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…
I just returned tonight from England, after competing at the Wrestling Rampage event at the GL1 Leisure Center in Gloucester last night, where I went up against local favorite, “English Bulldog” Matt Jarrett. The event had a good deal of hype and press, as Jarrett and I did promotion for the show the day prior with BBC, Radio Gloucester FM and main area newspaper, The Citizen, in addition to posters well-spread all across town.
The Citizen newspaper runs a big piece on my match
I downed Jarrett in our bout, retaining my title in under 10-minutes. My opponent suffered an injury during the course of the match, which I capitalized on, dropping him with my piledriver in quick order.
I was honored to meet and get to know UK ring legend Marty Jones, with whom I had a really great chat over the ins and outs of the wrestling business, including memories of him working in my homeland of Canada for Stampede Wrestling promoter Stu Hart. Marty had some hilarious stories about the likes of JR Foley and “Big” John Quinn, one of which entailed Stu’s pet cow Daisy being butchered up behind his back and fed to him as a rather crude prank. Talk about a rib!
Below is a nifty, old match from the early ’80s, with Marty Jones squaring off against the legendary Dynamite Kid. Enjoy!
On Saturday, October 12, I will be returning to the ring in England to wrestle against “English Bulldog” Matt Jarrett at the GL1 Leisure Center in Gloucester at an event entitled Wrestling Rampage. This show will also feature the retirement match of UK ring legend Danny Collins, who bids his fellow Englishmen adieu in terms of in-ring competition. I met Danny earlier this year on a card in Hannover, Germany, and we got on very well, so I am sad to see him leave the business. However, I wish him all the best with whatever he endeavors after this…
But speaking of my match against local Gloucester hero Matt Jarrett, this will mark the first time in 13-years that I will have been on English soil to compete in a professional wrestling ring. I last wrestled in the British Isles in 2000, for a very shady promoter, who ended up shafting me out of part of my money. The less said about that incident and person, the better. Now, on October 12, it’s a brand new opportunity and under different circumstances. That said, Matt Jarrett won’t get out of this match without a fight, and I sure as hell don’t plan on leaving England after Wrestling Rampage with my head bowed.
Other big names appearing on this mega-show will be Cannonball Grizzly, Drew McDonald, Keith Myatt, Marty Jones, ROH star Luke Hawx, Skull Murphy, Frankie Sloan, and many more! Don’t miss this show if you are in the UK on October 12! A documentary film about British pro wrestling will be shot the same night at this event, which only adds prestige to an already loaded card.
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 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.
We have a whole slew of shows across Finland this August slated with FCF Wrestling, and I am stoked about this! The fact that FCF runs more events on an annual basis than 3/4 of our contemporaries out there in Europe puts us at the top of the food chain in the pro wrestling field on our continent.
On August 10 in Rovaniemi, Finland, FCF Wrestling presents Saturday Night Rock Fight at the 2013 installment of the Simerock Festival. This is a special occasion, as the wrestling will be in the main slot of Saturday’s Simerock line-up, starting at 22:45 with five big matches on the menu. Saturday Night Rock Fight will be headlined by Yours Truly tagging with “Wildman” Heimo Ukonselkä against Stark Adder and FCF champion King Kong Karhula.
Between August 16-18, FCF Wrestling will present Ragnarök 2013 at this year’s Häme Medeival Fair in Hämeenlinna, Finland. This theme weekend, featuring reenactments and relics of the Medeival era in Nordic culture, is an annual attraction in the city of Hämeenlinna. 2013 marks the third year that FCF Wrestling has been a part of the festivities and program. All throughout the three days, Friday to Sunday, wrestling matches will be held in a central tent on the fair grounds, three times a day. The gimmick is that all the wrestlers must dress up in Medeival costumes and garb for their matches, adding to the flair and flavor of the whole kit and caboodle. For more infos, go to the Medeival Fair website.
On August 24, FCF Wrestling comes to Kotka, Finland for an event entitled Rock & Wrestling Rampage at Route 66. The catch here is, that the show is restricted to anyone under the age of 18, with alcohol and strippers on hand also. This big event will feature five kickass wrestling matches, headlined by 185kg/188cm Cannonball Grizzly from the USA challenging me for my BWA (British Wrestling Alliance) Catchweight championship title. This is going to be undoubtedly my toughest challenge to date, as Grizzly is a 25-year veteran of the ring wars, and the current reigning EWP (European Wrestling Promotion) heavyweight champion in Germany. Grizzly has wrestled in 40 countries worldwide over his extensive career, and on August 24 he adds Finland to that list. I just have to hope that I find a way by hook or by crook to retain my BWA championship at Rock & Wrestling Rampage, because I have never wrestled against anyone the size of Cannonball Grizzly before, and my active in-ring career dates all the way back to 1994! In addition, my hard rock band Overnight Sensation will be playing live in Kotka at the same event, offering up originals and known cover songs by acclaimed artists such as The Cult, Van Halen, Ted Nugent, Motörhead and Thin Lizzy.
I was recently interviewed by Steve Lynskey ofwww.1wrestling.com, a site run by formerPro Wrestling Illustratededitor-in-chief,Bill Apter. The following interview covers a lot of topics inside of 16-minutes, so lend your ear and enjoy the low-down, as only Yours Truly can deliver!
Bättre Folk. For a long time, the Swedes living in Finland have held themselves to be a step above the Finnish populace, probably stemming from the fact that Finland once used to be under Swedish rule. That “big brother” mentality still shines through and is prevalent these days, and a LOT of people in Finland despise the snobbish attitude of the Swedish “Better People” (= Bättre Folk).
So it was this past Saturday night, at an event in downtown Helsinki, entitled DOMination 9: New Blood Rising, that this age-old pest termed Bättre Folk showed up. We had them in the audience, I had one as an opponent, and when all was said and done, there were three of them in the ring.
When I started initially coaching Finnish wrestlers in 2003, I did my best to bring them up under certain, traditional etiquette and codes of honor that are time-tested in our business. Some of those kids from over the years have fallen out of the game, simply due to the fact that they either did not have the heart that this business requires, or because of serious physical injury in matches on a few occasions. To be honest, I counted awhile back that over half of the kids that have debuted in Finnish professional wrestling since 2013 have called it quits. It really is an astounding number.
To the best of my ability, I did my utmost to ween those with the best character, to take up leading positions in Finnish pro wrestling on the promotional end, as after all, our business does require group effort. Sometimes, my evaluation of certain peoples’ character is correct, but at times, I misjudge who and what they truly are. I hate to say it, but such an individual from this latter category would be my Eurosport co-commentator, Robert Holmström.
Robert was one of those people that had business savvy when he entered the game. He worked for a debt collection agency, and he had a certain way about him, that you could say was “business-like.” Robert even entered FCF’s wrestling school in 2005, but his physical prowess and athletic ability were not up to par, so he ended up becoming a referee. And for many years, Robert Holmström was the best referee that FCF Wrestling had. He even got so “over” with the fans in his officiating role, that it carried over to public support on his behalf, when he challenged former FCF General Manager Wilma Schlizewski in 2011 for her leadership title. Holmström became the new General Manager for FCF Wrestling in December 2011, when his representative wrestler (Finnhammer Halme) defeated Wilma’s representative wrestler (Angel de Tormentá).
It was during Robert’s time as General Manager, that his position of power corrupted him as a human being. He became Machiavellian in his thinking and actions, clearly proving, that some folks just aren’t cut out to handle authority. Holmström would abuse his position as General Manager, going so far in his personal xenophobia, as to personally single out Mexican-Finnish talent El Excentrico and make his life hell. FCF Wrestling’s board of directors couldn’t idly sit by and just let Holmström implode, so he was ousted from his General Manager spot in favor of Kristian Kurki, after the Talvisota VII event back in February of this year. Since then, Holmström has been a sour grape, with a chip on his shoulder and probably a bad case of acid reflux, considering his constant negativity.
All this said, I even got Holmström his position as my co-commentator of This Week in WWE and WWE Vintage Collection on Monday nights in Finland, back in February 2009. The Eurosport office asked me if I had someone in mind, who could work in the announcing booth with me, as an announcing team. They needed to be knowledgeable and have good, on-air chemistry with me. I had two or three names in mind, but I went to bat for Robert in the end, and he got the job.
Lo and behold, four years later, Robert Holmström has forgotten about the hand that fed him in 2009. Even moreso, he has forgotten who brought him up in the business and trained him back in 2005. In short, Robert Holmström has chosen to shit where he lives. How indicative of his musical taste in punk rock.
When I faced Sweden’s Conny Mejsel this past Saturday night in Helsinki in defense of my BWA Catchweight title, all was fair and game until former BWA champion Valentine blindsided me, prompting the referee to call for a disqualification. Valentine had previously assaulted me wife Diana on two separate occasions, and when she saw from ringside that Valentine ambushed me, she entered the ring and tried to pry him off. That is when Robert entered and grabbed my girl, choking and manhandling her in the process. The trio of Mejsel, Valentine and Holmström left me and my wife laying in the ring, proclaiming themselves to be “Bättre Folk”, as Holmström spat out to everyone in attendance, that he was sick and tired of playing second-fiddle to Yours Truly, and that the final nail in the coffin for him was when I brought Diana into the business.
Holmström already challenged me earlier in May this year at FCF’s Jatkosota 2013 event in Espoo, where I won the BWA championship from Valentine, for a match against my wife. I accepted, knowing that my wife could wipe the mat with Robert, since she has a background in Jiu Jitsu and Kyokushin Karate. Robert didn’t get his wish, as FCF General Manager Kristian Kurki denied the match taking place at DOMination 9 this past weekend, and this caused even more bitterness for Holmström. I guess that is what prompted him to follow in Valentine’s footsteps and attack my wife also, proving that he also, is less than a man and a coward at that.
It will be a challenge for me to sit beside Robert Holmström on Monday nights in the Eurosport announcing booth from this day forward. Only due to professionalism and for the sake of my job will I retain my composure and refrain from taking out my anger outside of the wrestling ring. However, once the next wrestling event rolls around, with Holmström and his compatriots on the other side of the ring, all bets are off. And then, even the cops won’t have jurisdiction, because what happens in wrestling stays in wrestling … and Robert and his Bättre Folk should know that.
I will be leaving tomorrow for a WNC (Wrestling New Classic) tour of Japan. I will be wrestling once again alongside AKIRA and Syuri in our SYNAPSE team, and at least one of the matches on the tour features our trio against that of “The Japanese Buzzsaw” TAJIRI, WNC women’s champion Lin Bairon and WNC champion Osamu Nishimura at Shinjuku Face arena in Tokyo.
The schedule reads May 24 in Tokyo, May 25 in Osaka and May 26 in Nagoya. For all the fine folks and great wrestling fans in Japan, you can see the locations and venues on the poster below.
After wrestling last in England back in 2000, I never thought I’d become a champion there, as my experience at the time in the UK was the absolute worst of my pro wrestling career. Back then, I wrestled for an infamous promoter nicknamed “Shaky”, and he was one of the worst con men I have ever run across in this business. In short order, Shaky soured on me, withheld my match pay for days on end (after paying everyone else), treated me like a piece of unwanted trash and made me understand that I was not welcome in his crew any longer. Needless to say, I cut my losses short and left the tour prematurely, refusing to be treated that way.
I lost a good deal of coin on that trip, and for many years thereafter, the foul taste of that UK jaunt still lingers in my memories. I know the saying states that you shouldn’t let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch, but for me, that one bad apple was rotten to the core. Nonetheless, I have met an abundant number of great people in the wrestling industry out of the UK over the past decade in my wrestling travels. Good guys and top hands like Robbie Brookside, James Mason, Chris Curtis, Rob Cage, Rampage Brown, Keith Myatt and Dan Collins have all made a very positive impression on me, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the comraderie we have shared out on the road in this often-times bizarre business.
All that said, as I mentioned in the beginning of this write-up, I never thought I would become a champion for a UK-based promotion. However, last night in Espoo, Finland, exactly that happened. I became the new BWA (British Wrestling Alliance) Catchweight titleholder, defeating a very capable now ex-champion, in the nefarious Valentine.
The new BWA Catchweight Champion (photo by Susanna Honkasalo)
It was a war, to be sure. Valentine was able to compromise my arm after I hit the ringpost, as we brawled on the outside of the ring, and I had serious troubles utilizing my hurt wing after that incident in the match. Even though I managed to hit my trademark spike piledriver, which spelled the end of the match for Valentine, I had considerable trouble hoisting and maintaining my foe in position as I executed the move. Regardless, even without maximum effect, my piledriver was good enough to keep Valentine down for the count.
Valentine tears away at the injured arm
An intense struggle between two top rivals
After 14:29 of a very trying match … VENI, VIDI, VICI !!!
After the underhanded things that Valentine did to my wife Diana (aka Miss D in wrestling circles) over the past two months, I was able to exact at least a certain, somewhat satisfactory measure of revenge on my nemesis. I took his title, but I did not manage to send him out on a stretcher, as I would have hoped for. That I will have to save for a later date, because now, Valentine is disputing the way our match ended, claiming that his foot was under the bottom rope when the FCF referee in charge counted the finishing pinfall, following my closing piledriver. Whether or not that is the case, I do not know, as neither I nor the referee in our match saw it.
I should also mention, that my Eurosport co-host and former FCF General Manager, Robert Holmström, seemingly went off his rocker and lost his mind last night at the event. I have no idea what kind of idiot bug hit Robert, but he had a spastic fit after siding with Valentine regarding his foot being under the ropes in the pinfall of our match, and then proceeded to challenge my wife – whom I left home for this event – to a “match” at the next FCF Wrestling event in Helsinki, slated for June 8, if I understood correctly. Robert should remember that I was the person that got him his job with Eurosport back in 2009, commentating WWE wrestling on Monday nights in Finland, alongside myself. He should also remember that he is not a wrestler, and although my wife Diana is not a wrestler either, I will damn sure teach her in short order how to knock Robert’s head off his shoulders, if he has a stick up his ass concerning my wife. And regardless of what Holmström states, even Ray Charles could see that there was some form of collusion between Robert and Valentine several weeks back, when Valentine assaulted Diana for the second time, as seen in the video below.
It has pissed off Finns for ages that the Swedes who live here act like they are, as they call themselves, “Bättre folk” (better folks), and being that both Holmström and Valentine are Swedish-Finns, they seem to have found a common agenda of some sort. Well, Robert, I’ll be more than happy to show Miss D how to kick your head off, and that way you just might join Valentine on that upcoming stretcher ride that’s still coming…
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