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Posts Tagged ‘Valentine’

What a Winter War!

Posted: March 20, 2016 in Entertainment, Professional Wrestling
Tags: Bernard Vandamme, Bret Hart, Chaos Denmark, FCF Wrestling, feud, Helsinki, King Kong Karhula, Pro Wrestling, rivalry, SAS, StarBuck, Tajiri, Talvisota X, Valentine, Winter War

Last night in Helsinki we almost had a tragedy take place. FCF Wrestling held it’s 10th anniversary of Finland’s equivalent of Wrestlemania, Talvisota X (Winter War 10). With 500 frantic fans showing up to our mega-show, we had nine matches slated on the card, with the FCF title bout between champion Valentine and challenger King Kong Karhula in the main event.

However, earlier yesterday, we got word that my opponent for the evening, Chaos of Denmark, had been delayed in Copenhagen. His SAS flight had left for Helsinki and had been turned back after take-off due to a fuel shortage. SAS rerouted him through Prague later in the day, only to make it to Helsinki airport for 22:30!

Now just me personally, talking not only for myself but for the fans on hand, and in light of the significance of my imprint on the Finnish pro wrestling scene in general, as the pioneer of the sport in our country, for my match to have been left off the card of this 10th anniversary show would have been an all-time low.

Back in 2006, when the first, inaugural Winter War took place in Vantaa, Finland, I was the main event against Bernard Vandamme of Belgium for the Eurostars European championship. At that event, I won the European title for the first time in my storied career, putting Finnish pro wrestling and FCF as a company on the continental wrestling industry map.

The night I took the European title off of Bernard Vandamme in 2006

Now, 10 years later, the boys that were in the opening match of the very first Winter War in 2006 found themselves at the top of the card, in the advertised main event of Winter War / Talvisota X this year, a decade later. Valentine and King Kong Karhula had one hell of a match last night, which stands to be applauded on all levels, and I was amazed at the public reaction to the newly-turned Karhula as a babyface. It seems that the Finnish fans really vouched for him and have taken him as a fan favorite fore-runner. Pitted against one of the greatest heels ever – if not THE greatest heel ever – out of the Nordics, Valentine, both challenger and champion tore the house down with a multi-faceted, highly intricate and masterful match. Valentine retained his strap, but Karhula won over the entire audience with a moral victory.

About half-way through Valentine’s match with Karhula, Chaos arrived at the Töölö Sports Hall, rushed to the venue via taxi to make it for our advertised match. He had changed into his wrestling gear during the ride to town, and he was primed and ready to go 15 minutes before our match went on. Talk about a near-miss!

My Eye of the Tiger theme music began to play and I wondered if Chaos and I could follow the stellar main event match set by Valentine and Karhula. Still, as a 22-year veteran, I knew I could be certain of what I could produce. I was also dead-certain of what my opponent could produce. We had an issue to attend to, a rivalry that crossed national boundaries. I wasn’t expecting a high-flying match or a technical showcase. No, what I was expecting was a WAR. And a war I got!

Chaos lambasted me from behind with a steel chair from the blindside as I made my ring entrance, beating me six shades of senseless before I even knew what was going on! The man tore into me, literally like a pit bull, unrelenting and vicious in his assault. I found myself literally fighting for my life in there. There was no surcease, no slowing down, as Chaos just kept the pressure and heat on me.

Yet, I wasn’t succumbing. I wasn’t laying down or staying down. This was Winter War 10, dammit! Winter War, my personal brainchild and concept, which has since been branded and recognized as the most important pro wrestling event annually in the country of Finland!

Chaos blasts me with a mean uppercut! (photo: Timo Muilu)

My adrenaline started kicking in. I struggled hard to clear my head of the cobwebs of Chaos’ vicious assault. I got in one punch… then another… and another. I rallied hard, fighting back with the intestinal fortitude of a dozen Finnish war veterans that fought hard to retain Finland’s independence in 1940. I wasn’t just fighting for my professional wrestling heritage in this country, I was fighting for every person at the Töölö Sports Hall that rallied with me. Every punch and blow that I could land was delivered with the force and emotional investment of the people that believed in me and my personal contribution to pro wrestling in Finland since 2003. All of a sudden, my fight became larger than life itself in that moment.

A brief rally that didn’t last too long, but did the damage intended! (photo: Timo Muilu)

I finished the first Winter War with my head held high back in 2006, and I wasn’t willing to leave the ring last night with anything less than that same feeling and raw emotion. I finally nailed Chaos in the face with a boot as he charged me in the corner. With the Dane stung, I blasted him with a second rope clothesline that would have done former WWF world champion Bret “Hitman” Hart proud.

After a spirited last-ditch, desperation comeback, I got caught out on the outside of the ring by Chaos, as he ran my kidneys hard into the ring apron. Rolling me back into the ring, Chaos hit his trademark moonsault and damn near crushed my legs on the landing. It would be hard to kick out, with my thighs knotted up, but kick out I did!

Chaos hits a mean moonsault on my fallen corpus (photo: Xeniya Balsara)

Chaos picked me up for a side back breaker and then ascended the ropes for another huge moonsault, which he hit perfectly across my chest cavity, knocking the wind out of me. He went for the cover, but just barely, I managed to kick out once again.

At this point, Chaos seemed to be scrambling for ideas, so he went after the steel chair that he used before the start of the match to beat me senseless. Bringing the chair to the ring, he prepared to blast me with it, but I hit a superkick into the chair, sending the steel into Chaos’ face and knocking him senseless for a change.

Now was my time. It was now or never. I hoisted Chaos for my trademark spike piledriver and dropped him with the very maneuver that has put away competition all over the world during my wrestling travels in 20 countries worldwide. But… he kicked out!!!

My piledriver has a match-ending odds on favorite rate of about 98% (photo: Xeniya Balsara)

I was stunned. Hardly ever had anyone… anyone at all… kicked out of my spike piledriver. In Japan, “The Japanese Buzzsaw” Tajiri managed to kick out of my piledriver once, and once only. On that night, Tajiri became the FCF champion back in 2010. But such are so scarce occasions, that they only happen once in a blue moon, or perhaps, as with most, only once in a lifetime.

I blasted Chaos with yet another spike piledriver and that was finally enough to put away the tough bastard at Winter War 10, as the audience counted with every slap of the referee’s hand against the mat, as Chaos’ shoulders were pinned for the 1-2-3. And my goodness, the sound of the pop that the live audience emitted at that point could have been registered on the Richter Scale!

What could have been a disastrous night on many levels turned into one of the most satisfying and memorable matches of my 22+ year pro wrestling career. Thanks to everyone who was on hand, and for those who weren’t, there is a DVD of this event in the works, which will be out in the coming months for sale!

The FCF Wrestling veteran crew that has taken part in every single Talvisota / Winter War to 2006 -2016: (left to right) King Kong Karhula, StarBuck, Valentine, Stark Adder (photo: Satu Tapaturma)

The Veteran’s League

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Coach’s Perspective – FCF Jatkosota 2015

Posted: May 7, 2015 in Odds and Ends
Tags: analysis, coaching, FCF, Heimo Ukonselkä, Jatkosota, Jimmy Gavroche, King Kong Karhula, Pro Wrestling, StarBuck, The Beast, Valentine

I thought to write a breakdown of the things I witnessed from a coaching perspective at FCF Wrestling’s Jatkosota 2015 event in Helsinki this past weekend. Since many people don’t really understand the nature of the beast that is professional wrestling, maybe this will help to shed some light on the game, and folks just might be able to grasp how incredibly demanding the sport is on so many levels.

In the opener tag match which I was a part of, I was really impressed with the physical aggression of King Kong Karhula, who tagged with Pyöveli Petrov. The big man is undoubtedly at the top of his game right now after spending 10 years in the sport to date, as his timing is impeccable, every single move and all of his execution is full-out and in-pocket. He has all the bases covered: the character, the charisma and the ring skills. I would be surprised if WWE didn’t take a serious look at this guy in the very near future. The way Karhula brutalized my tag team partner Sly Sebastian in our tag match made me feel sorry for little Sly. Mean and nasty in the ring, Karhula is one to watch for, and promoters in Europe should seriously consider booking him, regardless of the financial struggles that most of the continent has been facing for quite some time already.

The Beast’s power displays in his match against Jessica Love were impressive, to say the least. Especially catching Jessica’s top rope crossbody and turning it into a jackhammer in one fell swoop for the winning pinfall was a thing to behold. This big man is developing at an alarming pace, and he is another one that WWE should be keeping their eyes on, and dismantling fan favorite Jessica Love gives The Beast major momentum right now.

The hunger, spark and fire shown by young newcomers Jami Aalto and Joey Impact was a thing of beauty to behold in their match against Stark Adder and Ricky Vendetta. You can really see that these two rookies ”want it.” They want to grasp the brass ring and make a real impression on the fans, in their quest to become stars in this grappling game. Both Aalto and Impact showed incredible drive, heart and passion as they gutsily fought the experienced duo of Adder and Vendetta, who are the most cohesive unit in FCF Wrestling today and one mean team. I predict a bright future for these kids. Keep it up!

After suffering a brutal beating at the hands of ”Wildman” Heimo Ukonselkä, Mikko Maestro faces a transition akin to that undergone by Kurt Angle somewhere around the year 2000. Angle was a comedy wrestler in WWE at the time, and in his feud with Triple H, he had to step it up and find his serious game face. Maestro simply cannot continue as a light-hearted, fun guy after the way Heimo abused him. He will have to find the reserves deep down to become more that what he is now, if he hopes to stand toe-to-toe with Ukonselkä. Now is the time for Mikko Maestro to change his game.

Mikko Maestro brutalized by Heimo Ukonselkä (Photo: Mats Havia 2015)

The triple threat tag team match between HC Andersen & Robert Holmström, The Luupää Brothers and Murskaaja Mieto & Tohtori Ioni had one competitor outshine everyone. Vili Luupää showed the kind of timing, fire and fluidity in his hot tag comeback, that I have last seen Daniel Bryan do something similar when he was feuding with The Shield in WWE a couple of years back. I really have to give props to Vili Luupää, who is another one grasping for the elusive brass ring right now.

The women’s triple threat match was short and sweet, but the girls really showed some pizzazz and spice while they were in there. For a long time, pro wrestling has been coined ”the grunt and groan game”, and one thing that matches must have is audibles and noise (since no one likes to watch sports or movies with the sound turned off). Julia Kyy (main audibles here and best character presence overall), Sara Elektra and newcomer Regina really put in a spirited effort for the few minutes that they had, before Robert Holmström interjected himself in the match and drew the kind of heat from the audience that borders on being criminal. Holmström has that ”asshole” kind of quality to his ring character that people find easy to hate, and it should be interesting to see how he fares against the girls, because that seems to be his intergender modus operandi now.

France’s Jimmy Gavroche and FCF champion Valentine had one of the best pure wrestling matches that I have seen in a long, long time. I felt that Gavroche really pushed Valentine to his fullest potential and visa versa. It’s a thing of beauty to see the marquee done right, and the name on the marquee reads ”wrestling.” Tight ring work, well-paced and holding solid match psychology, this was a worthy main event. Gavroche has great fire and body language and I can understand why it is easy for the audience to get behind him, even if he is a foreign wrestler coming in against one of FCF’s own. There were so many false finishes in this match that it kept everyone on the edge of their seats. It was really something to see live, which is exactly how professional wrestling should be enjoyed. Big props to both men for an incredible effort. I also have to state, that I was really taken aback at how the fans responded to The Beast coming out after the match to stare down Valentine, as the audience erupted into a completely spontaneous ”Beast is gonna kill you!” chant that continued even after The Beast left the ring and went to the back. There’s something very volatile brewing here!

Be sure to come out for the next FCF Wrestling event in Porvoo, Finland on June 5 at the city’s #URBCULT happening, as there is nothing quite like the live experience that the game provides. Take a look at this fantastic video to see exactly what I’m talking about and we hope to see you next time!

The Evil that Men do

Posted: March 11, 2014 in Life, Professional Wrestling, Social commentary
Tags: Bernard Vandamme, BWA, evil, Finland, Helsinki, Miss D, StarBuck, stretcher match, Talvisota VIII, Valentine, WNC

After a hellacious night of wrestling warfare in Helsinki this past weekend at the biggest yearly event in Finnish professional wrestling, I found myself losing … and losing big!

I entered the event with my head held high, a dual-champion, representing both Britain and Japan. However, after the dust had settled, I left the ring dejected, having lost both the BWA Catchweight title to Valentine, as well as the WNC championship to Bernard Vandamme. To add salt to my wounds, I also lost the services of my wife, Miss D, as my ringside valet, since the stipulation in the match with Valentine was that should I lose the match (and BWA title), my wife’s career would also be on the line. In other words, FCF Wrestling’s Talvisota VIII was a royal flush for me … right down the proverbial shitter.

Firstly, the long-awaited Stretcher Match that I had with Valentine was a war that I gladly accepted and looked forward to. After the match, his face was marred and his front tooth chipped, after all that he and his Bättre Folk cohorts instigated against my wife and I over the past year. This was a bittersweet revenge for me, and although I lost the match, which could only end in a pinfall, I gained my measure of retribution. Valentine used a foreign object, which I heard were brass knuckles, on my ribs, and in the end, threw salt into my eyes before nailing his Code Breaker finsiher to pin me down for the win. After I was able to shake the stinging from my eyes, I paid Valentine back in spades, piledriving him three times – two of those head-first on a steel chair. Valentine was carted out of the ring with his newly-acquired BWA title draped unceremoniously across his prone carcass. Miss D even got her own personal comeuppance against Valentine’s Bättre Folk valet, Barbie, slapping the devious wench to the canvas after the match. I was happy over all of the dished out retribution, even in defeat.

However, my WNC title defense against Belgium’s powerhouse Bernard Vandamme was an even more bitter pill for me. I was battle-weary, but Vandamme demanded his match immediately after I duelled Valentine. With the heart of a hero, there was no way I was backing down. I fought with all I had, but Vandamme was fresh, and he laid the heat on hard and heavy. It took just under two-minutes for my assailant to score the victory, with an Oklahoma Stampede powerslam. Lo and behold, in one fell swoop, wihtin one night, I lost two championships.

Now, in this life, there is no up without the down, no happiness without sadness, and no good without evil. Everything is relative, in addition: the higher you climb, the further down you have to fall. After reaching the pinnacle, the top of the mountain, the only way is down. No one stays on top forever.

So now, in the face of this monumental, personal defeat at Talvisota VIII, starts the climb back up the mountain for this wayfaring, battle-worn ring veteran. But mark my words, I will rise like a phoenix from the ashes. My ego and spirit are too strong to be denied.

It wasn’t only me, that suffered a crushing loss at Talvisota VIII. The FCF Wrestling championship changed hands at the event, as the incredibly-popular champion Tuho Torvinen lost his prestigious title to ”Wildman” Heimo Ukonselkä. Ukonselkä played a very aggressive and dirty game against Torvinen, laying the champion out with the butt of his battle axe, which is a part of the Wildman’s gimmick regalia during his ring entrances. Torvinen’s bell was visibly wrung, and the man was never able to fully regain his senses and sustain a prolonged flurry of offense. In just over 10-minutes, Ukonselkä countered Torvinen’s football tackle charge, nailing the champion with a powerful big boot to the face, after which the winning pinfall was academic.

Perhaps the lesson to be learned here is, that as Iron Maiden once sang, ”The evil that men do lives on and on.”

Yet, like a phoenix, the good will rise from the ashes. Just watch us.

The Hell of a Winter War

Posted: March 3, 2014 in Life, Professional Wrestling
Tags: battle, FCF Wrestling, fight, Helsinki, Miss D, revenge, StarBuck, stretcher match, Talvisota, Valentine, vendetta, vengeance, Winter War

This coming Saturday night in Helsinki, Finland, FCF Wrestling celebrates the eighth annual installment of Winter War, Talvisota VIII, which will be held at Sokos Hotel Presidentti.

Talvisota VIII is a monumental card, headlined by FCF champion Tuho Torvinen defending his prestigious title against the challenge of “Wildman” Heimo Ukonselkä and Finland’s very first Stretcher Match, featuring myself against the villainous Valentine.

Now, personally speaking, I have long-awaited this Stretcher Match against Valentine. In fact, I was the one who initially demanded that the match take place, due to the fact that Valentine assaulted my wife almost one year ago in March 2013. I certainly cannot live that moment down, and the scars still remain.

The fact that Valentine did not only assault my wife one single time, but repeated his cowardly act twice thereafter, is something that screams for retribution. No man on this Earth worth their manhood and weight would opt to sit idly and do nothing, as their woman becomes the target of an attack. For this sin, Valentine MUST pay. Talvisota VIII and the Stretcher Match that he and I will do battle in is the judgement that is due to him, and I will be the judge, jury and executioner on the night of March 8 in Helsinki when the bell rings. One of us will be carried out of that ring, laid out on a stretcher, and that means punishment in capitals!

Not only did Valentine finally “man-up” (and in his case, I use the term “man” very loosely) and accept my Stretcher Match challenge for Talvisota VIII, where I will openly put my BWA Catchweight title on the line also, but he also presented his own demand: that I put my wife’s career as my wrestling valet on the line in this match also.

Now my wife, Diana, or Miss D as she is known in wrestling circles, has certainly done nothing to provoke the kinds of attacks that she has endured, nor should she suffer the consequences of collateral damage in the issue between Valentine and myself. Yet, it has come down to this. I am so ready to beat Valentine into oblivion, that I accept his additional demand and stipulation regarding putting my wife’s career on the line at Talvisota VIII. I am going to make him rue the day that he instigated what he has done to my wife.

This coming Saturday, no wrestling fan in Finland should miss the utter destruction of Valentine that I will personally deal out in Helsinki at the biggest wrestling card of the year in this country.

As far as I am concerned, this issue ends on March 8.

Here is also FCF Wrestling’s exclusive story on the issue between Valentine and I (in Finnish): http://www.fightclubfinland.fi/index.php?news=783&all=0

United we stand, divided we fall

Posted: January 8, 2014 in Professional Wrestling
Tags: Bättre Folk, Conny Mesjel, Eurosport, FCF Wrestling, Finland vs Sweden, Helsinki, Ice Hockey championships, Kristian Kurki, match, Mikko Maestro, Pro Wrestling, rivalry, Robert Holmström, Sly Sebastian, StarBuck, Steinbolt, Survivor Series, Valentine, WWE

This weekend on Saturday night, January 11, in Helsinki, it’s Finland vs. Sweden in another chapter of an age-old rivarly between these nations.

Hot on the heels of Finland’s Junior Ice Hockey team winning the World Championships against Sweden a few scant days ago, the feelings on both sides of the fence are hot and heavy. Only this time, the battle will be waged in a professional wrestling ring, and not an ice hockey arena.

It seems fitting, that to start off the New Year, the Bättre Folk contingent in FCF Wrestling has set out to claim this year as their own. After my Eurosport co-commentator Robert Holmström issued the challenge for me to round up three partners for myself, right on a live WWE Vintage wrestling broadcast in late December 2013, I knew there was no backing down. Holmström, Valentine, Conny Mejsel and Steinbolt all want to write a new chapter in the annals of Northern European wrestling, by establishing their group as the alpha males to begin the second decade of Finnish professional wrestling. But me, I just can’t have that.

Whether people love me or hate me, the one thing that nobody can take away is the fact that I am the pioneer and founding father of professional wrestling in the country of Finland. This is my heritage, my imprint for all times, for the history books. I’ll be damned if I let some arrogant pack of Swedish prissies and pricks take over here in Finland, as long as I live here and call FCF Wrestling my homebase!

So I thought quick and snappy, right on the air at Eurosport, of who I could ask to be my partners at FCF’s Saturday Wrestling Slam 2 this coming Saturday night. In reality, my choices were self-explanatory.

I thought of all of the wrestlers that Bättre Folk has sabotaged since their inception during the summer of last year. Valentine, Steinbolt and Holmström all assaulted FCF General Manager Kristian Kurki in September. What they didn’t realize is, that Valentine’s backstabber backbreaker to Kurki in that very attack actually set his injured spine back into place, making him able to compete again. Now that is bad news for Bättre Folk!

It was Holmström, Valentine and team valet Barbie that struck out against both Sly Sebastian and I in our singles match back in October. I think Sly has some bones to pick, as that match was to be his testing ground to see whether he could procure a BWA title shot against me. The no-contest ruling following Bättre Folk’s attack in that bout certainly didn’t do Sly’s aspirations any favors. Oh, and I certainly haven’t forgotten about Barbie striking my wife in the melee, either…

Then I thought of my young and ambitious protege, Mikko Maestro, whom Valentine gave a serious concussion to in September during a match between the two. Maestro’s father even emailed me and asked that I beat the living daylights out of Valentine for causing that harm to his son. So really, there you have it: my team, all of whom gladly accepted the invitation to lay the thrashing of a lifetime on Bättre Folk this coming January 11 in Helsinki at Nightclub Tähti.

The bemusing fact is that Robert Holmström, in all of his Machiavellian grandeur and high imagination, feels that he is fit to climb into the ring as an active competitor with his team on January 11. I personally find that both absurd and hilarious! Robert might be a former referee, dating back many years, but he was never schooled to be a wrestler. Refereeing and wrestling are worlds apart, like comparing tomatoes to beef jerky. I really believe that Robert Holmström’s participation in this coming four-on-four Survivor Series-style elimination tag team match at FCF’s Saturday Wrestling Slam 2 will be his team’s downfall.

The bottom line is, this coming Saturday night in Helsinki, this Swedish quartet known as Bättre Folk is in for a world of trouble. They are the catalysts of the woe that they have themselves caused, and now they will all pay the piper … one by one … down they fall … and their fall will be great.

Saturday Wrestling Slam 2

January 11, 2014

start time 18:00, doors open 17:30

Nightclub Tähti, Fredrikinkatu 42, Helsinki

All ages welcome.

Tickets 15 Euros at the door.

www.wrestling.fi

Vote for the best FCF match of 2013

Posted: December 20, 2013 in Professional Wrestling
Tags: best of 2013, brawl, championship, contest, FCF, fight, Fight Club Finland, match, Mikko Maestro, poll, Pro Wrestling, Ricky Vendetta, StarBuck, Stark Adder, Valentine, vote

FCF Wrestling in Finland would like to wish all the fans a Merry Holiday Season, and in doing so, the promotion offers up the chance to vote for your favorite match-up of 2013. I have a couple of matches up in the running, one where I beat Valentine for the BWA Catchweight championship back in May, and another where I team with my protege Mikko Maestro against Stark Adder and Ricky Vendetta from February.

There’s a whole list of other goodies to choose from, also, as FCF events saw many stellar matches this past year. Make your voice heard, and place your vote via Facebook at the following app: https://apps.facebook.com/opinionpolls/poll?pid=ACMHI-UJvRo

Here are the match videos of the candidates, so be sure to cast your vote!

Bastards will pay

Posted: October 27, 2013 in Professional Wrestling
Tags: Barbie, Bättre Folk, FCF Wrestling, fight, Lokakuun Luuvitonen, Miss D, Pro Wrestling, revenge, Robert Holmström, StarBuck, Valentine, vengeance

Last night at FCF Wrestling’s Lokakuun Luuvitonen event in Vantaa, Finland, I wrestled a young man named Sly Sebastian, giving him arguably his finest match to date. The kid has a lot of heart, and a definitive get-to-it grasp on things. I applaud him for his efforts, and last night, Sly Sebastian put his best foot forward.

All that said, however, Sly still could not defeat Yours Truly. Sure, he put up a gallant effort, but in the end, it was the outside interference of the contingent known as Bättre Folk, that sabotaged our match. The referee called off the contest, as Valentine assaulted both Sly and I. For me, this was the second time that my old rival Valentine messed with my bout in the last few months.

Beyond that, however, Valentine has put his hands on my wife over the course of this year four times already. This last episode last night really exceeded even the lowest of standards.

After calling their newest Bättre Folk cohort, Barbie, to the ring, Valentine and his manager Robert Holmström held my wife, Miss D, as Barbie smacked her across the face. Following this, Valentine proceeded to mimic a sexual act over my wife’s fallen form. That, in and of itself, was about as low as someone can get, outside of actually raping their victim.

I have asked for one last outing against Valentine to put an end to this lowlife crap, and that is a stretcher match. I promised Valentine a stretcher ride when he initially put his hands on Miss D back in March of this year. Now, I am finally going to make good. One of us will be carried out of the building on our backs, and I am willing to put up my BWA Catchweight title as a winner-takes-all trophy, when that happens.

Look for it …

Young Lion Syndrome?

Posted: October 15, 2013 in Professional Wrestling
Tags: FCF Wrestling, fight, Finland, Kristian Kurki, Lokakuun Luuvitonen, match, Pro Wrestling, Sly Sebastian, sports, StarBuck, Valentine, Vantaa, young lion syndrome

On October 26 in Vantaa, Finland, I make my in-ring comeback after rehabbing my C6-C7 vertebrae, against fan favorite grappler Sly Sebastian. This event, entitled Lokakuun Luuvitonen (basically and loosely translated in english: An October punch in the face!), will also be FCF Wrestling‘s comeback to the city of Vantaa, where FCF last appeared in February 2009.

Back on May 11 this year, when I won the BWA Catchweight championship from Valentine in Espoo, Finland, Sly Sebastian put out his challenge for my newly-won title immediately after the match. However, at the time, FCF General Manager Kristian Kurki had other plans for FCF’s next event on June 8, where I was to defend my new gold strap against Sweden’s Conny Mejsel. Therefore, Sly Sebastian never got his wish fulfilled, but alas, here we are in the month of October and all is right in the world again, as now, the young lion gets to prove his worth against the pioneer of our sport here in Finland on October 26 at Vantaa’s Vernissa venue.

I am not putting the BWA title on the line in this match, because like I told Sly back in May, he has to earn his shot at the belt, which means either he has to score notable victories over established names in singles matches, or then he has to beat me in a non-title match. Sly has mainly been a tag team competitor alongside punker Vili Luupää over the past year, and I really don’t see reasonable grounds to just throw out and offer him a title opportunity as of yet. Maybe in some ways, Sly is experiencing “young lion syndrome“, which bears reading up on, if you are unfamiliar with the concept.

Nonetheless, if the young man Sly Sebastian manages to get the duke on me on October 26 in my Finnish comeback match, then I will be more than happy to oblige and give him his sought-after title contention opportunity.

Sly Sebastian is ambitious, that is for sure. He has improved his game especially over the past year in leaps and bounds, and he is rising up the ladder. But wanting to bite off a chunk that is too big to chew might prove fatal for the young lion at Lokakuun Luuvitonen on October 26 in Vantaa…

Lokakuun Luuvitonen

26.10.2013. Showtime @ 18:00, doors 17:30

Kulttuuritalo Vernissa

Tikkurilantie 36, 01300 Vantaa

The Vernissa cafeteria will be open during the event.

Tickets:

Ringside seats: 20e (Attn: limited amount available!)

Other tickets (standing room only): 12e in advance, 15e at the door.

Ticket pre-sales on till 20.10.2013

Buy your tickets here: www.fightclubfinland.fi/kauppa

Finland invades Sweden!

Posted: September 5, 2013 in Life, Professional Wrestling, Social commentary
Tags: Conny Mejsel, FCF Wrestling, fight, Finland, GBG Wrestling, Gothenburg, Heimo Ukonselkä, Jessica Love, King Kong Karhula, match, Pro Wrestling, StarBuck, Sweden, Valentine

It’s official now, folks: Finland has invaded Sweden! At least in the world of professional wrestling, and that said, it’s been a long time coming. You see, for years on end, Finland was under Swedish rule, and the Finns despise the lingering Big Brother mentality of the Swedes. To this day, the hottest rivalry in Nordic Ice Hockey is between Finland and Sweden, and Finland vs. Russia is a close second, by a hair.

Last weekend in Malmö, Sweden, a literal gang of Finnish wrestlers crashed the SWS Wrestling card on Saturday, August 31. At the start of the Swedish event, the Finnish grapplers – FCF champion King Kong Karhula, Stark Adder, Valentine, Ricky Vendetta, Aurora Flame, Vili Luupää and Johnny McMetal – steamrolled into the ring out of the audience and kicked the living daylights out of the Swedish pair that was squaring off. This led to the immediate restructuring of the night’s card, as SWS officials deemed that if Finland came to Malmö to fight, then a fight they would receive!

Now, on Saturday, September 7, five of the best wrestlers out of Finland today – myself, Heimo Ukonselkä, Jessica Love, Valentine and King Kong Karhula – all descend on Gothenburg, Sweden, to take on the best that GBG Wrestling has to offer. The war cry has been sent out, and now there is not turning back!

Personally, I don’t know what this will mean for me, as my herniated C6-C7 vertebrae is far from being healed, but I plan on showing up for sure. I know that GBG wanted me to wrestle Conny Mejsel at this event in a rematch from FCF Wrestling’s DOMination 9 card back in Helsinki on June 8 this year. Personally speaking, I still owe Conny Mejsel a receipt big time, for the way that he assaulted me back in June, alongside Valentine, following our match.

The bottom line is, the war is officially ON!

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