Professional wrestling has over a century-old history across the world and this exciting form of sports entertainment has also gained a strong foothold in Finland. The modern era of pro wrestling in the country was born in 2003 and has a bright future ahead. Here’s what you need to know about it.
When the circus came to town
Picture it – Helsinki in the late 1800s. Circus performers come to town from mainland Europe with international flare and dazzle, leaving audiences in awe. Some of the acts featured incredible feats of strength by the company’s strongmen, and some of them featured impressive athleticism in the form of wrestling. These were early professionals in the wrestling game, wowing and entertaining large crowds.
Coinciding with the rising popularity of physical culture around Europe, the strongmen and wrestlers left an unforgettable mark on some aspiring young Finnish athletes. Shortly after, along with more formalized training in athletics and sports, wrestling became a permanent installment in Finland’s sporting scene.
Heading to the 20th century
Some folks spoke of ‘French wrestling’, and some referred to it as ‘circus wrestling’, but as the sport spread around Europe widely, more common rules were adapted and wrestling tournaments were held all over.
The likes of Carl Allén, Verner Weckman, Emil Väre, and Yrjö Saarela became some of the brightest early Finnish wrestlers, leading Finland all the way to Olympic gold fame.
Carl Allén was a staple in Finnish wrestling’s early development, being the first Finnish wrestling champion in 1899. However, he didn’t actually win the very first National wrestling competition the previous year in 1898.
At the time Finland was an autonomous state ruled by the former Russian Empire and was called the Grand Duchy of Finland. As a simple formality, a letter of open invitation was sent to Saint Petersburg Athletic Club, just in case they wanted to send someone over to take part. To everyone’s surprise, someone actually showed up, by the name of George Hackenschmidt.
He was a young up-and-coming athlete who years later happened to become the first-ever heavyweight World Champion in America and developed into a true legend of the sport and physical culture. Carl Allén certainly gave Hackenschmidt a run for his money, because the match between the two athletes took three hours to finish.
The early professionals
Some wrestlers decided to embark on a more professional career, touring Europe and wrestling for money. The rewards were handsome, enabling a lifestyle unheard of for someone from a small country like Finland.
Some of the first ones to achieve great popularity in the circuses were Iivari Tuomisto and Saki Hevonpää, both of whom got hired to wrestle professionally in Moscow around 1906-1907. Tuomisto had already won the Finnish heavyweight title and some even compared his talent to the great Hackenschmidt. He later went on to tour Europe and gain even more money and fame. Prior to the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, he was hired as a coach by the Swedish wrestling committee.
Saki Hevonpää himself reached moderate success in amateur wrestling, and only after three years ventured into the professional world. A large fella with a high education, he preferred the loud cheers of audiences and getting paid well. After his first stint in Moscow, he was booked to Austria for a successful run. From there he toured through Eastern Europe, ending up in Italy, where he found even greater popularity and fame.
He beat some of the best-known pro wrestlers in Southern Europe – some challengers came all the way from Turkey and India. Saki even wrestled at the famous Colosseum in Rome. After that, he moved to Munich, where his lavish lifestyle and many glasses of wine started finally catching up to him. He continued to Spain, Greece, and even Egypt, where, according to a newspaper clip, he owned an entire zoo.
Finally, settling in New York, his matches were gimmicky and entertaining, but his best years had already passed.
The professional divide
Soon there was a divide between the more Olympic-style wrestling and the ones who ‘had given in to professional wrestling’. Skilled athletes as they were, the professional circuit wasn’t always looked well upon.
Finnish heavyweight champion, Alex Järvinen, was another who enjoyed success professionally. In 1914, when hired as the new wrestling coach for Finland’s National Sports Association SVUL, he was contractually forbidden to act in any way that could lead to young athletes favoring the professional arenas. In the end, he never got a chance to start because the professional arena’s big money kept calling and off he went again.
The Land of Opportunity calling
In the early 1900s, immigration to the USA was trending, and some wrestling talents left Finland to find a new home and greater success across the Atlantic. One of the most successful ones was Väinö (Wäino) Ketonen, an athletic phenomenon and the 1910 Finnish national champion in the 66,5 kg (145 lbs) class.
Pound for pound, he was later considered one of the toughest wrestlers you could find. He adapted quickly to the ‘catch wrestling’ style and his first world title victory was in Wigan, Lancashire, England. A place well known to many fans of the sport, where he ended up coaching a young future legend by the name of Billy Riley. Later in America, he held a middleweight world championship title on several occasions and finally retired in 1934 at the age of 46.
Later, in America, Väinö won the middleweight world championship title several times and left the ring in 1934.
Another fighting Finn in a similar weight class was Gus Kallio, who rose up the professional ranks in America in the 1920s and 1930s. He won the National Wrestling Association Middleweight title five times and was later a champion in Mexico as well.
Having achieved the highest levels in his own respective weight class, the audience interest started shifting more towards the heavyweight wrestlers and the lower weight classes started getting left behind.
There were several notable pro wrestlers at the time. ‘The Last Finnish Giant’ Väinö Siltala was indeed a giant– 202cm/6 ft 7” and was hugely popular in Europe.
Kaarlo Lehto fought fiercely against the famous Hackenschmidt in Minnesota in 1910. John F. Olin (Johan Olin) became a world champion after beating Joe Stetcher in a match that took 2 hours and 40 minutes. Stetcher refused to continue the match after suffering an injury. For one reason or another, the press decided not to celebrate this title change.
Armas Laitinen also fought Stetcher but to a draw. ‘The Finnish Lion’ Fred Pilakoff was a staple in New York and the East Coast. Olympic gold medalist Yrjö Saarela also worked professionally for a while.
Some others to mention were: Ivar Böhling, Henry Karhunsaari, August Jokinen, and Otto Huhtanen.
Global shifts in popularity and a return to the mainstream
The World Wars came, and the credibility and popularity of professional wrestling in America and Europe went down. Business wasn’t what it used to be. With the spread of television in the 1950s, pro wrestling once again became a huge success in the USA, but sadly, without any Finnish stars to accompany this new level of fame.
Decades rolled on without Finns in pro wrestling, apart from a couple of one-off exhibition matches, one of which was seen in Helsinki in 1968. A Finnish Olympic gold medalist, Kyösti Lehtonen, put on a show with an American counterpart for the amusement of the crowd at the Helsinki Ice Hall.
In the 1980s a Finnish bodybuilding champion and athletic talent by the name of Jyrki Savolainen moved to Australia and ended up staying there for 19 years. He trained for professional wrestling, likely by local wrestling veteran Andy Harpas, and ended up having matches in the Australian circuit. Very little is written about his wrestling career and sadly, he passed away in 2005.
The brink of hope in the 1990s
In the early 1990s a Finn by the name of Tony Halme, trained by Verne Gagne, began wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and later the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), nowadays known as the WWE.
Starting as a singles wrestler, he later teamed up with Scott Norton, winning the IWGP tag team championship. Having shared the ring with the likes of Bam Bam Bigelow, Bobby Eaton, Masahiro Chono, Keiji Muto, and The Steiner Brothers, he was let go in 1993.
In the same year, joining the WWF, he was known as Ludvig Borga, a ruthless heel and a powerhouse wrestler who crushed everyone in his way. After a brief sting lasting only to January 1994, he had a decent push towards the upper level and shared the ring with the likes of Yokozuna, Crush, Razor Ramon, and Lex Luger.
Around the mid-90s however, his wrestling career started being at its last legs and he saw it best to move on. In the locker rooms, he had gained questionable notoriety amongst his peers. Halme passed away in 2010.
The modern pro wrestling scene in Finland
In 2002 – once again – ‘the circus came to town’. This time, in the form of a live WWE show in Helsinki. Here, a vision of professional wrestling in Finland was born again.
Valhalla Pro Wrestling, a Finnish pro wrestling promotion, started operations in 2003. They organized only a couple of international shows, but quickly folded. However, pro wrestling training had already begun, and new domestic recruits were now being coached by Canadian-Finnish pro wrestler, ‘The Rebel’ StarBuck.
Soon after, Pro Wrestling Finlandia was born and continued promoting pro wrestling in the country. This time around, the company had a fair shake at organizing shows, all the way up to 2006, when they seized operations.
Again, the show had to go on, and a new promotion was founded, under the name of Fight Club Finland. Having previously worked as a coach and booker, StarBuck was now at the helm, and pro wrestling finally had a lasting foothold in Finland. In 2018, StarBuck parted ways with the promotion, with a vision of an international-level wrestling company.
A truly professional SLAM!
SLAM! Wrestling Finland was born in 2019. A vision of a more professional grade promotion was put into action and after only a few years, SLAM! has featured the likes of Meiko Satomura, Tajiri, Sam Gradwell, Tucker, Heidi Katrina, Axel Tischer, Matt Cross, Nina Samuels, Myla Grace, Shanna, and Jazzy Gabert, to name a few.
SLAM! Wrestling Finland also organizes shows in Estonia, having a couple of Estonian wrestling talents on its roster. In early 2024, they reached a deal with the streaming platform TrillerTV (formerly FITE) and crowned their first-ever Women’s Champion.
FCF Wrestling continues on
Fight Club Finland continues operations, mainly in the Helsinki area and a couple of other larger towns, having around a dozen or so shows annually. FCF Wrestling’s crowd favorites are Regina Rosendahl, King Kong Karhula, Make Smooth, Shemeikka, Jessica Love, and many others.
Establishing themselves as a principled cultural association, they prominently showcase and advocate societal and political values.
The future of pro wrestling in Finland
Finland’s pro wrestling scene today is more active and vibrant than ever. Perhaps reflecting the shy Finnish mentality, many people still tend to have reservations about the ‘sport’. However, the local fan base has steadily been growing year by year. The larger capital area only holds some 1.2 million people and not being a densely populated region, it can be challenging to reach new audiences. Geographically, Finland also tends to be at a disadvantage considering international talent and travelers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who were the early Finnish wrestling stars?
Carl Allén is considered to be the pioneer in Finnish wrestling and also served as a coach in the early years. Later, the likes of Verner Weckman, Emil Väre, and Yrjö Saarela went on to win Olympic gold.
Who were the early Finnish wrestlers in the professional circuit?
Väinö Ketonen, Saki Hevonpää, Gus Kallio, Fred Pilakoff, Kaarlo Lehto, Alex Järvinen, and Iivari Tuomisto, found great success in the professional wrestling rings.
When did modern pro wrestling in Finland begin?
The first Finnish pro wrestling promotion started operations in 2003. In the same year, pro wrestling training began, with ‘The Rebel’ StarBuck, Michael Majalahti, serving as the coach.
What are the current pro wrestling promotions in Finland?
Currently operating are SLAM! Wrestling Finland and FCF Wrestling.
The author Marko Simonen is a professional photographer and has been an active member of the Finnish pro wrestling community since April 2010. Marko’s Ringside and Kayfabe Diaries on Instagram.
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