Posts Tagged ‘SMASH’

My next SMASH Championship defense in Norway

Posted: November 8, 2011 in Professional Wrestling
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Yesterday, Norway’s NWF (Norwegian Wrestling Federation) announced that their country’s pro wrestling pioneer “The Icon” Erik Isaksen will challenge me for the SMASH Championship on Saturday, November 12 at PowerSLAM IX in Oslo.

Back between 2003 – 2005, Isaksen and I engaged in a vicious and bloody feud that spanned over three countries, as we waged war over gold and honor in Finland, Norway and Italy.  What really spurred our vitriol was the fact that Erik broke my left ankle in an August 2003 match in Norway, fracturing the tibia and fibula bones so that the doctors had to use eight screws and three metal plates to reconstruct the damage.

Heteslag 2005 in Oslo - StarBuck beats Isaksen bloody in a vicious feud

During our feud, I won the IWS Intercontinental Championship from Isaksen in the summer of 2005, only to lose it back to him in a No Holds Barred match in Oslo a week later.  That latter match still stands as one of the top 10 matches of both of our careers.

Isaksen and I traded the IWS Intercontinental title back and forth in 2005 (photo: Kari Helenius)

Now in 2011, both Erik and I are older, wiser and there is no more bad blood between us.  Our issue was laid to rest many years ago, but there is a distinct possibility that this coming Saturday at PowerSLAM IX in Oslo the bad blood will resurface as Isaksen tries to wrestle the SMASH Championship away from me.  The SMASH Championship is my pride and glory, the highest achievement of my career, and I do not plan on losing to Isaksen, no matter how talented and capable he is as a professional wrestler and challenger.

Isaksen hoists StarBuck at Pro Wrestling Finlandia's Reckoning Day event in August 2005 (photo: MTS)

I am going into Oslo this coming Saturday expecting the hardest fight that Erik Isaksen has within his bones.  Anything less would not be worthy of the SMASH Championship.

For additional infos, go to: www.wrestling.no

Photo report of my first SMASH title defense

Posted: November 6, 2011 in Professional Wrestling
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This past Friday night, November 4th in Hämeenlinna, Finland at FCF Wrestling’s Sirkus Slam event, I made my first defense of my newly-won SMASH Championship, defeating Russian brute Vladimir Petrov.

Petrov tried to take me out early, assaulting me before the bell, mangling my back.  I was also sick as a dog with the flu, and Petrov knew it was hard for me to breathe deep and get enough oxygen, which is why he clubbed me hard with big forearm blows to my back, which resonated in my lungs.

However, I fought back with the spirit of a champion, rocking the big Russian with huge blows and punches before finally capitalizing on his lumbering clumsiness and inexperience, putting the big red threat away with a full-blast superkick to the face.

Petrov and his tag partner Johnny McMetal were scheduled to face myself and FCF Champion “Wildman” Heimo Ukonselkä in a tag team main event match, which turned out being a six-man war, after Petrov and McMetal assaulted gender bending fan favorite Jessica Love in her match with the human tank, Ibo Ten.

Our trio contingent made good and put away the opposition in the three on three main event, as Jessica was able to nail a suicide senton bomb off the top rope onto Ibo Ten for the winning pinfall after all hell broke loose in the closing moments of the match.

For more infos go to www.wrestling.fi and be sure to check out photographer Jarmo Katila’s website www.jarmokatila.fi, as he snapped these fantastic shots from the Sirkus Slam event!

My first SMASH Championship defense in Finland

Posted: November 1, 2011 in Professional Wrestling
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Upon winning the SMASH Championship this past Friday night, October 28th in Tokyo, the SMASH organization asked me to defend the title in my homeland of Finland also.  To honor the SMASH office’s request, I made it known upon my arrival back in Finland that I was willing to take an open challenge from anyone on the FCF Wrestling roster.  Before anyone else could even bat an eye, manager Renne Korppila issued a challenge on behalf of his charge, the Russian monster Vladimir Petrov, to face me for the SMASH Championship in Hämeenlinna, Finland this upcoming Friday night, November 4th at FCF’s Sirkus Slam event.

This will be a first-time meeting between the Russian brute and myself, and regardless of what Korppila claims, fear has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Petrov and I have not faced off before one on one.  I am absolutely certain that I will be more than ready to hand Petrov the beating of his young career at Sirkus Slam and walk out of Hämeenlinna just like I am walking in — as your SMASH Champion!

The new SMASH Champion

Posted: October 30, 2011 in Professional Wrestling
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I cannot begin to describe the kind of elation and happiness I am feeling, coming home to Finland last night as the very first SMASH Wrestling Champion in Japan, defeating one of my greatest opponents ever, “The Japanese Buzzsaw” Yoshihiro Tajiri in the finals of the SMASH title tournament on Friday night, October 28 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

I have faced Tajiri several times in the past in both Finland and Japan, and every time our matches have been hard, physical clashes.  This final match last Friday night in the SMASH Championship tournament finals was no exception.  No, this one was WAY harder than ANY single one of our past, classic encounters.

We all know that many critics of professional wrestling vocally criticize our game as being “fake” and/or theatrical.  I find that kind of slander disparaging, and I would love to have those same critics step into a Japanese wrestling ring and feel the kind of punishment that we experience as professionals inside of that squared circle.

That said, my match against Tajiri on October 28 was one of the stiffest, most hard-hitting, SMASH-mouth affairs of my career.  Tajiri’s trademark kicks were brutal and his forearms and punches rocked my jaw.  I have to believe that “The Japanese Buzzsaw” felt the same at the other end of the equation, as the fighting spirit in our championship final bout was most definitely REAL.

Neither one of us held anything back, as we traded offense and fought a very even bout, going back and forth, neither competitor really gaining a clear-cut advantage over the match that lasted 15:12 before I dropped Tajiri with two vicious spike piledrivers after just barely kicking out of his Buzzsaw Kick.

After the match, both of us just lay on the mat, wasted from the physical toll of our bout.  Both of us took – and dealt out – one hell of a beating to one another in the quest to become the first-ever SMASH Wrestling Champion.  Both of us gave it our all, and I can only very humbly say that I am honored by my huge title win over a tremendous opponent in Yoshihiro Tajiri at SMASH.22 this past Friday.  I have the highest respect for the man that I pinned to become the new SMASH titleholder, and I will always remember the night of October 28 at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall.

A huge THANK YOU to: the tremendous Japanese SMASH Wrestling fans for believing in me; to the SMASH office for the spotlight opportunity; to Tajiri for an incredible match; and to my Great God in Heaven and Lord Jesus Christ who makes all things possible (Philippians 4:13).

Arigato gozaimasu!  Soudesune!

(Photos by Ken Suzuki)

StarBuck movie update

Posted: October 4, 2011 in Music, Odds and Ends, Professional Wrestling
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This week we are filming final fight scenes for the upcoming 2012 StarBuck full-length feature documentary movie.  Below are some snapshots of the first filming day, as we shot at Suomenlinna (a small island off the coast of Helsinki, an old fortress and castle grounds).  The weather was absolutely horrible, cold as tarnation and rainy, in addition to considerable winds.

The fight scenes are between FCF wrestler Jessica Love and myself.  Director Oskari Pastila specifically wanted wanted Jessica as my rival in the fight scenes outside of the wrestling ring, as Jessica represents the complete counterpart to what StarBuck represents.  Jessica Love, for those of you who don’t know, is a tranny wrestler, who actually just officially changed his gender to a her.  Me on the other hand, I am a good ol’ redneck son of a gun, a throwback to traditional and staunch male and female roles in society.  I know, for some that sounds dated, but I could really care less.  However, the clash of Jessica’s and my personalities and what we represent makes for good movie material, and that is why we are fighting in the film.

There will be more news on the StarBuck movie to follow in the coming months, so stay tuned to my website here!

ALL PHOTOS BY JAN AHLSTEDT

Barbarian vs. Samurai, the fight for gold!

Posted: September 23, 2011 in Professional Wrestling
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I have been blessed to have enjoyed such an incredible amount of success wrestling in Japan, where at the beginning of this year the readership of Weekly Pro Wrestling magazine voted me as one of the top 5 gaijin in their country for the 2010 period.

Last year, FCF Wrestling Champion Valentine lost our Finnish strap to former WWE US and Tag Team Champ “The Japanese Buzzsaw” Tajiri in May 2010 on the SMASH.3 card in Tokyo.  I would venture to the Land of the Rising Sun to recapture the FCF Championship at SMASH.6 on July 24 last year.  Tajiri would win the FCF Championship back from me at SMASH.10 on November 22, 2010 in the biggest event in SMASH company history at JCB Hall in Tokyo, before over 2000 enraptured fans.  Tajiri and I have fought each other numerous times over the past year and a half, both in singles and tag team matches, and our fights have always been very tight and even.

Now, on October 28 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, once again it has boiled down to the top two wrestlers in SMASH, as I face off against Tajiri one more time, with the new SMASH Heavyweight Championship Title on the line.  This match is the tournament final to crown the very first SMASH Heavyweight Champ, and I will do everything in my power to procure the coveted new Japanese title.

Tajiri, get ready – the Lord of FCF is coming for SMASH gold on October 28!  This will truly be the battle of the Nordic Barbarian against the Japanese Samurai – StarBuck vs. Tajiri at SMASH.22!

Gaining one, losing another

Posted: September 12, 2011 in Professional Wrestling
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This past weekend in Hollabrunn, Austria on Saturday, Sept. 10, I fought a game fight against the challenger for my TopCatch European Championship, Michael Kovac.  Kovac is the man that I originally defeated for the vacant title on May 14 of this year in Wismar, Germany, and this past Saturday was his chosen date for the championship rematch in his own country.

I have fought Kovac many times over the years, and I dare say that we both represent the best that Europe has to offer these days, both being Top 10 continental talents in our genre.  Over the years, I have fought Kovac in countries like Japan, Finland, Germany and Poland in addition to this latest encounter in Austria.  Our matches have always been classics, and we most definitely match up well as a dueling pair.

This weekend in Hollabrunn, Kovac took it to me like never before, with a refined assault that caused much headache for me as the defending European Champion for the oldest office in Europe today, VDB Catch.  The physical war came to a crucial turning point when  somewhere around the 15-minute mark of the contest, Kovac attempted to hit me with his high-cross faceplant, which he calls the Kovacrusher.  I fought my way out of his grip, sliding down his back awkwardly due to the excessive sweat that we both were raining out at that point in the bout.  Due to the poor and disadvantageous positioning of the way that I came down, I twisted and sprained my right ankle upon landing.  I attempted a desperation superkick soon after, which just did not have the impact to do away Kovac, and after a brief albeit unsuccessful last rally, Kovac caught me with a top rope powerslam and then a top rope splash for the finishing pinfall to become the new European Champion after over 20 minutes of heavy action.

However, just two days earlier in Tokyo, I defeated Mexico’s Veneno in the semi-finals of the SMASH Title tournament to advance to the finals next month, where I will face Tajiri at SMASH.22 on Oct. 28.  This past Thursday night at SMASH.21 in Tokyo, Tajiri defeated Akira Nogami to advance in the tournament to the finals next month also.

I defeated Veneno after kicking out of his top rope back splash senton, which damn near crushed my ribcage as he landed full-tilt on my chest cavity, which for a moment had me thinking I had busted ribs.  I capitalized moments later and superkicked Veneno as he attempted a chop to the head off the second rope, and then I piledrove him mercilessly through the mat for the win after about 12 minutes of intense action.

As it stands, we have come full-circle from SMASH.10 last November to SMASH.22 and the SMASH Title tournament finals next month, with Tajiri vs. StarBuck once again taking center stage.

For all your wrestling news needs, GO HERE!

The Lord of FCF vs. The God of Mexico

Posted: September 4, 2011 in Professional Wrestling
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This coming Thursday night September 8 in Tokyo, Japan I will be facing the very strange “God of Mexico” Veneno in the semi-final round of the SMASH Championship tournament at Korakuen Hall.

Veneno is like a cult leader, akin to Illuminati, and when he pulled the trigger and attacked me after my greatest career win to date over Japanese living wrestling legend Genichiro Tenryu last month, Veneno sealed his fate.

Make no doubt about it, I plan on piledriving Veneno all the way back to Mexico and advancing to the finals to meet whoever the winner will be between Akira Nogami and TAJIRI, once the tournament finals are held next month in Tokyo.

Soudesune!

StarBuck vs. Tenryu makes history

Posted: August 13, 2011 in Professional Wrestling
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Returning from a grueling and very hot trip to Japan this past week, I carried my battle scars proudly after a major upset in defeating Japanese all-time ring legend Genichiro Tenryu clean with my spike piledriver at SMASH.20 this past Thursday in Tokyo.

The fact that this was not only the main event, but also before a sold-out Korakuen Hall audience that was as equally hot as the weather, only made this victory that much sweeter for Yours Truly.

The capacity crowd on hand could not believe their eyes when I hoisted the legend Tenryu up for my famous piledriver and drilled him head-first into the canvas for the resounding victory.  The noise that erupted from the audience after the pinfall was deafening in that single moment of time.

I must admit that this match was a surreal experience for me through and through.  Tenryu’s chops felt like they flayed the skin off of my chest and his punches rocked my jaw and blackened my left eye.  I indeed earned my victory over the legend Tenryu in the classic pro wrestling sense of the term.

Next up will be the semi-finals of the SMASH Title tournament on September 8th in Tokyo, after which I fly to Austria to defend my TopCatch European Championship against Michael Kovac on August 10th.  Before that however, I will be wrestling in Finland next weekend at the Häme Medieval Fair in Hämeenlinna on Saturday and Sunday, August 20-21 against FCF Champion Heimo Ukonselkä.

For photos of my huge match against Tenryu, click here.

The road to SMASH.20 and Tenryu

Posted: August 3, 2011 in Professional Wrestling
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Right now I am just one week shy of arguably the biggest match of my storied professional wrestling career, which dates back to 1994 as far as in-ring action goes.  On Thursday, August 11 in Tokyo, Japan, I will be nose to nose with one of the greatest legends ever to grace a professional wrestling ring.  That opponent is Genichiro Tenryu.

I have done everything in my power to ready myself for this monumental main match at SMASH.20, to be held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo next week.  Admittedly, coming back from a torn right rotator cuff has not been an easy road leading up to this huge match.  It has been five weeks since my injury in Germany, and I am still not at 100% physically, but as the old saying in our business goes, “Everyone goes in hurt”.

Nonetheless, I firmly believe that the favor of my Great God in Heaven has me covered on all bases, and once I step into the ring at SMASH.20 and look Genichiro Tenryu in the eye, all the pieces will fall into place.

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