I’ve asked many people about this, but no one has been able to answer me. Was the United States ever at odds with Finland? I didn’t think so, but apparently Vince McMahon’s history book has a chapter on the Finnish-American War. Thus, he came up with Ludvig Borga – Finland’s Bad Ass.
Borga, who wrestled under his given name of Tony Halme in Japan and US independents, was introduced to WWF fans via a series of vingettes. He would be on a riverbank and note the pollution, and talk about how in his country, the land was beautiful. I guess we were supposed to hate him because he was an enviornmentalist from Finland. Don’t believe me? Here: Take a listen!
Wow, wasn’t that bad? “Down here it stinks funny?” What the hell?
That interview may have been his best ever, as frightening as that is. They were always monotone, and by the time he got to “I, Ludvig Borga…” most of the audience would be asleep. Halme also seemed to struggle with the Finnish accent quite a bit.
Borga engaged in a feud with Lex Luger, and depending on who you believe, was actually pencilled in for a WWF title reign (which would lead to a Luger title reign). All was for naught, however, as he suffered an injury (a broken foot, I believe) that put him out of action. By the time he returned, Luger’s heat had completely vanished, and with it, so did Borga’s title aspirations. The WWF shifted its attention to Bret Hart, and the rest is history.