10 Worst Anti-American Wrestling Gimmicks

4. Ludvig Borga

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WWE.com

After spending the previous decade or so promoting Japanese, Russian and Middle Eastern performers as evil foreigners, it was quite the curiosity to see the Finnish Ludvig Borga emerge as WWE's latest foreign menace and scourge of 'Made in the USA' Lex Luger.

Short of a war or similar military conflict, the company saddled Borga with a curious distaste of America's attitude towards waste management. Vignettes aired in the summer of 1993 of Ludvig traipsing around untidy alleyways and discarded areas of land that were covered in litter and discarded furniture.

Decked in Finland's flag and entering to the rather pleasant bars of the country's national anthem, the company appeared desperate to stir up tension between the USA and the Scandinavian nation.

They went to great lengths to promote Borga as a threat, sacrificing the near two-year undefeated streak of Tatanka via Yokozuna interference and a one-finger pin. Rumours abounded that he'd be Luger's opponent at the historic WrestleMania 10 card in March 1994.

His run with the company came to an abrupt halt months earlier. A January ankle injury suffered in a match with Rick Steiner left him shelved for the majority of the year. WWE parted ways with the 'Hellraiser from Helsinki' in the interim and he was barely referenced in the company ever again.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett