13 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Ludvig Borga
7. Jim Ross Recalls Talent Being Uncomfortable
Jim Ross rather bluntly described Tony Halme as an "a**hole" right at the end of the doc. The legendary announcer just didn't have any time for Halme as a human being, and he didn't think his Ludvig Borga persona was anything special either. Specifically, Ross hated the fact that Tony had a very visible SS tattoo on his calf. The Finnish brawler wasn't keen to hide it, but he wasn't given a choice by the WWF.
The company only realised Halme had this ink on his body after hiring him, and they knew it'd ruffle feathers behind the curtain once the rest of the locker room found out. JR remembers several Jewish workers on the roster being really, really uncomfortable with this, and so management knew they had to do something about it. They couldn't let that kind of negativity fester in their midst, and they surely felt embarrassed that they hadn't vetted Ludvig properly to begin with.
Something else was happening around that same time: Tony's Borga character wasn't clicking as a main event heel. Beating Tatanka hadn't sold the audience on his threat to future WWE Hall Of Fame inductee Lex Luger nearer the top of cards, and most of Tony's villainous promos were robotic and clumsy. Things just weren't working out for him, but everyone was simultaneously horrified by his nazi tattoo.
VICE's doc showed the thing close up. Deedee said she was aware of it (as well as her husband's fascination with war history), but claims she was "young and naive" back then. It wouldn't be until years later that she realised the full scale of Halme's obsession.