On July 29 at Ropecon (Role-Playing Convention), to be held at the Helsinki Expo and Exhibition Center, I will take on my Spandex Sapiens arch-rival, the gender-bending Jessica Love one last time. I say one last time because this time, I will stamp out my opponent for good.
Be there when the last bell chimes.
Last time we fought, at the LGBT crowd’s Eurogames on July 1 in Helsinki, I broke Jessica Love’s arm. Like the old saying goes about a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest, so it goes with Jessica Love in a fist-fight. Now, I wouldn’t put it past my adversary to show up with arm in sling, because Jessica is just that thick in the head, daring to brave danger head-on. Actually, that is quite admirable. But it will also prove to be Jessica Love’s downfall on July 29.
Now, a lot of people are still asking why, much like Anakin Skywalker turning into Darth Vader, why did StarBuck turn to the dark side? I find this quite amusing actually.
I said this at the Eurogames event on the microphone in front of the masses, and I will say it here again: I didn’t turn my back on anybody. I have stood for traditional, straight, masculine values as long as I have been around. Certainly, my entire media career I have toted the same line and stood for the same, unwavering cause. I have never flinched or backed down, even in the face of adversity and backlash. Now, in 2016, when my movie Spandex Sapiens came out, people had a chance to take and pick a side. You could either side with my counterpart, the transgender, liberal, Jessica Love, or you could side with a real man in the iconic, conservative StarBuck. It was really a simple choice. Whatever resonated with you and your world, you could freely choose black or white, left or right. And the people chose Jessica Love.
Looking back, I can say that I have not changed at all. I have stayed the course. Society and the flavor of the day has changed. I have lived long enough as the hero to see myself become the villain. The people have chosen. The people have spoken.
So it is now, on July 29 at Ropecon, that I will do what a vigilante and lone wolf would do in terms of personal agenda. I will put down, once and for all, the ambiguous hero of your modern day liberal Finland and western world at large. I will trample underfoot Jessica Love for the final time, arm in a sling and all. And I will do it without remorse.
You, the audience, have given rise to the anti-hero. Now deal with it.
Spandex Sapiens movie theater showtimes this week:
Yesterday, the long-awaited feature film story about me, Spandex Sapiens, came out in Finnkino movie theaters across the country of Finland. To celebrate and promote this monumental occasion, FCF Wrestling held a 6-hour wrestle-thon, outdoors in downtown Helsinki, smack-dab in front of the city’s main movie theater, Tennispalatsi.
In the main event, to tie in to the Spandex Sapiens movie release, I fought against transsexual Jessica Love in a battle of both values and polar opposites, as Jessica is the main, free-thinking, liberal antagonist vs. my traditional, conservative, masculine prototype in the movie.
As I wrote in one of my latest blogs, I really believe that the people at large on a societal level will find themselves choosing a side in this movie and the themes and values systems presented therein. This was proven in blazing, vivid colors last night on the premises of Kampin Keskus, where the wrestling ring was set up in front of Tennispalatsi theater, when I got into the ring to take on Jessica Love.
Telling the truth, and having a whole audiences mindset turn against me. (photo: Aki Mäki)
I gave a heated and hearty promo prior to our match, where I chagrined over the lack of moral absolutes and black-and-white principles in our modern society. I challenged the crowd on hand to look into their souls and ask themselves if they really exemplified real masculinity as men, and real femininity as women, seeing how messed up our modern culture is in all its ambiguity. The people started to turn against me, almost as if they were programmed to do so. Brainwashed by the mass media and public sentiment of the day, the crowd became an angry mob. Someone told me afterwards, that they were afraid that someone from the audience would rush the ring amidst my match with Jessica Love.
Taking control of the match! (photo: Aki Mäki)
Jessica Love and I had a damn war of attrition (hell, I even penned the lyrics to a song by the same name by my thrash metal band Angel of Sodom!), in which we tore into each other with the kind of malicious intent that only two polar opposites could create! The ring was slippery as hell, as the sky began to sprinkle rain just as our match began. The canvas might as well have been an ice skating rink, making it damn hard to maneuver and get one’s timing down. It was risky all around, but the sheer personal nature of our battle overrode all else. The people present could certainly feel the tension in the air. It was as real as it gets, folks!
Balsara.net captures the raw emotion of the finish of our match!
In the end, I had such trouble getting my footing because of the rain, that Jessica was able to crack me with a nasty enzugiri, which put me down on the mat. Jessica climbed the ropes to come off the top onto me with a senton splash, which I was able to roll out of the way from. I then immediately hit my trademark spike piledriver for the inevitable pinfall and win.
The audience erupted in boos and jeers. The people had spoken. A virgin wrestling audience, peoples of all different nationalities, chose a side. They went with the liberal, free-thinking brainwashing that they have been programmed to believe. Somehow, I am not surprised. As the referee in our match, Teemu, stated a few weeks ago on social media in regards to my person, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
This is only the beginning. Just as the theater run for Spandex Sapiens has just begun this weekend, so the issue between myself and Jessica Love goes on. The next time we meet in the ring, it will be in front of Jessica Love’s own LGBT demographic. On July 1 in Helsinki, an event called Eurogames will take place in the city center. It’s a huge sporting event, in conjunction with the annual Gay Pride parade in Helsinki.
There could be no greater heel than StarBuck when it comes to this event. There could be no more sympathetic a babyface than Jessica Love when it comes to this event. When the gates open to the public at 12:00 on July 1, right out of the blocks, this war of attrition gets a second chapter. Jessica Love vs. StarBuck takes center stage at Eurogames, and it’s going to be a cold day in Hell-sinki for my transgender opponent when he/she goes down again, only this time, in front of his/her own people.
StarBuck vs. Jessica Love – chapter 2 – Eurogames, Helsinki – July 1
For anyone who missed the mass media exposure for Spandex Sapiens in Finland this week, here are a plethora of links to check out!
Without further ado, here is the official theatrical trailer for Spandex Sapiens, the movie about Yours Truly that comes out in Finnkino theaters nationwide on June 17 in Finland.
Also, keep your eyes peeled for a huge feature article on the movie and myself, appearing soon in Finland’s largest newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, and there will also be a separate video segment with me on their website.
Be sure to go out and see the movie on the premiere week! Let’s make history in the Nordics, and from here, spread it to the rest of the world!
For over a century now, professional wrestling has given spectators and fans worldwide a platform to voice their opinions and choose their idols and heroes, and conversely, choose their villains and anti-heroes.
For anyone who has ever seen the A&E channel’s “The Unreal Story of Pro Wrestling” piece from the late-’90s, there is a quote in there about the psychological impact of pro wrestling as a catharsis for the average person in modern society, offering a conduit to purge the soul through the role of the “face” or “heel” counterparts in any given wrestling match. Pro wrestling is the last bastion of living folklore in a world that has arguably forgotten their heritage and roots, especially in the day and age of multi-culturalism, TV and film.
In pro wrestling, the viewer or fan is compelled to pick a side, living vicariously through the protagonist as they battle against the antagonist, and thereby being able to dispel any possible antipathies or angst that they might have. It’s one of the last, great open forums of unconstrained and uncensored debate in today’s increasingly politically correct environment, where free speech is being drawn back and slowly, but surely, eradicated.
World culture and the media slant these days pushes the message hard that we must all be tolerant and “just get along”, as has been seen in Europe of late with the mass influx of refugees flooding the continent, along with current hot topics, such as transgender toilets in public schools and other institutions. This same pitch has also crossed moral and ethical boundaries, with the gay rights and LGBT movement aggressively moving forward through Hollywood and TV culture at large, where formerly-noted minority groups are now not only given a regular platform, but they are pushed into the faces of everyone at large, whether you agree with it or not. And you, regardless of your personal beliefs, are supposed to simply stand there and “accept” it. Be tolerant. Silently agree. But don’t you dare publicly disagree! Because if you do, the masses, who have largely been programmed by the media at large to think a certain way, will blackball you and ruin your good name! Yeah, this is the paranoia and spirit of the day that we have arrived at. People are damn afraid to speak anything that isn’t in line with the generally-accepted thought of the day.
Jessica Love, seen here, representing the transgender community at Helsinki Pride
The great thing about pro wrestling is that we all don’t have to simply “just get along”. No, if you have a differing opinion than the person sitting next to you, you are free to voice that opinion loud and proud. You can boo and cheer who you want! You can freely choose a side to stand on. Whatever resonates with your values system, you can pick that side and roll with it. Let the warring parties fight it out in the ring and back whichever one tickles your fancy!
The “babyface”, or “face”, has traditionally been the good guy in pro wrestling jargon. They represent the noble, honorable virtues and morals held to be true. The “heels”, on the other hand, represent the bad guys. They have traditionally been the unscrupulous bastards, who are only in business for themselves and they use the collective sentiment of the given day as their personal roll of toilet paper.
Now, all this brings me to a promo that I held yesterday at Helsinki’s Pressa Club during FCF Wrestling’s Wrestling Show Live! event, after transgender fan favorite Jessica Love and Finnish wrestling veteran Stark Adder proved victorious in a tag team outing. I took the mic and proceeded to cut a verbal message to Jessica Love, who is my counterpart in just about every conceivable way, and also happens to be my main antagonist in this summer’s theater release of Spandex Sapiens, the movie about my life and pro wrestling travels around the globe. While Spandex Sapiens is not a wrestling movie in and of itself, showcasing a much wider array of topics and meat on the bone besides pro wrestling, it does serve as a very open platform over the polarizing discussion of modern, overt liberalism vs. old school, conservative values.
This morning, when I opened my Facebook, I saw a private message for a certain wrestling fan asking why I opted to go heel yesterday. I simply sat back, amused at this estimation.
Since when did standing for traditional values become a negative thing and something to be frowned upon? Since when did being a real man, in the most traditional sense – standing for solid, unmoving principles – become a heelish thing to do? Maybe I’m the one missing the boat here, but I just don’t get it.
I have not changed my views, opinions or message during my entire pro wrestling and media career. Since 1999, when I first began getting media exposure to a larger degree, I have kept the same image and approach, regardless of what has been “in”, “hip” or “pop” at any given period in time. I have stemmed the tide, stayed the course, and been consistent. I have not wavered or changed my tune because of deriding opinions or attacks on my character. Even back in 2006, when my Stoner Kings band released our Fuck The World album, I/we got blasted by certain medias and people, who completely shat all over our piece of business, but even then, I stood my ground and stood tall. Nothing has changed. In my estimation, this the measure of a man. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. Stand for what you believe in, regardless of who is against you or whatever is the popular consent of the day.
In the last Rambo movie from 2008, Sly Stallone’s John Rambo character summed up the message of the film in one, single, iconic line: “Die for nothing, or live for something.”
Me personally, I have done just that. I have stood for traditional, masculine values in an ever-changing world and vastly convoluted age. I have offered the iconic view of masculine forte, for better or worse. It’s been the kind of prototype that kids could look up to, as I have heard several parents attest to. I believe the man is the head of the household, the one that leads the dance with the girl, the one that takes charge and carries his own responsibility and stands like a rock for what he believes in. Take it or leave it! I make no apology.
So therefore, I come back to my promo regarding Jessica Love and the theater debut of my story, Spandex Sapiens, on June 17 this summer across Finland and Sweden. Yeah, right up here in this neck of the woods, where PC thought reigns supreme and the gospel of tolerance of all kinds is espoused over and beyond reason. And I find it peculiar, that my movie comes out just before Pride Week in Finland, where the exact demographic that “heels” on my kind of beliefs and traditional values will have it’s annual day in the sun.
Jessica Love represents everything that Pride Week is about. Jessica is the perfect posterboy/girl/person for the LGBT community and exudes the liberal sentiment of our current state of society, especially here in the Nordics. In pro wrestling, especially for fans in the southern, capital region of Finland, along with a plethora of Swedes in cities like Gothenburg, Malmö and Stockholm, all find Jessica Love to be a sympathetic “babyface” to rally behind. Indeed, you would be hard-pressed to find a more complete opposite of myself than Jessica Love.
So this summer, take a stand. Choose a side! If you believe in the man being the head of the house, and still believe that a man must be king in his own home, leading the charge and taking responsibility, standing where others fall, then I welcome you to my side. Stand with me and represent classic, traditional masculinity! If the Russel Crowe movie The Gladiator rang bell with you, then my call goes out to you!
If you vehemently oppose my train of thought or simply cannot stomach traditional societal roles, then I welcome you to join the opposing side with Jessica Love, where the colors of the rainbow shine brightly.
If being a real man in the classic, iconic, traditional sense makes StarBuck a heel, then so be it. I have no misgivings and no regrets.
Get your tickets to Spandex Sapiens around the country at Finnkino theates HERE. It all starts on June 17!!!
On Friday, June 17, the day that Spandex Sapiens hits Finnkino movie theaters across Finland, there will also be a huge pro wrestling one day festival outdoors in downtown Helsinki in front of Tennispalatsi Finnkino theater. Matches will start at 12:00 noon, with a series of three matches at the top of every hour, until 20:00 when the main event and apropo theme of the Spandex Sapiens movie takes place, as I wrestle against Jessica Love in the last slot of this eight-hour-plus action extravaganza! Plus, remember folks, outdoors it’ll be free to the public!
StarBuck vs. Jessica Love — LIVE on June 17 outdoors in Helsinki at Tennispalatsi @ 20:00
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.
FCF afterparty wrestling show at Gloria, Helsinki, Finland.
FCF afterparty wrestling show at Gloria, Helsinki, Finland.
FCF afterparty wrestling show at Gloria, Helsinki, Finland.
FCF afterparty wrestling show at Gloria, Helsinki, Finland.
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.
FCF afterparty wrestling show at Gloria, Helsinki, Finland.
FCF afterparty wrestling show at Gloria, Helsinki, Finland.
FCF afterparty wrestling show at Gloria, Helsinki, Finland.
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!
What a ride it’s been! Over the past six years, since the summer of 2009 to be exact, film producer Oskari Pastila (whose last film was the acclaimed Knucklebonehead in 2013) has been busy shooting my story, which he entitled Spandex Sapiens.
Originally carrying the working title Babyface, Oskari went for more of a Marvel Comics approach and thus dubbed the work Spandex Sapiens. We’ve been filming as far away as Japan on a couple of occasions, in addition to Germany, Sweden, The Bahamas, USA and even footage from Romania, in addition to Finland. This thing has been shot on three different continents, for Pete’s sake!
My movie rival, transsexual wrestler Jessica Love, looks on at the filmed segments between takes with writer ilja Rautsi and director Oskari Pastila.
Now, after much delay and much wait, the official world premiere of the movie is at hand on Thursday, November 5 in Helsinki, as part of the Night Visions Film Festival for 2015, slated for a showtime of 17:45 at Maxim theater (located at Kluuvikatu 1, Helsinki).
It’s been quite a journey! One that features a tale of love lost and love found, falling out with one girlfriend only for me to find the girl that would become my wife. It features a scintillating theme of Yours Truly, as the prototypical throwback to the conservative retro kind of caveman from yesterday vs. the all-accepting, liberal values of my antagonist counterpart in the movie, Europe’s only transsexual wrestler, Jessica Love. It also features the price of the path less traveled by the lone wolf, who makes a way where there is no way, to create a legacy.
Sound engineer Svante Colerus puts the final touches on Spandex Sapiens.
In short, Spandex Sapiens has a lot of meat on the bone, and something on tap that will touch every viewer in some way. This movie is not politically correct, nor does it pander to the prevalent social conscience of our modern day. It’s a film that will divide viewers straight down the middle. You’ll either love it, or you’ll hate it, simply due to the vivid clash of values that are presented in the film. I am sure the critics will have a field day with this one!
Mark the date down in your calendars, folks. November 5, 2015 – the world premiere of Spandex Sapiens!
On the same night, as an afterparty for the movie, FCF Wrestling and Night Visions will feature the Spandex Sapiens Afterparty & Wrestling Show at Cultural Arena Gloria in downtown Helsinki, with a showtime of 21:00. I will be grappling against Jessica Love on that show, in honor of the main theme in the movie. Also on the card, a plethora of other top matches, and fans who bought a movie ticket to the film premiere the same night get 5 Euros off of the ticket price at the afterparty wrestling show.
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!
Well, today is the last day of the year. A fitting time to look back on the tumultuous year that has been 2013.
Personally speaking, it’s been the hardest year on many fronts in my life to date. Sure, I’ve had both good and bad this year, but the dark side casts a major shadow on what has been 2013. Some economic seers were predicting a shitstorm for this past year at the tail end of 2012, and lo and behold, that shitstorm came with sinister fury. Financially, 2013 was a horrendous year. The sooner forgotten, the better. I really have no idea what is going to stem the tide and turn the course of the economy and job market, but something needs to happen — big time. Maybe it’s just the foreboding clouds of impending doom that forecast the doing away with of cash money, moving society towards a total digital transaction empire. Maybe it’s the speedy dissolvement of the middle class, ushering in a greater disparity between the those who have and those who have not. Maybe it’s the last, great rush of the greedy and self-centered, the liars and the thieves, to capitalize on the few remaining remnants of everyone else’s piece of pie. Whatever it is, it’s come to not only reach, but exceed the limit. Stop already!
But yeah, there has been good in this past year, also. I started 2013 off with a surprise engagement to my sweetheart, Diana, at a wrestling show in Lohja, Finland on January 4. After my match against Ricky Vendetta, I took the house mic and proposed in center ring to my girl, leading to our marriage on March 13 in Espoo, Finland. Diana told me that both numbers 3 and 13 have always had a lucky significance for her during her life, and it was her wish that we tie the knot on 13.3.2013. It took me almost 40 years to reach marriage, but dammit, I finally found my diamond in the rough and took the head-first plunge!
My parents pose with my brand spanking new wife and I
In March, I had the honor of representing my homeland of Canada in the Four Continents Cup of 2013 in Brugge, Belgium. The match was a four-man random tag elimination bout, with wrestlers also representing Spain (Europe), Japan (Asia) and Ecuador (South America). In the end, it boiled down to myself and Makoto Morimitsu of Japan, with my foe escaping my finishing piledriver attempt, capturing me in a rolling side cradle hold for the pinfall and win. It was a hard-fought match that was eight years in the making, as I had originally faced Makoto in Italy back in 2005, where I left him laying the ring after my spike piledriver.
StarBuck piledrives Makoto in the Four Continents Cup
I got to the critical age of 40 this past year, back on April 24. My wife organized a surprise birthday party for me at my old friend and ex-Stoner Kings drummer Janne Kontoniemi’s Bar Chaplin in downtown Helsinki. It was nice to see so many people turn up for the occasion. That said, it really feels like at 40, my life may as well be half over. I’ve been able to “live the dream”, as the boys call it in pro wrestling when one is able to enjoy a good modicum of success, rock all over the world with several of the bands I’ve fronted in, create characters with SONY music sensation Hevisaurus that have turned into a smash-hit all across Finland with kids far and wide, and a whole hoopla of other stuff.
Yet, somehow at the milestone age of 40, all of this feels somewhat … empty. It’s strange. When you think, that in the end, all you have ahead of you is an endless eternity that you cannot cancel out on, even if you’d have hoped, it all just becomes so very strange. The words from my band Overnight Sensation’s song Fool Like You resound in my head: “If I could, I’d return to the womb … way the hell back to nothing, before I even set to bloom.” Maybe it’s the hardships over the past year, but it makes one somber and philosophical.
In the Spring of 2013, I had the honor of facing WNC (Wrestling New Classic) champion, Osamu Nishimura, as part of a spectacular tag team main event in Tokyo, where I was paired up with my Synapse teammates AKIRA and Syuri against TAJIRI, Nishimura and WNC women’s champion Lin Byron. My good friend, heart surgeon Dr. Hiroaki Terasaki, claimed that this was the best match that I had wrestled in Japan in his opinion. I must say, that working against Nishimura in that match left me hoping I would have gotten a singles title match against the man over the course of this year. However, the financial hardships that are troubling the west are also now being felt harshly in the east, and I didn’t get the chance to grapple solely against Nishimura, as he dropped the title to TAJIRI this past summer.
A show of respect between WNC Champ Nishimura and myself after our match.
On May 11 in Espoo, Finland, I captured the BWA (British Wrestling Alliance) Catchweight title from Valentine, gaining a measure of revenge on my adversary for attacking my wife a couple of months earlier at an event in Helsinki. My victory was bittersweet, as I had promised not only to take the title, but to send Valentine out on a stretcher for good measure. I didn’t get to collect on the stretcher ride portion of it all, but that receipt is still coming, be assured of that.
2013 was a hard year also in the way of physical injuries, particularly the herniated disc between my C6-C7 vertebrae, which was diagnosed in mid-August. I had been experiencing numbing pain in my upper left shoulderblade/trapezius/arm, and I am talking 24/7 pain that just wouldn’t relent. I finally could take no more, and I went to one of Finland’s most highly-regarded sports physicians, Dr. Tuomo Karila, who had been the doctor for the Finnish wrestling team in the last Olympics. That is when I understood the severity of my condition. Had I continued to wrestle, especially in a highly-anticipated match against 190kg Cannonball Grizzly at the end of the summer, I would have risked paralysis. I tried to snake my way out of a match in Gothenburg, Sweden, against local hero Conny Mejsel, but the President of GBG Wrestling, Lady Delores, demanded that I wrestle. I was given a substitute, as I declined the hard challenge that Mejsel would surely present, and in lieu, I faced masked man Aguila Roja. I trounced Roja, as I was irate that GBG wouldn’t let me sit the match out, due to my aggrevated injury, but at the end of it all, Mejsel appeared to save the day. I beat Mejsel bloody with a folding chair, paying him back for conniving against me with the Bättre Folk contingent in FCF Wrestling back in the summer of 2013 in Helsinki at one event. When I am fully healed, I will be more than glad to face Conny Mejsel, be it in Sweden or in Finland or any place for that matter. All that said, I have still not fully recovered from my herniated disc, as of December 31 today, as I get pins and needles from time to time in my left index finger from the damage done to my disc. Deadlifts, chin-ups and back squats are off limits for another three to four months, as this thing has to get properly healed up.
I got some good news from Oskari Pastila, the director of my Spandex Sapiens documentary movie. Originally, the movie was slated to be out in January 2014, but lo and behold, the flick just kept getting more and more funding, which meant that more and more people were getting involved. This of course meant that the release date of the film had to be pushed back to either Spring 2014 or Autumn 2014, since the summer vacation months do not warrant putting anything notable out. So, for all of you who have been asking and wondering, now you know the lowdown on the situation.
Spandex Sapiens promotional artwork by Janne Yliruusi
In September, I returned to action in England for the first time in thirteen years at an event in Gloucester, entitled Wrestling Rampage. I faced local hero Matt Jarrett aka The English Bulldog, dropping him with my trademark spike piledriver to get the duke in under 10-minutes of combat, as Jarrett suffered a neck injury during the course of our bout. I was even asked to go to BBC studios, promoting our match-up prior to the event, which I thought was very cool, in addition to making local newspaper headlines.
The Citizen newspaper runs a big piece on my UK match
September also signalled the release of my hard rock band Overnight Sensation‘s Life’s a Bitch album, which was released solely as a digital record in todays Internet market. It’s sad to say, but by and in large, it seems that the day and age of the CD as a salable item is in its twilight period. So much of everyone’s business has become virtual, that it’s downright scary. Still, I am damn proud of the end result with Life’s a Bitch, which is a very catchy and solid rock album.
I got to play director on my southern rock act Crossfyre‘s Devil’s Daughter music video, which I also did the storyboard and wrote the story for. My wife even got a sponsorship for the girls in the video through mineral make-up company, Gaya Cosmetics. The end result was stellar, as you can witness from the official video.
All in all, 2013 doesn’t sound too bad from the highlights mentioned above, but in many other ways, especially financially, this year is not one that I would like to revisit, outside of a few peak moments. Only God knows what 2014 holds in store, as right now, it’s just a black hole with a huge question mark at the end of it.
Nonetheless, thanks to all my fans and supporters for keeping the faith alive and flame burning over the past year! Let’s keep our thumbs up for 2014…
Last night at Route 66 in Kotka, Finland, Brother Studios shot the music video for my southern rock band Crossfyre‘s song “Devil’s Daughter”, forthcoming off of our next album, Iron Horse, out early next year.
Even at this point, prior to editing, I can say that this video is going to be smoking hot! “Devil’s Daughter” is a story of potentially fatal temptation, with an underlying theme that is easy for just about anyone to relate to.
All-natural mineral cosmetics company Gaya Cosmetics sponsored the make-up for the girls in the video, which was a deal that my wife Diana worked out, so huge props to her!
StarBuck and wife Diana pose with Gaya’s CEO Alexandra Iordachioiu
Here’s a little teaser of one of the scenes from the video, shot by director Oskari Pastila for my forthcoming documentary movie Spandex Sapiens, after which I will offer up the lyrics to the song as a foretaste.
The shit has hit the proverbial fan. I was diagnosed today with a herniated disc between my C6-C7 vertebrae by top sports physician Tuomo Karila in Helsinki at Dextra Sports Clinic.
Preparing for my MRI scan at Helsinki’s Dextra Sports Clinic today
The injury itself happened as a freak occurrence on August 3rd, as I was training upcoming Finnish pro wrestling hopefuls at FCF Wrestling’s training center in Kellokoski, Finland. I suffered whiplash in one of the training exercises, and I felt a sharp pain in my upper trapezius and neck after my sparring partner sent me chest-first into the ring corner buckles. I continued the training exercise, disregarding what had just happened. The next day, I continued coaching my class, and the pain intensified in my injured region. I thought that adequate rest would suffice to heal whatever momentary strain had been incurred, but I could not have been more wrong. I went on a short vacation with my wife Diana in western Finland near the city of Pori, and during last week, the pain spread to my left arm and ached so bad that it kept me awake at night. Last Thursday, as we were driving back to Helsinki through Turku, I had to make an emergency stop at Turku’s main hospital, as the agony was unbearable. On Friday last week, I made plans to see Dr. Karila, as I could no longer cope with my physical condition. However, I had a match in Rovaniemi, Finland at the 2013 edition of the Simerock Festival last Saturday, where I wrestled in a tag team main event alongside “Wildman” Heimo Ukonselkä against Stark Adder and FCF champion King Kong Karhula. My injury was further aggrevated during that outing, although I tried my best to play it safe.
This news puts a real damper on my upcoming BWA (British Wrestling Alliance) Catchweight title defense against the USA’s 190kg monster Cannonball Grizzly in Kotka, Finland on August 24 at FCF Wrestling’s Rock & Wrestling Rampage at Route 66. Dr. Karila told me that I would be risking paralysis if I stepped into the ring to grapple with my neck in this current condition. Of course, I got scared good and proper, and there is no way that I would be willing to put my health at unnecessary risk. I am not willing to look at ending up like one of my old wrestling idols, Tom Billington aka The Dynamite Kid, who has already spent the last 20-years in a wheelchair following the end of his wrestling career.
The fact is that right now, I am looking at a herniated disc between my C6 and C7 vertebrae. I have been unable to sleep for almost two weeks, due to the 24/7 pain that courses through my left arm, numbing my index and middle fingers. My left shoulder blade and upper trapezius feels like a smoldering fire has set into it, and I really do not wish this anguish on even my worst enemy. All I can say is, that I hope the Good Lord above has mercy on my predicament.
The MRI scan shows the damage to my neck
Dr. Karila himself is a former wrestler (albeit not a pro wrestler like myself) and he has acted as the official doctor of the Finnish Olympic wrestling team in the past, so you can guess that he knows his stuff. When the doctor told me to just sit out for six to ten weeks, I took it pretty hard. After all, I am an athlete, and a top athlete at that in my chosen sport. It is not easy for me to turn away bookings and walk away from active competition. At heart, I am a warrior, and my blood calls me to fight. That said, right now, my battle is with my physical well-being.
The following video documentation of my injury and MRI was filmed by director Oskari Pastila, who has been filming a documentary entitled Spandex Sapiens, about my wrestling career and persona, over the past four years (the film will be out in early 2014):
I am chagrined to forfeit my title match in Kotka on August 24 with Cannonball Grizzly. FCF Wrestling will find a suitable replacement main event for Rock & Wrestling Rampage at Route 66, and you can bet that Cannonball Grizzly will have the fight of his life on his hands once FCF officials have deemed his opponent for the event. Down the road, once I am healthy, I look forward to getting another chance to face the American behemoth Grizzly, whether it is for the title or just for personal honor.
Cannonball Grizzly stands 188cm and weighs 190kg
Thank you for your support in this trying time. Your prayers are appreciated.
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