And When You Bite Me Borga, Love is Hurting

Ludvig Borga vs. Mike Khoury WWF Superstars 8/14/93 - FUN

ER: This was the longest WWF squash so far in Borga's short WWF run, and it was a good showcase for a cool set of offense. His first two matches had great spots but did feel rushed, and this was him taking his time and putting a couple extra big slams into the rotation. This is also the most comfortable and cocky he's looked in a WWF ring, and was getting good at spending time smirking at the camera and scowling at the crowd. His big flying clotheslines connected, and he powered Khoury into a couple of lifts that looked good with Khoury's extra mid section. It still hasn't been explained to any of us why we're supposed to hate this guy, other than he is from a country that is not the United States. Borga does not have, in any way, the kind of face someone should ever cheer for. But we don't know why he's a bad guy, and despite being told he's a bad guy he is still someone who has totally wrecked three different men on weekend television at this point. He is a threat, and seems to know it. We have not seen him on Raw yet, though we have seen a video package on him, comprised entirely of every spot from his first two matches. On this episode of Superstars they formally announced his debut PPV match, against Marty Jannetty. Tough draw for Marty, as he has been moved deep down the card ever since losing the IC title on a house show. Jannetty is part of a genuinely strong IC title scene, as he, Tatanka, Bigelow, Perfect, Razor, and even Doink feel like strong IC title contenders. Jannetty is going to get leveled by Borga, but it doesn't have to knock him out of the IC title picture. I think a big strength of 1993 WWF is how well the keep several active contenders within all of the hierarchies. There were mistakes in who got what shot, but keeping this many balls juggling makes for good television.  

Ludvig Borga vs. Bert Centeno WWF Wrestling Challenge 8/22/93 - FUN

ER: We get our first actual Borga promo, an inset promo that plays during his match, with him talking about crushing Marty Jannetty in the squared circle. I think it's the first time we got to hear Borga's voice and see his signature raised eyebrow that all the most popular wrestlers in the 90s used. I really loved him in this match, as he stalked quickly out to the ring just like in his prior matches, walked straight at Centeno, shoved him into the corner, then landed one hard right underneath the ribcage to drop him. I would have given this match 5 stars if that had been the finish. Instead, Borga lifts Centeno back up and hits him with a hard left under the ribcage (5 star rating still would have been awarded had that been the finish), and then whips him hard a couple times into the turnbuckles, nailing him with a nice clothesline. Borga really gets into it with a couple fans in the front row waving their USA flags, menacingly pointing at a woman right after hitting Centeno with a headbutt. This was a pretty simple Borga squash to build him up for Summerslam, but he showed the most in-ring personality that we've seen from him in WWF so far so I think it did the job. 

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE LUDVIG BORGA