Do you still remember Ludvig Borga?

• Early days

Tony Halme earlier career in show-fighting and boxing have given Halme a "tough guy" image, enhanced by well-publicized instances when he defended himself in bar brawls. Halme was trained by Charlie Gergan in boxing and Verne Gagne as a powerhouse professional wrestler. He made his professional wrestling debut for Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) on October 29, 1990 as The Viking. In his first match, he defeated The Patriot.

• NJPW

2 months later, Halme debuted in Japanese promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) defeating Shinya Hashimoto in a boxer vs. wrestler match and barely 4 months later Halme defeated Seiji Aoyagi in a boxer vs. karate match.

He also competed in the NJPW Super Grade Tag League II teaming with Masa Chono scoring 8 points with 4th position. Finally on November 22, 1992, Halme managed to capture his first wrestling title when he teamed up with fellow powerhouse Scott Norton to win the IWGP World Tag Team Championship from Steiner Brothers. However the joy did not last long as the duo lost the IWGP World Tag Team Championship to Hell Raisers (RoadWarrior Hawk and Kensuke Sasaki) less than a month later. Halme then got his 2nd shot for the IWGP World Tag Team Championship when he teamed up with Matthew Rambo against the champions Hell Raisers but the attempt to re-capture the titles was unsuccessful.

On June 17, 1993, Halme wrestled his last match in NJPW where he teamed up with The Barbarian and lost to John Tenta (Earthquake) and Haku.

• WWF

Halme returned to America and signed for WWF. On July 6, 1993, Halme debuted as Ludvig Borga and began a streak of squash match victories over jobbers. He had the heel gimmick of a finnish powerhouse who disliked America because of pollution and his entrance music was Maamme, the Finnish national anthem.

At SummerSlam 1993, Borga achieved his first notable victory by defeating Marty Jannetty. On September 28, 1993 edition of WWF Superstars, Borga ended Tatanka's undefeated streak of nearly 2 years, pinning him with one finger (after hitting him with a steel chair while the referee was distracted).

At Survivor Series 1993, Borga participated in the main event, teaming up with Yokozuna, Quebecer Jacques (The Mountie) and Crush as the "Foreign Fanatics" against "All-Americans" consisting of Lex Luger, The Undertaker and the Steiner Brothers. Borga and Luger were the final 2 remaining participants and Borga was later eliminated by Luger after a running forearm smash hence pinning him for the win for the "All-Americans".

On December 14, 1993, Borga defeated Razor Ramon at a house show to win the Intercontinental Championship after pinning him following a clothesline. However, the contest was ordered to continue because Razor's foot was on the bottom rope during the count of 3. After the match restarted, Shawn Michaels interfered and hit Razor with a fake Intercontinental title belt. Borga then pinned Razor again to win the title. However, the decision was reversed due to the interference, making Razor the winner and retaining the title.

On January 17, 1994, Borga injured his ankle in a match with Rick Steiner. This injury was so bad that forced the WWF to cancel all the plans for Borga, including his scheduled appearance at Royal Rumble 1994. Borga left the WWF soon after.

• CWA

After some recuperating, Halme wrestled for Catch Wrestling Association (CWA) in 1995. It was here that Ludvig Borga won his 1st and only singles title on 20 December when he defeated Rambo for the CWA World Heavyweight Championship. After holding the title for over a year, Borga lost it back to Rambo on 21 December, 1996.

After professional wrestling, Halme went on to fight in the RINGS and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), though without appreciable success.

• Political Career

Halme does not hide his nativist views and tends to speak in a rash, direct manner, which tends to catch the public ear. He had once suggested that Finland should send drug dealers to Russian prisons as this would result in considerable cost savings, and a prison term in Russia would be a more effective deterrent.

During his parliamentary career, Halme raised controversies. The day after the elections, Halme referred to president Tarja Halonen as a lesbian in a radio interview. Halme stated that if a lesbian can be president of Finland and he can be a member of Parliament, anything seems possible. A huge uproar ensued as much of the Finnish media treated the statement as a personal attack on Halonen; Halonen herself made no comment. Halme later apologized for his actions.

In July 2003, a handgun was fired inside Halme's apartment, probably after a domestic quarrel. Nobody was hurt but the handgun was unlicensed. Halme had been in a boxing match only days before the incident and was using prescription medication because he was in pain. The dangerous combination of drugs and alcohol was a decisive factor in the incident. His blood contained trace amounts of amphetamine and illegal steroids were also found in his apartment. Halme was charged and in January 2004 his trial was shown live on television. Halme received a 4 months suspended sentence and a fine but continued to serve as Member of Parliament.

In early March 2006, Halme was involuntarily committed to a mental hospital, reportedly due to delirium caused by excessive alcohol use. Earlier in 2006 he had been diagnosed with alcohol-related cirrhosis and acute pancreatitis. After being on sick leave for almost the entire year of 2006, he went on disability pension at end of the Parliamentary term.

Links:

1) Tony Halme & Scott Norton vs. Steiner Brothers part 1 (NJPW)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjjNygWiczE (Thanks to pgi86)

2) Tony Halme & Scott Norton vs. Steiner Brothers part 2 (NJPW)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHb5Y0pqjpI&feature=related (Thanks to pgi86)

3) Ludvig Borga vs. Marty Jannetty (Summerslam 1993)

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/ludvig%2Bborga/video/x2sy3a_ludvig-borga-vs-marty-jannetty_sport (Thanks to TSteck160)

4) Foreign Fanatics vs. All-Americans part 1 (Survivor Series 1993)

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/ludvig%2Bborga/video/x5wrvn_the-foreign-fanatics-vs-the-all-ame_sport (Thanks to TSteck160)

5) Foreign Fanatics vs. All-Americans part 2 (Survivor Series 1993)

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/Foreign%2BFanatics/video/x5wsqe_the-foreign-fanatics-vs-the-all-ame_sport (Thanks to TSteck160)