ERIK ISAKSEN - Norwegian professional wrestler

I am at www.myspace.com/erikisaksen

2006-11-08T08:44:00.000+01:00

The trend at the moment is to be on myspace. Better late than never: I am now on MYSPACE. Feel free to check it out!

As a special bonus for those who check it out: There are extended clips of my match against Bjørn Sem from 14th October in the video section. More clips are likely to come later.

Off to Spain and UK tour

2006-10-06T13:00:00.000+02:00

Just a quick update for those visiting the blog. I am off to Spain tomorrow to participate in a match at a cinema festival in Barcelona. The organisers expect a crowd close to 1.500. I am prepared for some "lucha libre" inspired action! Should be fun to work a different style again.

On the 14th October, I have another title defence at an NWF show in a re-match against Bjørn Sem. I will kick his a**:-)

At the end of October, I go on a tour to the UK. This is actually my first trip to England since I wrestled for Brian Dixon in 2002. I will work for Premier Promotions, DAM Promotions and WAW. I look forward to go there again since I haven't been there for a few years.

This means that there will probably be a few more updates in the blog coming up in the near future. Stay tuned!

Colombia tour postponed

2006-08-13T02:19:00.000+02:00

The Colombia tour that I was booked on for July/August was sadly postponed and I had to say no for the moment to re-schedule to the later dates due to other commitments. After already having received the flight tickets from the promotion in Colombia, I didn't expect that there would be changes to the tour.

Flight tickets are usually what I consider the "confirmation" that everything is going ahead. To my disappointed after having had the flight tickets for more than a month, I was told that there could be some problems about the original dates. Then about a week later I was told that it would definately be postponed, and sadly those rescheduled dates were impossible for me to do. This was a huge disappointment, probably one of the biggest disappointments in my wrestling career. The door is still open for future tours happening, so I cross my fingers for that.

One of my ambitions this year was to be booked outside Europe. It really seemed like it was going to happen but now it looks less likely again. I am still hoping though but who knows where.

Next event for me is on the 20th August at the Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo for NWF's 2nd biggest annual event: HeteSLAG. Big John is facing me in a re-match for the Norwegian Championship on that event.

Norwegian Championship and South-America tour

2006-06-13T10:45:00.000+02:00

On the 10th June, I added a 2nd Norwegian Championship to my resume. In front of the crowd at Parkteatret in Oslo, now former champion Jon "Big John" Veivåg failed to lift his hand when I had him in a sleeper-like hold. I am no longer a popular man in Oslo. NWF had two events this day, and on the evenining show, I defeated Talentfulle Thomas by countout. I was sitting comfortably in a chair in the middle of the ring whilst veteran referee Thomas Andresen counted out my opponent. I am the "icon" of Norwegian wrestling and the fans in Oslo hate me more and more for that reason....

In July, a moment I have waited long for is about to become reality. I have been in talks before about wrestling in various places around the world over the years, and finally I am about to wrestle outside Europe for the first time. Near the end of July, I go on a 2 week tour to South-America. I am really excited about this although the setting will be completely different to what I am used to. However, one of my best skills as a wrestler, at least in my mind, is that I am able to adjust to different opponents and styles. In addition to that, I am also a tecnically sound wrestler who have had great focus on the fundamentals over the years. I look forward to this opportunity and chance to display my skills outside Europe. I will not disclose much more at this moment, but there are talks of arenas housing upto 10.000 fans and TV tapings! I have been in talks about this tour since April, and this past weekend I received my flight reservations and everything is set to happen!

"10 year anniversary" match vs. Bernard Vandamme

2006-03-20T12:37:00.000+01:00

On Friday 17th March, I wrestled Belgium's Bernard Vandamme for the EUROSTARS European Championship in my hometown, Lillestrøm. A lot of publicity leading up to the match didn't result in any record breaking crowds, but still 300+ in Lillestrøm is a decent figure. The setup of the hall made for good atmosphere and the tribunes looked reasonably full. I was clearly the home favourite and it made for a good setting for my "10 year anniversary" match although I lost the match. I won the first fall but Vandamme won the last two falls of the match and retained the championship. I have wrestled Vandamme several times in the last couple of years, and he is definately a good wrestler and very agile for his size. A photo from the match, taken by Knockout Magazine, is posted here. It shows my toprope dropkick and is a really good photo.

The monster from the depth of hell, Cybernic Machine, who had a guest role in the Jet Li movie "Danny the Dog", wrestled for NWF for the first time. He did a tremendous double bodyslam on Fremtiden.

I don't have time to write a big post today, but if you have good internet access you can download clips from the show at this link (50 mb). Those clips say a lot more than I can describe:-)

10 year anniversary!!!

2006-03-15T11:07:00.000+01:00

Today on the 15th March, I celebrate that 10 years has gone since a nervous Norwegian guy travelled to York to participate in his first ever wrestling match, a royal rumble.

Wow, 10 years! At that time, I couldn't even dream about what I have experienced in the last 10 years. Although I live in Norway, which isn't the best place to live when thinking about getting bookings around Europe, I feel proud about my achievents both in and out of Norway. I hope it doesn't sound like I have a "big head" as that is not my intention of writing that....

Before I made my debut, my goal was to wrestle a few matches when I lived in England 1995 and 1996 but things didn't stop there. I am still wrestling 10 years after, and I have continuously set new goals that I want to achieve.

As I write this, I am not really sure what to write about in this post, except for the fact that I know this post could put me through some great memories and some not-so-great memories of what I have experienced.

Ok, let's start with my debut. I wasn't the best wrestler ever when I made my debut. That's for sure. What I should say here is thank you to the guys who let me into the wrestling business and the people who made life a lot easier when I got a foot inside. Brian Dixon was the promoter who gave me the chance to enter the ring. Thank you. I have probably mentioned them before, but guys like Robbie Brookside, Doc Dean and James Mason were willing to share their knowledge and help me. So was the Mark Atkin, a.k.a. the Viking Warrior, who is not as well known but who was a good friend outside the ring when we were travelling together. Julie Starr who usually sold merchandise on tours, and wrestled, was also friendly towards me. I spent a good amount of time travelling with Doc Dean, Mark Atkin, Julie Starr and Brian Dixon in 1996. Looking back, I miss travelling with them. But time goes on.

I actually planned to retire when I moved back to Norway at the end of 1996, but at the time I didn't know I would get a training partner. Rainer, a.k.a. "Sporty" Rainer Hansen in NWF, moved to Oslo from the north of Norway in 1997 and we started training wrestling together and then his brother, Tommy, a.k.a. Tommy Gun, joined in. It was actually a coincidence that I got in touch with Rainer. What if I hadn't got in touch with him? I don't think NWF would even have existed if I didn't get in touch with him by coincidence.... So for the people coming to our shows, show your respect to this guy. He is more important to Norwegian wrestling history than you know.... Also there is another guy, Jan Vidar, who is just a fan but he is the little bugger who "forced me" to come and watch wrestling together with him at a time when I was really starting to lose interest in wrestling in the early 1990s. Rainer and Jan Vidar do both have a part of wrestling history in Norway.

I could write a book about my 10 years in wrestling but I will keep it short. Here are just some random memories; travelling to York to make my debut, travelling on camp shows throughout England, meeting and wrestling against wrestlers from around the globe, meeting some of the biggest superstars in wrestling, wrestling around Europe, wrestling on a New-Japan show, being in pain, training, winning championships, disappointments, good crowds, bad crowds, hard work, frustration, happines, and so on. The sum of all this is positive although there have been moments I wanted to quit..... but it is hard to quit when you love something so much deep inside.

I will not speculate if I am still wrestling in another 10 years but I guarantee you this; I set new goals all the time. There is more I want to achieve before I say enough is enough and it is time to "retire".....

This coming Friday, 17th March, I have my "10 year anniversary" show in my hometown Lillestrøm, wrestling for the European championship against Bernard Vandamme. Hopefully that will be a great day/night that I can look back on in 2016!

Here are some random photos I have collected for this post:
October 2001 (Norway): First ever NWF show in Trondheim 18th October 2001. I hold Bjørn Sem in an armbar.

April 2002 (England): Together with wrestling legend Jake "the Snake" Roberts in Walthamstow.

April 2002 (England): A dive to the outside on Joe Legend, ex-TNA and ex-WWE wrestler.

April 2003 (Spain): An international crew backstage in Barcelona.

November 2004 (Norway): T-bone suplexing Bernard Vandamme on my way to win the Eurostars European Champonship.

September 2005 (Finland): Screaming in pain as the Finnish cult hero, Suomi-Poijka, twists my arm.

NWF tag team tournament, Daniel Sebastian, and Italy show

2006-02-01T22:52:00.000+01:00

It has been a while since I last posted on the blog, but now it is time again.

The first NWF show of the year, actually two as it was a double show, were on the 21st January at Parkteatret in Oslo. This was the first time NWF used this hall, and it could probably become a regular NWF hall in the future. On the afternoon show, I won the rumble style match, "Kongen på haugen", but I guess one of the biggest highlights of that show was the debut of the NWF superhero, Kaptein Knoke.

The evening show was sold out with about 300 spectators, making a good atmosphere for the first ever NWF tag team tournament.

This tournament didn't start the way it was supposed to do as my tag team partner, Daniel Sebastian, had to withdraw from the tournament due to a neck injury. This meant that I had to find a new tag team partner and chose Rainer Hansen. He was the first guy I ever trained with in Norway all the way back in 1997 but it took him eight years to make his debut. Before he sounds like the least talented wrestler in the world, spending 8 years in training before making his debut, I should mention that he hasn't been training regularly all the time since 1997, and he did also take part of some well-paid exhibition matches against me in 2000, the year before NWF was established.

Anyway, back to the tournament, Rainer Hansen and I lost against Fremtiden despite a good effort from Rainer in the match. Fremtiden became the first ever Norwegian tag team champions after two of their careers' best matches, beating Bjørn Sem and Talentfulle Thomas in the final.

Instead of talking more about that NWF show, I want to congratulate Daniel Sebastian with his 20th birthday on 1st February. Congratulations, Daniel Sebastian! He is no longer a "teenage sensation". Too bad as it was a good description for him but time moves on...... quickly!

Going back to 2002, Daniel Sebastian wrestled his second match. He was only 16 years old at the time, and as the "leader" in the NWF group, I felt responsible for looking after him on wrestling trips. That wasn't too cool because the day after the show we couldn't find him at the hotel, and we were supposed to leave shortly as we had a 8-10 hour drive ahead of us. We didn't reach him on the phone, and we didn't get an answer when we knocked on his door. We were looking for him "everywhere" but couldn't find him.... The blood started rushing. Had something happened to him? We finally got some hotel personell to open the door to his room. He wasn't there, and all his stuff was gone. OMG!

To be continued.... Oh, that was a mean way to stop the story:-)

Last Saturday, I wrestled for IWS in Italy again. On Friday,I had to get up at 4 o'clock in the morning to get to the airport in time for my flight from Oslo to Milano via Amsterdam at 06:40. The trip, together with Bjørn Sem also from NWF, didn't start to well as our flight from Amsterdam to Milano was cancelled due to snow in Milano. Luckily, we were able to re-book and get a flight via Paris to Torino. At 10PM, we finally were in Italy and went out for a few drinks with our colleagues and got two hours of sleep. Already at 03:30 on Saturday morning, we had to get up again to get on a 7-8 hour bus ride to Perugia.

After some promoting of the event at a local mall, we finally got to the arena at about 6PM. I wrestled Damon Brix from Austria and won with the "Isaksen driver". This was a truly international event with wrestlers from a number of countries; Chris the Bambikiller, Michael Kovac, Damon Brix and Cardinal Colen (all from Austria), Alofa (Samoa), El Bronco and Alex Montalvo (WWC Puerto Rico), Makoto (Japan), El Mariachi, Flama Mortal and Mandibula (Mexico), El Dinamico and El Chico (Dominican Republic), and of course Bjørn Sem and me from Norway. And let's not forget; Italian Dream representing Italy in Italy:-) One of the things I like about the IWS is the variety of wrestlers and styles in the roster. One thing I hate though is the music that is played in the background during matches, killing the atmosphere completely....

After the event, we were taken to a big, local disco where all the wrestlers were announced on the speakers and applauded. Bjørn Sem was the centre of attention on the dance floor when he showed some of his best skills; dancing! At 05:30 in the morning, we finally got to bed before getting up again at 9, packing our stuff and eating breakfast.

Of course, as the huge superstars we are:-), we were taken to the airport in Milano in a limousine. That trip took 4-5 hours after a drive well above the speed-limit.

Just after midnight, I was home..... It sounds like we spent a lot of time travelling, and that's a fact:-) That's a wrestler's life on the road; lots of travelling and lack of sleep!

Oh, so you want to hear the rest of the Daniel Sebastian "missing" story? We finally found him. For some reason he had gone to the hotel reception area and fallen asleep in a sofa there. Sometimes people can be found at some of the most obvious places:-)

What's next for me? On 17th March, I have a scheduled re-match for the EUROSTARS European Championship against Bernard Vandamme (if he is still champ by then) in my hometown, Lillestrøm. Maybe I can celebrate my 10th anniversary as a wrestler with some gold around my waist? Yes, 10 years since my first match in York on 15th March 1996..... As said earlier, time moves on quickly.....

Year in review.....

2005-12-22T11:33:00.000+01:00

As 2005 is getting closer to the end, I thought it was good idea to have a quick look on the happenings over the year.

On the 8th January, I had my big test as Eurostars
European Champion, facing Robbie Brookside at the Rockefeller arena in Oslo (see photo of Brookside iconclasm). The match was pretty solid with me taking most of the beating but defending the title successfully. It was pretty cool that Norway's national TV station, NRK, showed some clips on their weekend sports show. That was the first time and so far the only time that NRK's Sunday sport programme has reported on NWF.

The next month, my IWS intercontinental championship was on the line against Chris the Bambikiller in Italy. I have been in contact with Chris for a few years, and it was a good experience to wrestle him. He has since then been on regular tours for Zero One Max in Japan and also tried out for WWE. Best of luck to him.

In 2005 I was put together with Daniel Sebastian as a tagteam, and we did a series of matches against Fremtiden (the Future), a team which is made up by Isak and Victor. Those matches have had some creative team moves and also some pure comedy moments. Isak and Victor have tons of potential but sometimes they get into trouble in the most comedic ways possible. The first tag match took place on 13th February and the last one at PowerSlam III on the 27th November, a total of five matches over the year.

On 11th March I wrestled against Canada's Starbuck in Norway, our first match against each other since he broke his ankle in a match in 2003. We had several hard-hitting battles over the year, culminating with the "no holds barred match" at HeteSLAG on 21st August. That turned out to be a bloody match (see photo here). In that match, I regained the IWS intercontinental championship that I had lost to him on the 13th August in Italy. In the matches against Starbuck, I have always had to change my gameplan from being a technical wrestler as every match against Starbuck is not just a match but a WAR!

In April, I was on an "international tour", wrestling in France on the 8th and 9th of April and travelling to Italy on the 10th April. I lost my European Championship against Bernard Vandamme in Vendomé, France, on the 8th after a five month reign as champion. That was in front of about 1.500 lively people who created a good atmosphere. In Italy on the 10th, I wrestled the big Samoan wrestler Alofa. Although I kept on to the IWS Intercontinental Championship when he was disqualified for hitting me with the belt, I got extra work as I had to repair the belt.

On 4th June, I had an awesome experience. IWS brought me to Italy to wrestle a dark match on the New-Japan show in Milan. On Wednesday 1st of June, I was asked if I could come to Italy to wrestle a dark match. I sorted out things on short notice so I could go there, and on Saturday I was making my New-Japan debut just a few days after being asked to do a dark match! That's quite a difference. Before the show, I was tested in the ring in front of all NJPW key personell such as Masa Chono, Jushin Liger, Scott Norton, and others. Instead of wrestling a dark match, I was put in a match on the actual New-Japan show, teaming with Koji Kanemoto against Gedo and Jado. A scan from a Japanese magazine has been included in this article. All in all, the experience of being backstage on a New-Japan show was awesome as I was treated well by everyone. The match was broadcasted unclipped on TV in Japan. I was getting positive comments from a few of the New-Japan wrestlers after the match. I will not tell who but it made me proud.... Anyway, this whole experience was surreal as everything happened on such a short notice. I really hope to wrestle more for New-Japan in the future, but I will have to wait and see what happens.....

In September, I wrestled in Finland again for the first time since August 2004. The Finnish cult wrestler Suomi-Poika went down in the first match of the PWF championship tournament but I lost the second round match against Starbuck. This was my fifth match against Starbuck this year, so he has been one of my most regular opponents the last few years. He was bloodied in a 20+ minute match and got the crowd fully behind him. By the way, Suomi Poika, has a cool character and was a better wrestler than I thought before the match. That match had some comedy although the Finnish referee Raine Kauppinen told me he had never seen the Suomi Poika beeing victim of so many big impact moves before.....

On the 8th October, I wrestled in Italy against El Dinamico and lost the IWS Intercontinental Championship (see photo). What made that show the most interesting was everything that happened before the show, but that's a long story that I will save for my biography when I have become famous around the world. Ok, so maybe the story will never be on print then:-) It was a good crowd of around 1.000 people there and it took place outdoors in front of a mega store.

Anyway, being in Caselle, an outskirt of Torino, can be pretty boring but this October weekend, I think Bjørn, Daniel and I were able to get time to pass by quicker than ever. We even attended a local bingo hall to buy something to eat after walking several kilometres to get there. That sounds really, really boring but the whole setting made it a moment to remember.

I think that pretty much sums up the year.

Highlight of the year: Wrestling on a New-Japan show! Definately!!!

Favourite match of the year: *maybe* my "no holds barred" match vs. Starbuck, but I can't really make my mind up....

Special thanks go out to: The wrestlers I have been in the ring with in 2005, the promoters who have booked me, and all the people within the promotions I have wrestled for. All are part of making the shows happen.

Predictions/wishes for 2006: I wrestle in at least one "new" country in 2006 - hopefully! Daniel Sebastian and I make an impact in NWF;-) I win another championship, or on second thought, maybe not since it makes my bag a lot heavier..... Just joking:-) I wrestle a traditional European match with the round system and best out of three falls. And lots, lots more.....

Relevant links:
www.wrestling.no
www.eurostars.be
www.wrestlingsuperstar.it
www.pwfinlandia.com
www.njpw.co.jp

Two wins at the end of the NWF year 2005

2005-12-12T12:59:00.000+01:00

At PowerSlam III on 27th November, Daniel Sebastian and I won the re-match against Fremtiden in just under 15 minutes. Both Isak and Victor of Fremtiden are talented guys but that wasn't enough at PowerSlam. Daniel Sebastian got the pin after spectacular shooting star press. We are working better as a team as we are getting more used to teaming up. Hopefully, our team will shine throughout the year of 2006.

There are some interesting things happening in the tagteam division of NWF in January but I will not disclose any more details before it is made official at www.wrestling.no.

The biggest annual NWF show had about 350 spectators, and the crowd was lively throughout the show. Wesna and Blue Niktia put together a match, proving that girls can wrestle properly and not just be eye candy for the puberty boys. Big John won the Norwegian Championship and got a pop about as loud as the pop I got when I won the Eurostars European Championship from Bernard Vandamme at PowerSlam II.

At the last NWF show of the year on 11th December, I wrestled Talentfulle Thomas and won on submission in just over 8 minutes. This was at one of NWF's gym shows in the hall where we usually do our training sessions. 60-70 people can make a lot of noise and good atmosphere. This was a historic match as it was the first ever single match between Talentfulle Thomas and me. I wouldn't mind wrestling him again.

The first NWF show in 2006 is on the 21st January in Oslo.

PowerSlam III

2005-11-22T19:42:00.000+01:00

This coming Sunday, NWF's biggest show of the year, PowerSlam III, takes place at the Rockefeller arena in Oslo. Last year at the annual event I won the European Championship from Bernard Vandamme which was an incredible experience. This year I am tagging with Daniel Sebastian against Isak and Victor of "Fremtiden". Sounds like a step down from last year and sure it is BUT I look really forward to PowerSlam III also. This is my fifth match against Fremtiden this year, and although they seem to be very cocky and arrogant, they are both tremendous talents and from my point of view two of the best in NWF at the moment.

Being primarily a single wrestler, tagging with Daniel Sebastian this year has been a new breath of fresh air to me. A new challenge that has been fascinating and exciting as it is different from being a single wrestler. Over the year, Daniel Sebastian and I have developed our team work so hopefully we will establish ourselves as a top NWF tagteam at Rockefeller in front of several hundreds fans. Our previous matches have mostly been in front of crowds of less than 100 people at NWF's small shows so it is about time to shine at a bigger event also.

Whatever the result of the match turns out to be, I hope that the fans will be the biggest winners at PowerSlam III.

Losing the IWS IC title again

2005-10-19T19:48:00.000+02:00

I went to Italy for the 6th time this year to wrestle for IWS again on Saturday 8th October.

I was not really sure what to expect when I came to Italy again this time. It started with a long trip on Friday morning; car drive to the train station, train to the aiport, flight from Oslo to Milan, bus from Milan to central train station, train from Milan to Turin, bus from Turin to Caselle and finally a 10 minute walk from the bus stop to the house where we were staying. By the way, I travelled with Daniel Sebastian and Bjorn Sem. The trip was exhausting and we should have brought a lot more food. I don't want to pay 6 euros for a crappy sandwich on a flight, and we didn't get much time to buy any food on the way, so we were really hungry when we arrived. Some nuts from a fellow wrestler saved our lives:-)

Onto the show. We travelled in a limousine from Turin to Monza which is outside Milan, a 2 hour drive. This was an outdoor show outside a mega big shop, and there must have been at least 1.000 people watching the show. I wrestled against El Dinamico in a title vs title match. He has been the IWS heavyweight champion for quite some time, and after the match against me he also holds the intercontinental championship. Later on the show, I was elminated by El Dinamico in a royal rumble which was later won by El Dinamico too. Bjorn Sem and I had a short brawl in the entrance area of the shop when we walked backstage after the rumble, and I knocked him down with a couple of solid forearms to the pleasure of the fans who wanted my autograph instead of watching the rumble:-) I liked the atmosphere at the show as the crowd was lively, and there were hundreds of people wanting autographs after the show. Then it was time to travel back to Turin again, of course in the limo that we have become accustomed to.

Bjorn, Daniel and I had to kill some time on the Sunday as we had not much to do. We were at a shopping centre when I suddenly found a few Japanese classic wrestling DVDs in a bookstore. That was kind of a surprise. After a long walk in the evening we ended up eating at the local bingo in Borgaro, listening to the speakers giving numbers in Italian. At least the meal wasn't THAT bad, and we bought a kebab as "desert" later on in Caselle before going to sleep.

On Monday morning, we were driven to the airport by the promoter. My hand baggage was significantly lighter after losing the IWS IC championship, so there are positive things about everything.

Two matches in Finland

2005-09-08T01:33:00.000+02:00

On Sunday 4th September, I wrestled two matches for Pro-Wrestling Finlandia. Both matches were part of the PWF Championship Tournament. I defeated the arch-Finnish Suomi Poika in the quarter-final before going down to one of my arch-enemies Starbuck in the semi-final. Patrick Pesola, who ran Valhalla Pro-Wrestling a couple of years ago, acted as my manager on the show.

All in all, it was good to be back in Finland. Some of the Finnish wrestlers have improved quite a lot since last time I was there, especially Stark Adder.

No Holds Barred match

2005-08-24T18:53:00.000+02:00

My much anticipated No Holds Barred match against Starbuck in Oslo last Sunday turned out to be a brutal affair. After getting thrown into some chairs, I got a cut above my eyebrow just a couple of minutes into the match. The match went on in and out of the ring. I even ordered a glass of water in the bar to throw at Starbuck. Ok, before anyone complain about me being a cheap bastard: I didn't have any money in my tights to order a beer to throw at him.... Later in the match, I got another cut when Starbuck crashed me into a ringpost. After nearly 19 minutes of intensive action, when Starbuck looked set to win the match, I did surprise double leg takedown and pressdown for the 1-2-3, and once again I am the IWS intercontinental champion. This is definately my bloodiest, and probably one of my hardest, matches ever.

I would like to thank the fans who were screaming "Isaksen, Isaksen,..." throughout the match. Your support was much appreciated. I would also like to thank the first aid people who fixed my cuts after the match. They rarely get the thanks they deserve for being present show after show.

Finally, all the best to Storm Olsen who sadly broke his ankle in another match on the show. Get well soon!

Also a big thank you to Knockout Magazine, www.knockout.no, who provided the photo that illustrates this match.

Terrible news - and good news....

2005-08-19T20:06:00.000+02:00

Terrible news the past weekend was that I lost the IWS intercontinental championship in front of 1.000 people in Italy. The good thing is that the match in Oslo on Sunday is still a championship match with NO HOLDS BARRED stipulation as my opponent in Italy was none other than Starbuck himself who is my scheduled opponent for this Sunday's "HeteSLAG" event. I will let you know how that went the coming week or so.

I was surprised to find out that my New-Japan match from 4th June aired in full on Samurai TV on 16th July. I didn't know that it aired on Japanese TV, so that was cool to find out by coincidence yesterday!

Back in action

2005-08-08T19:11:00.000+02:00

The summer time has been quiet for me as far as wrestling goes. With the exception of one day at a Robbie Brookside training seminar here in Norway, I have not been in the ring since the NWF show on 19th June where I wrestled a tag match.

I am finally back in action this coming Saturday (13th August) when I travel to Italy to wrestle for the IWS again. I was supposed to wrestle there on 25th June but there turned out to be some flight booking problems for the promoter. This should not be a problem this time as my flight reservation is already received. I am ready to wrestle, and although I have not done much wrestling lately, I have been working out and am very motivated to wrestle again whoever I face in the ring. I have not information about who I will wrestle or if my IWS intercontinental championship will be on line.

Hopefully I retain the championship so that I can defend it on Sunday 21st August as the first NWF show this autumn takes place at Betong in Oslo at the annual student festival there. In a NO HOLDS BARRED match, I will take on Canada's Starbuck there. This is the fifth match against each other, and it should turn out to be a very heated battle. Our last match against each other, at the same place in April, was very heated and the crowd will be bigger for this show as it is a part of the festival.

When September arrives, I travel to Finland for a show there on the 4th, and I will enter the PWF tournament to crown their new champion. I wouldn't mind to win another championship:-) This will be my first Finland show since August last year.

I will try to update my blog regularly in the coming weeks.

Makoto Morimitsu / Italy

2005-06-14T19:26:00.000+02:00

I went to Italy on Saturday to wrestle for the IWS on Sunday 12th June. My opponent for the show was Makoto Morimitsu. I have wrestled against Makoto a couple of times before, and I have great respect for him as a wrestler. He is Japanese but travelled to Mexico in the early 1990s to learn wrestling. Since then he has wrestled mostly in South-America before relocating to Barcelona in Spain a couple of years ago.

Our match on Sunday was relatively long, ending at around the 20-minute mark. It was technically based but was sadly ended by a run-in from Alofa and Bjørn Sem. Move of the match was Makoto's suicidal somersault plancha to the outside of the ring. I am not sure if even Daniel Sebastian dares to do that move.... Hopefully, I wrestle against Makoto again in not so distant future.

Anyway, the trip went well. Before the show, the wrestlers were picked up at the hotel and driven the arena and back to the hotel in a limousine. That was cool.

I am going back to Italy on the 25th June to wrestle for the IWS again, this time in Treviglio outside Milano.

What's going to happen?

2005-06-10T21:44:00.000+02:00

I remember when I went to England five years ago. I was going to wrestle at Colston Hall in Bristol, one of England's most famous wrestling venues. Time was getting close to 8 PM and show start. I didn't know who I was going to wrestle against on the show yet. Five minutes before the show was supposed to start, I was told that my opponent was none other than Doug Williams who has become one of England's top wrestlers since then, working on a regular basis for NOAH in Japan. Remember this was five minutes before the start of the show, and not only that, my match was the opening match of the show! We wrestled a match that lasted close to 15 minutes, and I would say it went pretty well.

Sometimes lack of information can be frustrating but even so it is also a challenge: A good wrestler is supposed to be able to wrestle against anyone, anywhere and anytime.

Reason for writing this is related to my trip to Italy this weekend. I go to Italy again to wrestle for IWS. I don't know anything about the show or who I am going to wrestle against this time. I will wait and see until I am there. Cool?

New-Japan Pro-Wrestling debut

2005-06-06T09:45:00.000+02:00

On Saturday, I wrestled for New-Japan Pro-Wrestling in Milan, Italy. That was the third show on NJPW's "Spirito Guerriero" Italy tour 2005. I was the only European wrestler on these shows.

This is how the story began. On Wednesday, I received an SMS from the promoter of Italian Wrestling Superstar. He asked me if I wanted to come to Milan on Saturday to wrestle a "dark match" for New-Japan Pro-Wrestling. He would bring me over to raise the profile of IWS by having IWS wrestlers on the NJPW show. So quick can things happen in the wrestling business: an SMS received on Wednesday leading to the debut for NJPW three days later!

On Saturday, I got up at 5 o'clock in the morning to get to the airport and on my flight to Milan for the NJPW show. Later in the day, I was tested in front of the NJPW crew. After the test I was chosen to wrestle in the opening match of the show, tagging with NJPW veteran Koji Kanemoto against Gedo and Jado. 16 hours after getting up in the morning, I was walking to the ring for my NJPW debut! The match went pretty well, and I got positive feedback both from NJPW people and others after the show.

For me it was a great experience to wrestle for NJPW which is one of the world's five biggest wrestling promotions. I appreciate that NJPW gave me the opportunity to wrestle on their show and also that IWS brought me over to Italy to represent IWS.

Text message

2005-06-03T01:15:00.000+02:00

I got a text message from Italy yesterday. So what, you say? Well, I am excited and nervous at the same time. Why? Is it big news? For me it is. That's all for now. Check my blog next week for more:-)

My first match

2005-06-02T08:23:00.000+02:00

On Friday the 15th March 1996, I was walking around in York, a small town in Yorkshire with its own viking museum. Just a couple of days before, I received a phone-call that indirectly has influenced the following nine years and will continue to do so in the future.

The phone-call was from none other than Brian Dixon, Europe's most successful wrestling promoter, who promotes shows almost every day of the week for periods of the year as the All-Star Promotions. He told me has was doing a show in York, just a 30 minute train ride from Leeds where I lived. I would get an opportunity to wrestle in the main event of the show, which honestly was an "appearance" in the royal rumble of the show.

I was going to an All-Star show somewhere else just a month before and was able to hand over my information to an All-Star employee there. So thankfully, Brian Dixon kept my information and called me. You can guess I was pretty nervous in the couple of days leading up to the show, almost unable to sleep at night.

I went to York early in the day to do some sightseeing with a few friends, and we also had a look at the poster that featured a large picture of UK wrestling legend Giant Haystacks who was also known as Lochness Monster in WCW. There were a number of top UK wrestlers listed on the poster. It didn't make me any less nervous in the hours leading up to the show.

I went backstage at the venue and also got to meet Brian Dixon at the sales desk. He is actually well-known for selling lots of merchandise, so looking back it is not so strange that it was at the sales desk I met him for the first time. I said hello to a number of wrestlers such as Danny 'Boy' Collins, Skull Murphy, Marty Jones, and others I had seen on TV when Super Channel broadcasted British wrestling several years earlier.

It was time for the royal rumble, I went in and started punching people here and there before being eliminated by Skull Murphy and Barry Douglas. That was the first time I ever stepped into a ring and I had never practiced being thrown out of a ring and crashed straight on my knee that was swollen for days or weeks.

Did I enjoy it? No, I was far too nervous and I was far too green. Was Brian Dixon happy? He must have been as I was paid even though he previously had told me that I would get no pay for this as it was a tryout. And best of all, I was asked to do another show the day after. After the next show, I was given four more dates.

I had got a foot inside the wrestling business, at a time when it was more difficult to get a foot inside the wrestling business than now. In retrospect, I must have had some luck and made a good impression, not just as a wrestler but also as a person.

Brian Dixon was the one who could make or break my chances. I will forever remember that he was the one giving me a chance and letting me work 40 matches in 1996. Since then, I have also wrestled for him in 1997, 2000 and 2002, so he is still the promoter I have wrestled the most for.

Link: All-Star Promotions

Achieving my dream and more....

2005-06-01T23:31:00.000+02:00

When I first became a wrestling fan in the mid-1980s, I started dreaming of becoming a wrestler myself. Living in Norway, a country where wrestling was only seen on TV, my dream was not easy to reach, especially in a time when the internet was non-existent and information about wrestling schools hard to find.

I sent letters to schools and promotions both in the USA and Europe in the early 1990s, but replies were far between. Being a teenager living in Norway, I guess I wasn't taken too seriously by the wrestling schools.

So what could I do? Not much. In 1995, I moved to England for my studies, I had already planned to get in touch with a wrestling school over there but it was on the other side of the country. I lived in Leeds and didn't know about any wrestling schools there or elsewhere in the north of England. Luck is still a good thing. "The Little Prince" Alam was the owner of a gym I checked out. He was a former professional wrestler and agreed to give me some training.

In early 1996, I got in touch with All-Star Promotions, Europe's biggest (whatever other people say) promotion, and I was lucky enough to be given a chance in a royal rumble.

Since then I have wrestled against many of Europe's top wrestlers, worked for promotions in nearly a dozen different countries, performed in front of thousands of people, trained some good talents, started a wrestling promotion, promoted shows, won championships, and more.

Sweat, tears and blood, hard work, sacrifices, little reward, pain and injuries, criticicm, verbal attacks..... Is it worth it? It must be. Otherwise, why am I still wrestling?

My blog will deal with the past, present and future, and I am sure there will be some interesting stuff to read here as time goes on.