It's Maybe Cold Outside, But in Ludvig Borga the Fire is Burning

Ludvig Borga vs. Tony DiMauro WWF Superstars 7/24/93 - VERY GOOD

ER: This was Borga's WWF debut, and he shows up with no hype whatsoever. There's mention of his debut at the beginning of the show, and when it's time for his match he's just described as a new wrestler from Helsinki. There was no inset interview, no coming soon videos, not even his name on the entrance screen; just Borga coming out and Vince telling the TV audience that he's from Helsinki. They do the exact same thing to the Quebecers on this same episode, debuting them with no features or word that The Mountie was coming back with a chubby friend. I'm pretty sure I couldn't have told you too much about Finland when I was 12, and I'm not sure how it related to pro wrestling or why it was important. But this was a great debut, and it's kind of cool how it came with no warning. DiMauro doesn't get an introduction, because Borga fast walks to the ring and without slowing down storms up behind DiMauro and deadlifts him into a hard back suplex. DiMauro is a big guy with a good build, and it's smart to debut Borga against a big guy, as it just made him look more badass quickly demolishing this guy. He is efficient and violent, hits a hard back elbow and a truly great headbutt (one of the finest I've seen hit in WWF), swings hard for DiMauro's head on a missed clothesline, really comes off like a monster. He also misses a fast avalanche and takes a fast bump on a DiMauro clothesline, which felt like a generous thing to do in his debut. But, then he absolutely wastes DiMauro with a diving clothesline, capping off a super explosive debut. 

Ludvig Borga vs. Jason Headings WWF Wrestling Challenge 7/25/93 - FUN

ER: I don't know who Jason Headings is, but he certainly earned his keep here. Borga would have been a total stranger to this crowd, but it's kind of cool to give a guy two weekend showcase squashes with no prior TV build, kids at home watching a giant angry faced Finnish man on Saturday, then seeing the same guy wreck someone else on Sunday. Borga does this great thing where he storms out and immediately goes after his opponent, not waiting for the bell. He lifts Headings up by the throat and drops him flat, clubs him, then picks him up in a vertical suplex and holds it for at least 15 seconds. Headings lands a stiff lariat that doesn't budge Borga, and when Headings gives it another shot he gets folded in half by a Borga clothesline. The bump looked like it surprised Headings more than anyone else, as he was clearly going to do a folding bump off the clothesline, but I don't think he was expecting Borga to hit him so hard, so his momentum got carried in an unexpected way. It's not like Borga swung for the fences, but he really hooked him and the fold looked awesome. Borga DOES swing for the fences on his next clothesline, but it is meant to miss (luckily Headings ducked), but Borga turns around and hits his flying clothesline for the quick win. If I was a kid and saw these two Borga squashes on back to back days, I would have immediately thought this guy was a main event threat. Curious to see how they handle him on Raw.  

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE LUDVIG BORGA