This past Saturday, November 24, in the city of Kotka, I entered a new phase of life.  One which saw me embark on a the beginning of a new chapter with my SLAM! Wrestling Finland company.  Because yesterday, we pulled off our maiden voyage with SLAM!

I recall my father saying to me back when I was a younger man, that one day he believed I’d be a leader, a boss.  He saw that stock in my persona and character.  I kept his words in mind as I traveled down the roads of life, feeling in my heart that one day, indeed, I would become what he believed back then.

I look at my life at the age of 45 and I draw parallels to my old friend Chris Jericho and the lessons to be learned from his life over the past couple of years.  Chris left WWE on the top of the mountain, as a favorably featured main star on RAW.  He dropped the Intercontinental Championship to Kevin Owens at Wrestlemania 33 and then left the company riding the high wave.  Chris hooked up with his old buddies Jado and Gedo, the bookers of New Japan Pro Wrestling, and orchestrated a deal for him to come in to NJPW and become a lead star for the second biggest wrestling company on the planet.  To this day, he holds their IWGP Intercontinental title and just sold out his own Jericho Cruise, which was highly touted in the media.

Now Chris could have chosen to stay with WWE after Wrestlemania 33 but he chose not to.  In retrospect, I think I can assess his situation: he had done everything he could for that company.  He’d been a multi-time WWE Champion, holding a plethora of titles, and at the age of 46 back then, he surely understood that his days as a regularly featured talent were coming to a close.  The younger stars of today were coming up fast, being pushed hard, and the older stars would need to take supporting roles before long.  So the question really seemed to be: do I spin my wheels and remain here, collecting a nice payday, or do I want to grow as a human being and see how else I could spread my wings beyond what I’ve already achieved?

As I’ve gotten older, I understand this train of thought perfectly.  Like life coach Tony Robbins often says, out of the seven basic human needs, the last two are the needs of the spirit: the need to contribute and the need to grow.  I can underline this with clarity.

Here in 2018, it was time for me to take an honest look at my life and ask myself the pivotal question: what do I want to do with my life from hereon forward?  How do I see myself facilitating a living for my family and myself in the future?  Where do my talents lie, and should I venture off into a new field and trade, or should I attempt to make a living utilizing and doing what I already know over the course of accrued life experience?  I chose the latter.

And so it was, that last night in the city of Kotka at Power Tech Group‘s annual pre-Christmas party, SLAM! Wrestling Finland was launched upon the world.  It was done under the most optimal, high-class circumstances possible: professional lighting and sound, customized entrance way, a fresh and new audience that was excited to be there, and a card of pro wrestling action featuring the best, carefully-selected talents for each match that would facilitate a fun and dynamic night of action for everyone on hand.

Thank you, Power Tech Group, for not only sponsoring and making our SLAM! Wrestling Finland ring, but also for giving us the stage and spotlight to set forth on the waters of live entertainment service providers in the Nordic sector!

This is only the beginning.

(All photos by Jary Högnabba, www.kuvanuotta.fi)