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Tony Christian Halme (January 6, 1963 – January 8, 2010) was a Finnish politician, sportsperson, author, actor, and singer. He was a member of the Finnish Parliament from 2003 to 2007 as an independent elected on the Finns Party party list. Halme was also known by the pseudonym viking, which he used while appearing in Gladiaattorit, a Finnish version of the TV game show Gladiators, in the 1990s.
He was also a professional wrestler best known for his appearances with Catch Wrestling Association (CWA), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and WWE (WWF) under the ring name Ludvig Borga; a mixed martial artist and the first fighter from the Nordic countries to ever compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC); and a professional boxer.
During his time in CWA, he was an accomplished main eventer, who headlined many events for the company including the company's flagship event Euro Catch Festival three times.
Athletic from a young age, he actively participated in sports such as handball, football and ice hockey. He also began power training and weightlifting in his late teens after watching his brothers, who were on the Finnish national team. Aged 17, he had won a silver medal at the Finnish Bodybuilding Championship. He also worked a wide variety of jobs, including fishmonger, gatekeeper, glass cutter, singer, page, stuntman, TV and radio presenter, and coach. He later enlisted in the Finnish army and continued his training with the Finnish military sports team. After leaving the army, he became involved in boxing and worked as a bouncer in bars.
Halme developed a fascination with the United States after seeing Martin Scorsese’s film Taxi Driver at the age of 12, Halme also had a dream to get to the Gold's Gym and see it. He left Finland to live in Los Angeles in the 1980s and lived there for 15 years. He resumed bodybuilding in the US also and began to take anabolic steroids regularly. He worked as a bodyguard for the music group Cheap Trick and musician Gene Simmons, and also as an actor, professional wrestler and a boxer.
On April 30, 1991, Halme defeated Masashi Aoyagi in a boxer versus karate match. He remained undefeated in NJPW until September 23, 1991, when he was defeated by Shinya Hashimoto in their third match against each other in front of 18,000 fans at the Yokohama Arena. While Halme's matches with Hashimoto were not considered quality matches, he has been credited with helping Hashimoto take his career to another level as the win made Hashimoto look like a "real fighter" as opposed to a professional wrestler. Halme's "boxer versus wrestler" gimmick was ended on October 18, 1991, when he was defeated by Vader.
In 1992, Halme was teamed in matches with Scott Norton, Bam Bam Bigelow and Barry Windham. He also competed in the NJPW Super Grade Tag League II teaming with Masahiro Chono, together scoring 8 points and finishing fourth overall. The tournament was won by Shinya Hashimoto and Riki Choshu. On November 22, 1992, Halme and Norton won the IWGP Tag Team Championship from The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner). However, the next night, Halme and Norton were forced to face each other with separate tag team partners with Halme and Ron Powers losing to Norton and TNT.
On December 14, Halme and Norton lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to the Hell Raisers (Hawk Warrior and Kensuke Sasaki). On January 4, 1993, at Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome (in North America aired on PPV as WCW/New Japan Supershow III), Halme was pinned by Ron Simmons. On February 16, 1993, Halme teamed up with Luc Poirier for the IWGP Tag Team Championship against the Hell Raisers, but lost.
Behind the scenes, Halme started having problems with Hawk Warrior and Scott Norton. It also came out that Halme had knocked out Norton in a legitimate street fight, though some claimed this was the result of a sucker punch by Halme. Fearing that Norton would be looking for retribution on Halme, NJPW officials took a secret vote on what to do with the two. Afterwards, Halme started losing matches more regularly and eventually left the promotion in June 1993. His last match took place on June 17, when he and The Barbarian lost to John Tenta and Tonga Fifita.
Borga was immediately pushed to main event status as he entered a feud with the federation's top babyface, "Made in the USA" Lex Luger. On the October 30, 1993 edition of Superstars (filmed September 28), Borga had the biggest win of his career when he ended Tatanka's undefeated streak of nearly two years, dominating him throughout their match and ultimately knocking him out with a steel chair while the referee was distracted by Harry Fujiwara at ringside. In a mockery of Luger's past "Narcissist" gimmick, Borga pinned Tatanka with one finger. At Survivor Series, Borga participated in the main event, teaming up with Yokozuna, Jacques Rougeau and Crush as the "Foreign Fanatics" against "All-Americans" Lex Luger, The Undertaker and The Steiner Brothers. Borga and Luger were the final two remaining participants and Borga was eliminated by Luger after a running forearm smash. On December 14, Borga pinned Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon at a house show, but the win was overturned and the match resumed because Razor's foot was on the bottom rope. Borga pinned Razor again after Shawn Michaels hit Razor with a title belt, but the decision was reversed and Borga disqualified.
On January 17, 1994, Halme injured his ankle in a match with Rick Steiner, forcing the WWF to cancel future plans for the Borga character that included a scheduled appearance at the 1994 Royal Rumble and a proposed WrestleMania X match against John Tenta, Borga was replaced by Bryan Clark who was defeated in seconds. Halme left the company soon after.
In 1995, lost twice to Dick Vrij and once to Volk Han.
He would lose to Mitsuya Nagai on January 24, 1996.
His final match with RINGS was a loss to Dick Vrij on April 22, 1997.
Halme was also elected to the City Council of Helsinki in the 2004 municipal elections, but announced he would not participate in the council's activities. His term officially ended in 2008.
Halme had a Schutzstaffel tattoo on his calf. Borga was made to put tape over the tattoo when he wrestled in the WWF.
In 1993, Halme divorced his American wife, Adriana Estrada, whom he had met in the U.S. in 1989. With the help of the marriage, Halme got a green card for the United States. From 1998 to 2005, he was married to Katja Talus.
During his years in the U.S., Halme was convicted of firearm offenses in the 1990s, and in February 1999, he was in the San Pedro detention center, Los Angeles, for two weeks before he was deported from the U.S.
On July 4, 2003, a handgun was fired inside Halme's apartment. No one was injured, but the gun was unlicensed. Halme was subsequently hospitalized, as he had only days before been in a boxing match and was using prescription painkillers, but his blood had additionally contained trace amounts of , while a police search of his House of Parliament office turned up illegal steroids. Halme claimed that somebody had put the amphetamines into his drink without his knowledge. In January 2004, his trial was broadcast live on television by the MTV3 digital television channel. Halme received a four-month suspended sentence and a fine, but continued to serve as Member of Parliament. In 2006, he was convicted for driving while impaired.
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 spending almost the entire year of 2006 on sick leave, he went on disability pension at end of the Parliamentary term.
In December 2009, Halme told a newspaper that he was suffering from impairment of his short-term memory and had trouble remembering anything, but was still trying to write a book on his political career.
In 1993, Halme's professional wrestling persona was part of the Japanese wrestling video game Shin Nippon Pro Wrestling: Chou Senshi in Tokyo Dome for Super Famicom (Super Nintendo Entertainment System).
In 2022, a Finnish documentary film which explored Tony Halme's entire life.
Halme was featured on Vice Media's Dark Side of the Ring season 6 broadcast in April 2025.
World Wrestling Federation (1993–1994)
On Superstars aired on July 24, Halme debuted in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Ludvig Borga, a heel Finn who appeared in a series of vignettes castigating Americans for their perceived deficiencies in issues such as environmental laws and their educational system. His singlet was adorned with the Finland flag, and his entrance music was Maamme, the country's national anthem. After an initial streak of squash victories over jobbers, Borga defeated former Intercontinental Champion Marty Jannetty at SummerSlam.
Return to Universal Wrestling Federation (1994)
After leaving the WWF, Halme returned to UWF for Blackjack Brawl as the Finland Hellraiser Thor against Bob Orton Jr. in a double disqualification.
Fighting Network Rings (1994–1997)
Halme returned to Japan in August 1994, this time working for Fighting Network Rings. During his debut, he defeated Thomas Lurosi by knockout. That Fall, he participated in a Mega Battle Tournament where he defeated Dimitri Petkov and Tarial Bitsadze before losing to Akira Maeda in the third round.
Catch Wrestling Association (1995–1997)
Halme wrestled as Ludvig Borga for Catch Wrestling Association (CWA) in 1995. On December 20, Borga won the World Heavyweight Championship, his first and only singles championship, by defeating Luc Poirier at the 1995 Euro Catch Festival. Borga held the title for over a year, including a major title defense against August Smisl at the Euro Catch Festival in July. He then lost the title back to Rambo at Euro Catch Festival on December 21. His final match for the CWA was a boxing match against Tony Richardson, which he won by knocking out Richardson in the fourth round.
Mixed martial arts
After retiring from professional wrestling in 1997, Halme went on to fight in the RINGS and Ultimate Fighting Championship, though without appreciable success, notably a 56-second submission loss to Randy Couture at
UFC XIII.
Political career
Halme became a member of the Finns Party and entered parliament in the 2003 parliamentary elections and 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, stating that he was sorry that the statement had been interpreted as an insult and that he had been under the genuine impression that Halonen was a lesbian. Halme opted not to run for re-election in 2007 due to health issues.
Personal life
Halme began his compulsory military service on October 1983, at the military base of in Koria, Finland. Halme received several travel bans because he did not return from vacation on time and was also guilty of maltreatment.
Death
On January 8, 2010, two days after his 47th birthday, Halme died from a Suicide, from an unlicensed handgun. His body was found two days later at his home in Helsinki, Herttoniemi.
Filmography
(final film role)
Other media
Halme authored five books and recorded one album called Mestarit salilla. Halme had a modest film career starring in Finnish movies Ponterosa and Kohtalon kirja, and in 1995 had small roles overseas in Die Hard with a Vengeance and Fist of the North Star. Halme was also cast in a supporting actor in the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic but had to withdraw due to a filming delay.
Championships and accomplishments
Professional boxing record
19 Win 13–6 Chris Sirengo 6 29 Nov 2002 18 Loss 12–6 Garing Lane RTD 4 (6), 13 Oct 2001 17 Win 12–5 Almaz Gismejev 3 (8), 20 Feb 2001 16 Loss 11–5 Yacine Kingbo KO 2 (12), 3 Oct 2000 15 Win 11–4 Mika Kihlström KO 4 (10), 17 Apr 2000 14 Win 10–4 Ferenc Deák KO 1, 22 Nov 1999 13 Loss 9–4 Agustin Corpus KO 3, 6 Sep 1999 12 Win 9–3 Iran Barkley 12 19 Apr 1999 11 Win 8–3 Ken Woods KO 2, 16 Nov 1998 10 Loss 7–3 Mika Kihlström TKO 5 (10), 14 Sep 1998 9 Win 7–2 Terry Armstrong KO 1, 16 Mar 1998 8 Win 6–2 KO 1 (10), 29 Sep 1997 7 Win 5–2 Paul Genick KO 1, 6 Sep 1997 6 Loss 4–2 3 (10), 9 Sep 1996 5 Win 4–1 Robert Swenson KO 1, 26 May 1996 4 Loss 3–1 Patrick Freeman KO 4 (4), 27 Apr 1996 3 Win 3–0 Tony Messenger 1, 4 Mar 1996 2 Win 2–0 Archie Perry 5 26 Jun 1995 1 Win 1–0 Bradford Powell 1 (4), 10 Jun 1995
Mixed martial arts record
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 1–4
| Randy Couture
| Submission (rear-naked choke)
|
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 0:56
| Augusta, Georgia, USA
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|-
| Loss
| align=center| 1–3
| Dick Vrij
| TKO (doctor stoppage)
| Rings - Extension Fighting 2
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 2:42
| Japan
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 1–2
| Mitsuya Nagai
| Submission
| Rings - Budokan Hall 1996
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 8:58
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 1–1
| Dick Vrij
| KO
|
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 2:55
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 1–0
| Tariel Bitsadze
| KO
| Rings: Battle Dimensions Tournament 1994
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| N/A
| Tokyo, Japan
|
See also
External links
Categories: 1963 Births, 2010 Deaths, 2010 Suicides, 20th-century Finnish Male Singers, Boxers From Helsinki, Swedish-speaking Finns, Finns Party Politicians, Members Of The Parliament Of Finland, Finnish Actor-politicians, Expatriate Professional Wrestlers In Japan, Finnish Male Actors, Finnish Emigrants To The United States, Finnish Expatriates In Japan, Finnish Male Mixed Martial Artists, Mixed Martial Artists Utilizing Boxing, Mixed Martial Artists Utilizing Wrestling, Finnish Male Professional Wrestlers, Finnish Sportsperson-politicians, Finnish Writers, Heavyweight Boxers, Finnish Male Boxers, 21st-century Finnish Criminals, Finnish Male Criminals, Finnish People Convicted Of Drug Offenses, Finnish Politicians Convicted Of Crimes, Finnish Politicians Who Died By Suicide, Suicides By Firearm In Finland, Ultimate Fighting Championship Male Fighters, 20th-century Male Professional Wrestlers, Cwa World Heavyweight Champions, Iwgp Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, Professional Wrestlers Who Competed In Mma, 20th-century Finnish Sportsmen, People Deported From The United States
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