Does WWE Hate The Environment?

ludvig borga
WWE.com

One of the few people on the roster trusted to pen his own material, Bryan knew his self-righteous tree hugging would hit the mark. For one, he could rely on being popular enough that fans would play along - one of the keys to modern day heel work. But he also knew WWE's audience had been conditioned to equate environmentalism with antagonism over the years. They'd seen this character before.

Though Bryan's shtick was laden with sanctimony as much as it was science, the first time WWE pulled the act, it was entirely in earnest. Earmarked as the next great foreign menace for floundering American hero Lex Luger to overcome, Finn Tony 'Ludvig Borga' Halme was introduced via a series of vignettes in which he derided the USA for its less-than-rosy green policies. "You call this the land of milk and honey?" he barked. "Well down here - it stinks funny."

There was no hint of irony behind Borga's lament. It was impossible to argue with his perfectly reasonable points, and instead, fans were expected to hate him simply because he was a tree-hugging foreigner from a forward-thinking Nordic nation.

Ultimately, Borga didn't succeed in bringing about environmental enlightenment to WWE. Lex Luger's failure to fill Hulk Hogan's boots rendered the Finn an irrelevance, before an ankle injury cast him to one side for good. Had anyone even considered he might have been speaking some truth during that time? Probably not - they were expressly told not to.

[CONT. P2/3]

Advertisement
Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.