What could have been.... Ludvig Borga

[go_patriots11]

Most people probably won't remember Tony Halme a.k.a Ludvig Borga (R.I.P) as he was only around for about a year in the WWF in the early-mid 90's. He was equipped with a pretty crappy gimmick of that of an anti-american foreigner who hated America because of it's educational system and..pollution? Ok...Anyways he didnt do much of anything to note other than end Tatanka's undefeated streak of 2 years, squash a bunch of jobbers, and entered a pretty crappy feud with Lex Luger. He then got injured and that was pretty much the end for him. I think he stayed around the indy's for a little while after that, and then joined MMA, and after that held a place in Finnish parliament. Sadly he commited suicide in 2010 due to what was conceived as alcohol/drug issues.
Now for those of you who do remember, what did you think of the man known as Ludvig Borga? To be fair it appeared the WWF didn't give him much to work with as Lex Luger was never really in the business of making anyone look good. However I think Borga had a pretty good look and could have possibly been interesting in the approaching Attitude Era. I heard reports of him being difficult to work with and somewhat of a bully backstage so this probably didnt help his cause.
I don't know if anyone else really seen his appeal as the big men in wrestling are a dime a dozen, but maybe given a fair chance he could of amounted to a little bit of success. Im not saying he would have had an amazing career to the extent of Stone Cold or The Rock or anything but who knows really how he would have panned out had he been around a few more years?
Thoughts?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Meh, it was hard to be impressed with him. While it's true that he didn't exactly have the greatest guy to work against in Lex Luger, Borga was someone that was pretty damn limited himself.

He had a great look and presence but that's about as far as it went. I think what ultimately hurt Borga in the long run was that, allegedly, he was someone that had a lot of personal issues that really hindered him whether he was in wrestling, pro boxing or MMA. After his death of a self inflicted gunshot wound in early January 2010, Jim Ross, who'd gotten to know Borga put out a statement in The Sun that read:

"I won't speak at length about those that have passed away but Tony obviously had issues and was not a great guy to be around. Perhaps others have a different view of this man but I personally found him to be somewhat obnoxious and he could be a bully if allowed to be such. Guys like Halme don't mix well in any locker room and need to be removed from the 'team' sooner than later." Ross would add to his statement, "I still feel badly about the last years of Tony's life as things really unraveled for him seemingly due to alcohol and drug issues."

I've read a few things off and on over the years regarding Borga from people who knew and worked with him in wrestling and they've all said pretty much the same things as Jim Ross did. He was just a guy that had a lot of issues in his life that dragged both his professional and personal life down and put them into a downward spiral.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I was never aware of the negative issues Jim Ross spoke of, but as a performer, I enjoyed Ludvig Borga. He did the anti-American bit as well as anyone I'd ever seen, advancing the irony of the idea that Finland was about to declare war on the U.S.

His tossed the "You stupid Americans" line at us with the curled lip type of disdain we usually see only from William Regal. Meanwhile, he backed up his big mouth with some pretty effective wrestling skills for a big guy.

I thought he kept the whole "Hellraiser from Helsinki" bit going strong until injuries put a finish to his WWE career. Okay, now we know he didn't fit in personally with the close-knit traveling troupe, which surely hastened his departure, but I thought he was getting himself over, even with an oft-used gimmick.

 

[Pedigree1]

Well i enjoyed Borga he had promise. I loved his stint "You Stupid Americans" with his little curled lip. Borga had promise and had very decent skills for a big man. I also was unaware of Jim Ross comments towards Borga. I had no idea he was a troubled person its sad and unfortunate.

Injuries did get the better of him and had that not happened who knows. He did end the winning streak of Tatanka though so at least that happened

 

[SaveUsCMPunk]

I liked Ludvig Borga. Back then, I still thought wrestling was legit and I didn't like most heels, but I liked Borga. Who cares if he didn't have the wrestling ability of Chris Benoit, Eddie Guererro, C.M. Punk and Daniel Bryan? There's always going to be a place for big men in wrestling and I don't know why so many wrestling fans hate on them for their workrate or wrestling ability. (Not specifically mentioning anyone in this thread but based on what I've read from various posts made by fans on the internet.)

Back to Borga, he was supposed to wrestle Earthquake at WM 10 (According to an old WWF magazine.) and as a lot of us know Tatanka at Royal Rumble '94. I imagine Tatanka would've gotten his win back or it would've been a double count-out had the match taken place. Chances are, he would've lost to Earthquake at WM 10. He probably would've played a role in screwing Luger at WM 10 as well. He probably would've gone back to feuding with Luger afterwards. Maybe even a match or two with Doink or Razor Ramon. (He actually briefly "won" the IC title from Ramon only to have the decision reversed.) I can imagine Vince would've given us Borga/Mabel, Borga/Diesel, Borga/Adam Bomb, Borga/British Bulldog and Borga/Bam Bam Bigelow match-ups had he lasted longer.

Borga indeed had a good look to him. He was doing the "People's Eyebrow" four or five years before the Rock did and he looked like a legit bad ass. The way he squashed Marty Janetty at Summerslam '93 was great and seeing him deliver an uppercut after lifting Janetty in the air seemed pretty innovative at the time. Also, I liked the promos he did about some of the crappy parts of America because there was truth in them. Oh, and let's not forget his great entrance theme! It's a shame he got injured six months or so into his run. It seemed kind of weird how he seemingly fell off the face of the earth. That's how it seemed anyway in the pre-internet time.

 

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

If what they say about his conduct backstage is true, then that's probably the straw that broke the camel's back when you combine that with his injuries as well. The Lex Luger factor, well I suppose that didn't help too. I think a feud with Bob Backlund could have helped him get over, and then that could have springboarded into something with a solid hand like Bret Hart. Then again, after getting so much of the anti-American sentiment from a good number of heels in the 80s, that did run its course and with a weakened and relatively smaller audience compared to the 80s boom, who's to say if Borga's schtick would really have worked, even if he did "behave himself" and stay healthy.

It's all conjecture of course, but a good topic just the same. I always like contributing to threads that talk about the early-mid 90s WWF because despite the weaker parts of that era there was still a lot to enjoy back then.

 

[Chopper]

Borga was on the verge of a semi-push, he "won" the IC title from Razor Ramon in December 1993 (but reversed later). He was also supposed to work a program with Earthquake but got injured and left the WWE in early 1994.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSDu5tjslPI

 

[The Brain]

I loved Ludvig Borga in 1993. He is the first heel I remember liking. I liked his look and his aggressive style in the ring. His uppercuts, kidney shots, and torture rack finisher all made him seem like a legit badass. The vignettes where he toured the poverty stricken parts of America were great considering the Lex Express was getting so much attention at the time. Everyone was feeling patriotic and fully behind Lex Luger as he headed to the main event of SummerSlam as challenger for the WWF title and here we had this unknown new guy basically mocking Luger’s entire Lex Express campaign. What made it even better was there was truth to what Borga was saying but nobody wanted to acknowledge it. I didn’t know anything about Borga’s backstage attitude but from what I saw on tv I liked Borga a lot. I was very disappointed that he was pulled from Royal Rumble 94 and WrestleMania X and never returned after his ankle injury. I remember a brief tease of a Borga return when his music hit during the WrestleMania X7 gimmick battle royal. To say I was disappointed to see Nikolai Volkoff walk through curtain after hearing Borga’s music would be an understatement.

 

[HBsam31]

He was a great anti American character, but by then those characters had about ran their course. He could have been a strong heel challenge for the title, and a staple in the midcard I am sure. I liked his touring of American street too like The Brain mentioned. He was very agressive in the ring too. Did he have a match with Luger I am kinda blanking out there? Not sure how long he would have lasted, but like I said he was a great heel. Other than that I am just kind of blanking on his short time in the WWF.

 

[Rabbid Wolverine]

I liked ludvig...he just looked like a big guy that was intimidating. i actually watched survivor series 92 or 93 a while ago...ludvig,yoko,crush and jacque rougeau vs the steiners, luger and taker. they showed a build up to the match...it's sooooooo old school lol. too bad the way his life ended, def expected more from him in wwf.