13 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Ludvig Borga

Psychological deep dives into the minds of twisted individuals will always make for fascinating documentaries. VICE understands this. It's why they picked the dark headspace of former WWE star Ludvig Borga, otherwise known as boxer/mixed martial artist/actor/politician Tony Halme, for season six of their 'Dark Side Of The Ring' series.

This was a tale less about pro wrestling drama and more about someone with a chip on his shoulder bigger than the men he hoisted above his head on WWF television. Put it this way: There was more focus on Halme than Borga throughout the episode's hour long run time, but there's a good reason for that. Tony's life was insane, and it was all pinned down by a curious mix of hating others whilst yearning to be adored himself.

You won't believe some of the stories told.

Talking heads like Jim Ross and Jim Cornette added a lot to things on the wrestling side, but VICE knew they had to go deeper than that if they wanted to tell Halme's story effectively. Journalist Mikko Mattinen, Tony's childhood friend Christer Markusas, his ex-wife DeeDee (no surname given) and various figures from his remarkable career in Finnish politics all joined in to give key insight.

No punches were pulled, and there was a lot of attention given to sensitive topics like suicide, drug abuse, alcoholism, racism and more. Here's everything learned from a story that's the polar opposite of last week's touching tribute to the good side of humanity exhibited by Mick Foley.

Brace yourselves.

Journalist Mikko Marttinen, who wrote Tony Halme’s biography, said his mother spoke Swedish. She therefore decided to put her children in a Swedish school, which made Tony feel “like an outsider very early on in his life”. Chiming in, one of Tony’s childhood friends Christer Markusas said being Fenno-Swedish meant you were “shunned” by people in both communities, so it was a tough spot to be in.

This created a deep yearning for respect that shaped/tortured the rest of Halme's life, including his short-lived stint on the WWE roster. It certainly doesn't excuse some of the misery he inflicted on other people, but it's cited as a reason for his psyche. Tony moved out of his childhood home when he was 14 or 15 years old. Clips were shown from 2003 where he said that his mother chose “the bottle or an alcoholic man” over her sons, and that crushed him. He moved into Christer’s spare bedroom, began lifting weights and always sought validation from others.

It's blatantly clear that Halme had a mountain sized chip on his shoulder due to his upbringing, and that this moulded him into a bitter, resentful man who always wanted to be respected. Weirdly, he didn't mind showing a complete lack of respect to others at the same time.

This insight into Tony's upbringing was essential. It's easy to say looking back now, but there's a darkness to some of the childhood photographs flashed up on screen during 'Dark Side'. It's fair to say that Tony Halme was not a happy kid, and that continued into adulthood. He was always seeking validation, and would go to extreme lengths to get it.