to bumps and falls, to ring positioning and rope work, to throws and lifts, to character presence and mic skills, and beyond… you will be able to learn the ins and outs of the world of professional wrestling from one of the masters (even if I say so myself), and the most highly-acclaimed professional wrestler in Northern European history: “The Rebel” StarBuck.

Folks, I have taught talents now since 2003 in seven different countries: Japan, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Russia.  Many of my students have gone on to wrestle extensively abroad all around the world.  The lessons you will learn from me are lessons passed down from the old school, where fundamentals and realism are key.

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StarBuck teaching a wrestling camp in Denmark 2014, with participants from 4 countries.

If you would like to be a part of this groundbreaking opportunity in Finland, hit me up at info@slamwres.com and tell why you would like to be involved in this intensive summer course.  Be sure to attach a recent photo full-body of yourself and prepare to train twice weekly for the next three months, every Monday and Thursday night.

This is your chance… grasp for the brass ring and make it count!!!

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Get ready for the real deal, this is true-grit, honest, world-class pro wrestling coaching!

 

One week back, on June 29 in Rauma, Finland, we held the most significant international pro wrestling card in all of Northern Europe this summer, entitled Wrestle Aid 2019.

With top talents flying to Finland to take part in this big event, in the end we had wrestlers from 10 countries represented: Japan, USA, Puerto Rico, Spain, England, Estonia, Holland, Ireland, Canada and Finland.

This all was done to help raise charity funds for the Finnish Muscular Dystrophy Association, Lihastautiliitto, to help those with ALS and Duschenne Muscular Dystrophy to take part in wheelchair-assisted sports.

Wrestle Aid wrestlers with Riku

The entire concept of Wrestle Aid came about as the brainchild of one of the event organizers, Riku Forsström of Rauma, where the event was held.  Riku is a long-time Duschenne patient, eclipsing the typical lifespan of contemporaries with his condition by well over 10 years.  It was at the express request of Riku that I booked all of the talent that was on hand at Wrestle Aid, allowing the man to live his dream and see the top-notch international stars that we had at the event live.

In the opening cruiserweight match, “MDogg” Matt Cross (Son of Havoc from Lucha Underground) defeated Finland’s “Luchadore of Lapland” Jami Aalto in 7:49 following a picture-perfect Shooting Star Press off the top rope.

SLAM-Wrestle-Aid-2019-111

The second match featured tag team action, with Carlos Zamora of Spain and Mikk Vainula of Estonia besting the Finnish tandem of Polar Pekko and Patrik Mieto in 8:28 when Vainula delivered a thunderous Jackhammer to Mieto for the winning pinfall.

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In what was billed a Medieval Rules match sans disqualifications and countouts, Finnish “Wildman” Heimo Ukonselkä defeated Holland’s big man, Jurn Simmons, in a wild brawl after a big boot out of nowhere in 10:29.

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Ireland’s phenomenal 18-year-old sensation Scotty Davis fell to Finland’s Viktor Tykki in 7:48 of match time after a ring-shaking backpack slam.

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Local son of Rauma, Toni Tamminen, bested long-time Finnish ring veteran Stark Adder in 12:31 after nabbing a crucifix pin in mid-action.

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“The Japanese Buzzsaw” TAJIRI overcame arch-rival “The Rebel” StarBuck after 20:02 via pinfall upon finally delivering a successful Buzzsaw Kick to the Finnish pro wrestling pioneer’s head.

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Meiko Satomura of Japan defeated Ivelisse Velez of Puerto Rico and Sadie Gibbs of England in 10:10 in a heated women’s Triple Threat match when she pinned Ivelisse following her renowned Death Valley Driver.

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All of the action and excitement of Wrestle Aid 2019 will be available for one more week on ISTV through www.is.fi as a streaming service, so be sure to check out this stellar event through your device of choice and also follow SLAM! Wrestling Finland in Instagram, Facebook and Twitter as we deliver photo galleries of each match-up this coming week daily.

This coming weekend on Saturday, June 29 in Rauma, Finland, I’m one of the main organizers behind the biggest, international pro wrestling supershow in the Nordics of Europe this summer: Wrestle Aid 2019!

Womens Triple Threat RAUMA

Wrestle-Aid-starbuck-tajiri

With top professional wrestlers from nine different countries worldwide, this event is arguably – even on paper alone – the most significant show of its kind on a continental level.

“The Japanese Buzzsaw” Yoshihiro Tajiri and Meiko Satomura from Japan, Matt Cross from the USA, Ivelisse Veléz from Puerto Rico, Scotty Davis from Ireland, Jurn Simmons from Holland, Sadie Gibbs from England, Mikk Vainula from Estonia and Carlos Zamora from Spain join a host of Finnish professionals to bring you Wrestle Aid.  Oh, and in case you are wondering, Yours Truly represents my home country of Canada at this big event.

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With seven matches on the card and two gigantic, intercontinental main events on the menu, Wrestle Aid offers something for everyone, and especially action and thrills for the whole family.

Part of ticket proceeds will be going to the Finnish Muscular Dystrophy Association, Lihastautiliitto, to help patients with ALS and Duschenne muscular dystrophy to take part in wheelchair sports while their condition still warrants it.  This is a great cause and you really can make a difference by being an active part of it live!

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Tag Match RAUMA

The event will be held outdoors under the Finnish blue sky at Potkur shopping center on the rooftop of the establishment in the western coastal city of Rauma, Finland this coming Saturday, June 29.  Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster in Finland so get yours now and come out to see the greatest live action spectacle in Earth!

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Wrestle Aid SHOW TIMES poster

For more, go to http://www.wrestleaid.fi and be sure to check out http://www.slamsports.eu as well.

Tickets can be purchased HERE.

 

On June 29 this month, I’ll be promoting a huge, international professional wrestling supershow called Wrestle Aid on the West Coast of Finland in the city of Rauma.  Along with three other organizers, including local hockey team Rauman Lukko, local DJ Toni “Protoni” Järvinen and a disabled gentleman named Riku Forsström, we’re bringing the largest scale wrestling event to Finland that has arguably been witnessed to date.  Yes, even bigger, arguably, than SLAM! Wrestling Finland Mega Launch back on March 22 this year in Helsinki!

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With Wrestle Aid, we are giving part of the ticket proceeds to charity through the Finnish Muscular Dystrophy Association, Lihastautiliitto, to help those with ALS and Duschenne Muscular Dystrophy partake in assisted sports like wheelchair football and the like.  It’s a very noble cause, and this stems from the wishes of the aforementioned Riku Forsström, who himself has an advanced Duschenne condition.

Wrestle Aid pressitilaisuus, kuva Jussi Hietikko

Wrestler Toni Tamminen, Mikael Eklöf of hockey team Rauman Lukko, Toni Järvinen, StarBuck, wrestler Stark Adder and in the forefront, Riku Forsström (photo: Jussi Hietikko)

With this event, I am reminded of the work that WWE does with Make-A-Wish in the USA, as I parallel what we are doing with Wrestle Aid.  Riku Forsström is a long-time wrestling fan who loves his grappling and is very knowledgeable about the international wrestling scene.  About a half-year ago, Riku gave me a list of names he would like to see wrestle in his hometown of Rauma this summer, at the event that would become Wrestle Aid itself.  As the most accomplished pro wrestler in history out of the Nordics, having traveled the world, I set out to procure the talent that Riku had made a wish to see.  After all, this signaled a big deal in Riku’s life on a personal front: the doctor’s never gave him the outlook to see his 40th birthday, which took place this past May.  The average mortality rate for people with Duschenne is 26.  So Riku’s request was in the hopes of seeing a dream come true, in the celebration of life itself, as he has greatly defied the odds, regardless of his severe physical condition.

In so telling, I am super-excited to announce that we will be bringing one of the greatest female professional wrestlers in the world today to Wrestle Aid… Meiko Satomura from Japan!  Meiko is Riku’s all-time favorite wrestler, and that said, her coming to Finland is something special indeed.  If anything, this truly is a Make-A-Wish moment come true for Riku Forsström.  And that said, in honor of making this dream come true, I believe as matchmaker of SLAM! Wrestling Finland, I will put the ladies on last with Meiko as the show-closer.

Meiko Satomura vs Toni Storm WWE Mae Young Classic 2018

Meiko fought current WWE NXT UK women’s champion Toni Storm in the semi-finals of the 2018 WWE Mae Young Classic women’s tournament.

Ladies and gentlemen, come join us on June 29 at Wrestle Aid in Rauma, Finland for the greatest professional wrestling card you will probably see all summer anywhere in Europe.  Tickets are available right now through Ticketmaster in Finland and by supporting and attending, you are helping to also support those with ALS and Duschenne Muscular Dystrophy in Finland.  It’s a noble cause and you should be part of it.

Top professional wrestlers from 10 countries represented: Japan, USA, Puerto Rico, Ireland, England, Portugal, Spain, Canada, Estonia and Finland.

It doesn’t get any bigger than this!

Get your tickets NOW: https://www.ticketmaster.fi/event/wrestle-aid-lippuja/255201