Tony Halme

Tony Halme spent his childhood in Lauttasaari, Helsinki. His father left the family when Tony was six months old. His older brother – who was five years older than Tony – assumed the role of father figure. Halme only heard from his father a couple of times during his life. His mother was an alcoholic with a constant revolving door of male partners. As an adult, Halme considered his brother to be his only true friend. In the mid-1970s, Tony, his mother and brother moved to Soukka, Espoo. Halme attended '' and a oppikoulu''. He later attended a Swedish-language school and studied at the electrician line at the Strömberg School of Engineering. However, he dropped out of the latter after two years. At the age of 16, Halme left his mother's home and moved in with his uncle to Kannelmäki. ==Professional wrestling career==

Early career (1989–1990) Halme was trained by Verne Gagne as a powerhouse professional wrestler. In 1990, he wrestled in New Zealand losing to Tom Magee. Universal Wrestling Federation (1990) He made his debut for Herb Abrams's Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) on October 29, 1990 as The Viking. In his first match, he defeated The Patriot, not to be confused with Del Wilkes, but a no name wrestler with a mask. He then went on to defeat Kevin Benjamin. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1990–1993) On October 25, 1990, Halme made his debut for the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), defeating The Soul Taker in what was billed as a "boxer vs. wrestler" match. Halme was main eventing shows regularly as he was pushed as the biggest star of a crew that included the likes of Bobby Eaton, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddy Guerrero and Fit Finlay. 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. 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. 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 February 16, 1993, Halme teamed up with Monsieur Rambo 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. Borga defeated former Intercontinental Champion Marty Jannetty at SummerSlam. 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 Mr. Fuji at ringside. In a mockery of Luger's past "Narcissist" gimmick, Borga pinned Tatanka with one finger. Borga and Luger were the final two remaining participants and Borga was eliminated by Luger after a running forearm smash. 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 Earthquake, Borga was replaced by Adam Bomb who was defeated in seconds. Halme left the company soon after. 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. 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. 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 Rambo 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==

In the early 2000s, Halme met Veikko Vallin, who convinced Halme that he should run for Finnish parliament. Vallin became Halme's campaign manager and edited a book called Viikingin voimaopas, which was used to finance the election campaign. Halme became a member of the Finns Party and entered parliament in the 2003 parliamentary elections. 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. 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. ==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 assault and battery. 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 amphetamines, 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. ==Death==

On January 8, 2010, two days after his 47th birthday, Halme died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, from an unlicensed handgun. His body was found two days later at his home in Helsinki, Herttoniemi. ==Filmography==

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 minor role in the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic but had to withdraw due to a filming delay. 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 '''' explored Tony Halme's entire life. Halme was featured on Vice Media's Dark Side of the Ring season 6 broadcast in April 2025. • Books • Jumala armahtaa, minä en (1998) (Title translation: God Has Mercy, I Don't) • Tuomiopäivä (2001) (Title translation: The Judgment Day) • Viikingin voimaopas (2003) (Title translation: The Viking's strength guide) • Kovan päivän ilta (2003) (Title translation: A Hard Day's Night) • Testamentti (2010, posthumously) (Title translation: The Testament) • Tony Halme. Uho, tuho ja perintö (2024) (Title translation: Tony Halme. Bluster, destruction and legacy) • Albums • Mestarit salilla (Title translation: The champions at the gym) (2001) • Singles • "I Am Ironman" (1998) • "Viikinki" (Title translation: "The Viking") (1999) • "Mä oon tällainen" (Title translation: "I am like this") (2000) • "Painu pelle hiiteen" (Title translation: "Sod off, clown") (2001) • "Isätön poika" (Title translation: "The fatherless son") (2002) ==Championships and accomplishments==

• Catch Wrestling Association • CWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) • New Japan Pro-Wrestling • IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Scott Norton • Pro Wrestling Illustrated • PWI ranked him #145 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1993 ==Professional boxing record==