Michael Majalahti

Michael Majalahti
Michael Majalahti
Ring name(s) Michael Wildside[1]
Natural[1]
StarBuck[2]
Billed height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[3]
Billed weight 225 lb (102 kg)[3]
Born April 24, 1973 (1973-04-24) (age 38)[1]
Timmins, Ontario, Canada[2]
Resides Espoo, Finland[3]
Trained by Lance Storm[3]
Karl Moffat[3]
Debut January 7, 1994[3]
Website starbuck.fi

Michael Majalahti[2] (born April 24, 1973)[1] is a Canadian-Finnish professional wrestler, singer and artist, better known by the stage name "The Canadian Rebel" StarBuck. His bands include Stoner Kings, Overnight Sensation and Crossfyre. Majalahti also works as a play-by-play commentator for the Finnish broadcasts of WWE programming on Eurosport.[4]

A pioneer in Finnish professional wrestling and the head trainer of his home promotion, Fight Club Finland (FCF), Majalahti has trained talent all across the Nordic countries and has won several championships across Europe. In 2010, Majalahti became a main eventer in Japanese promotion SMASH, leading FCF's invasion of the promotion and feuding with the promotion's public face, TAJIRI, for the Finnish Heavyweight Championship.[5] Having worked several main events and scoring major victories over Japanese legends, he currently holds a win–loss record of 15–2 in the promotion.[5][6] In October 2011, StarBuck defeated TAJIRI in the finals of a tournament to become the first ever SMASH Champion.[7]

Contents

Early life

Majalahti was born to Finnish parents in Timmins, Ontario, Canada on April 24, 1973.[1][2] Growing up as a fan of professional wrestling, Majalahti moved to Calgary in 1992 to pursue art college, before he started working for local wrestling promotion Rocky Mountain Pro Wrestling as a ring announcer and play-by-play commentator.[2] Majalahti became friends with future WWE wrestlers Edge, Christian, Chris Jericho and Lance Storm, who, after seeing the potential in him, agreed to become his trainer.[2]

Professional wrestling career

Europe

Majalahti, adopting the ring name StarBuck, made his professional wrestling debut on January 7, 1994, facing his trainer Lance Storm.[2] In 1996, Majalahti moved to Finland due to Canada's economic recession and quickly made himself a name on the Nordic professional wrestling scene, becoming a pioneer of professional wrestling in Finland, working and training talent for Pro Wrestling Finlandia, which was in 2006 replaced by Fight Club Finland (FCF).[2] Throughout his years in the business, Majalahti has wrestled in countries such as Egypt, United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, United States, Estonia, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Italy, France, among others,[2][3] and has had a hand in training wrestling talent all across Scandinavia since 2003.[1] Wrestling on the European independent circuit, he has won the Italian Heavyweight Championship (IWS), the Italian Intercontinental Championship (IWS), the Finnish Wrestling Championship, and the European Heavyweight Wrestling Championship (WS).[2]

Smash

StarBuck made his debut for Yoshihiro Tajiri's new SMASH promotion on May 29, 2010, at SMASH.3, appearing in a video to start an invasion storyline involving wrestlers from Fight Club Finland.[8] After several more videos and a match, where FCF wrestler Valentine lost the Finnish Heavyweight Championship to TAJIRI, StarBuck announced that he was going come to Japan in person to reclaim his promotion's title.[9] StarBuck made his SMASH wrestling debut on July 24 at SMASH.5, squashing Hajime Ohara, winning the match by pinning him with one finger after a spike piledriver, finally achieving his dream of working in Japan in the process.[2][10] Later that same day on SMASH.6, StarBuck defeated TAJIRI in the main event in similar manner to regain the Finnish Heavyweight Championship, his fourth time winning the title.[11] After the match, Hajime Ohara turned on TAJIRI and joined StarBuck's group of FCF wrestlers.[12] After successfully defending the title against AKIRA on September 24 at SMASH.8, StarBuck lost the Finnish Heavyweight Championship back to TAJIRI on November 22 at SMASH.10, after which he was attacked by the debuting Austrian wrestler Michael Kovac, who announced his intention of taking over SMASH.[13][14] On January 29, 2011, at SMASH.12, Kovac defeated StarBuck in a grudge match and used the momentum to capture the Finnish Heavyweight Championship from TAJIRI later that same day on SMASH.13.[15][16] Meanwhile, StarBuck went on a win streak, scoring pinfall victories over Super Crazy,[17] TAJIRI on two more occasions,[18][19] Takao Ōmori,[20] Yoshiaki Yago,[21] Leatherface[22] and Shinya Ishikawa.[23]

After TAJIRI agreed to let an FCF representative participate in the tournament to determine the first ever SMASH Champion, StarBuck won an eight man tournament in FCF in July to the second round of the SMASH Championship tournament.[24] StarBuck returned to Japan on August 11 at SMASH.20, defeating Genichiro Tenryu, who had upset Michael Kovac in his opening round match, to advance to the semifinals of the tournament.[25] On September 8 at SMASH.21, StarBuck defeated the Mexican VENENO in the semifinals to set up a grudge match with TAJIRI in the finals of the tournament.[26] On October 28 at SMASH.22, StarBuck defeated TAJIRI with his signature spike piledriver to become the first ever SMASH Champion.[27] After the match, both competitors were attacked by the returning Michael Kovac, who had previously in the event revealed former WWE wrestler Dave Finlay as his new associate and now revealed that he was coming to SMASH for the SMASH Championship, before he was chased out of the ring by Hajime Ohara and AKIRA. The event seemingly brought StarBuck and TAJIRI together to fight a common enemy, with StarBuck declaring war on Finlay, his first challenger for the SMASH Championship.[28][29]

Other endeavours

Majalahti has coached several Finnish rock and metal vocalists and bands in better English, both in regards to lyrics and pronunciation/enunciation. Known acts that Majalahti has worked with in some capacity are Sonata Arctica (Unia album), Stratovarius (Stratovarius album), Lordi (The Arockalypse and The Monsterican Dream albums), Celesty (Vendetta album), The Souls (The Grand Confusion), Widescreen Mode (The Hanging Man album), Godsplague (Evilution and Triumph albums), Thunderstone (Tools of Destruction album), Timo Kotipelto (Coldness and Serenity albums), in addition to others. Majalahti has also created the characters of children's heavy metal band Hevisaurus, and has illustrated the band's album covers.

Majalahti is a licensed FAF gym instructor, serving as a freelance personal trainer and coach in Finland. He also works as a freelance graphic artist and illustrator, and has been known to do perform translation work from Finnish to English for several companies.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

  • European Professional Wrestling
    • European Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Mikey Whiplash
  • EuroStars
    • European Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[30]
  • Fight Club Finland
    • Finnish Heavyweight Championship (4 times)[30]
  • Italian Wrestling Superstars
    • Italian Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[3]
    • Italian Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
  • Smash
    • Smash Championship (1 time, current)[7]
  • TopCatch
    • European Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[30]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Cagematch profile". Cagematch. http://cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=2828. Retrieved 2010-06-13. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Van Der Griend, Blaine (2009-03-03). "Finland's wrestling star a Canadian Rebel". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2009/03/03/8601546.html. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Fight Club Finland profile". Fight Club Finland. http://www.fightclubfinland.fi/painijat.php?id=3. Retrieved 2010-06-13. 
  4. ^ "Pro Wrestlingia joka maanantai Eurosportilla" (in Finnish). Eurosport. 2009-03-15. http://tv.eurosport.fi/prowrestling/pro-wrestling-palasi-euros_sto1888257/storynews.shtml. Retrieved 2011-09-29. 
  5. ^ a b "2010 SMASH results". Purolove. http://www.purolove.com/misc/smash/results10.php. Retrieved 2011-05-05. 
  6. ^ "2011 SMASH results". Purolove. http://www.purolove.com/misc/smash/results11.php. Retrieved 2011-05-05. 
  7. ^ a b "10・28『SMASH.22』全試合結果" (in Japanese). Smash. 2011-10-28. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/topics/diary.cgi?no=813. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  8. ^ "『SMASH.3』TAJIRI大会総括コメント" (in Japanese). Smash. 2010-05-29. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=24. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  9. ^ "『SMASH.4』TAJIRI大会総括コメント" (in Japanese). Smash. 2010-06-25. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=32. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  10. ^ "『SMASH.5』試合結果（セミファイナル）" (in Japanese). Smash. July 24, 2010. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=37. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  11. ^ "『SMASH.6』試合結果（メインイベント）" (in Japanese). Smash. July 24, 2010. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=47. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  12. ^ "「何か形をハッキリと見せて欲しい」TAJIRI、大原はじめの造反について言及！" (in Japanese). Smash. 2010-07-26. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/topics/diary.cgi?no=220. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  13. ^ "『SMASH.8』試合結果（メインイベント）" (in Japanese). Smash. 2010-09-25. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=65. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  14. ^ "『SMASH.10』試合結果（メインイベント）" (in Japanese). Smash. 2010-11-23. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=92. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  15. ^ "『SMASH.12』試合結果（セミファイナル）" (in Japanese). Smash. 2011-01-29. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=128. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  16. ^ "『SMASH.13』試合結果（メインイベント）" (in Japanese). Smash. 2011-01-29. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=141. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  17. ^ "『SMASH.13』試合結果（セミファイナル）" (in Japanese). Smash. 2011-01-29. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=140. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  18. ^ "『SMASH Live in Osaka』試合結果（メインイベント）" (in Japanese). Smash. 2011-02-01. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=153. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  19. ^ "『SMASH Live in Nagoya』試合結果（メインイベント）" (in Japanese). Smash. 2011-05-01. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=218. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  20. ^ "『SMASH.14』試合結果（セミファイナル）" (in Japanese). Smash. 2011-02-15. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=161. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  21. ^ "『SMASH.15』試合結果（第5試合）" (in Japanese). Smash. 2011-03-31. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=175. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  22. ^ "『SMASH.16』試合結果（第4試合）" (in Japanese). Smash. 2011-04-30. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=187. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  23. ^ "『SMASH.17』試合結果（第5試合）" (in Japanese). Smash. 2011-05-03. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=202. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  24. ^ a b "FCF代表スターバックが天龍と8・11『SMASH.20』トーナメント2回戦で激突へ！" (in Japanese). Smash. 2011-07-16. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/topics/diary.cgi?no=687. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  25. ^ "『SMASH.20』試合結果（メインイベント）" (in Japanese). Smash. 2011-08-11. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=254. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  26. ^ "『SMASH.21』試合結果（セミファイナル）" (in Japanese). Smash. 2011-09-08. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=267. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  27. ^ "『SMASH.22』試合結果（メインイベント）" (in Japanese). Smash. 2011-10-28. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=288. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  28. ^ "ＴＡＪＩＲＩ初代王者ならず、“恐怖の大王”降臨に戦々恐々=ＳＭＡＳＨ" (in Japanese). Sports Navi. Yahoo!. 2011-10-28. http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/fight/headlines/20111028-00000014-spnavi-fight.html. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  29. ^ "初代王者スターバックがフィンレーに宣戦布告！" (in Japanese). Smash. 2011-10-28. http://www.smashxsmash.jp/cgi-bin/result/diary.cgi?no=289. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
  30. ^ a b c "Cagematch title listing". Cagematch. http://cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=2828&view=erfolge#erfolge. Retrieved 2010-06-13. 

External links

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