Erik Isaksen Blog #5: "A year in review 2008 and more"

-ERIK ISAKSEN BLOG FOR WRESTLEUROPE.COM-
A multi topic blog: A year in review 2008 and more-



We are already well into the first month of 2009 with January getting towards the end. I was thinking about writing A YEAR IN REVIEW 2008, but since there are also other topics to deal with, I decided to write a multi topic blog instead with the first part covering 2008.

MY WRESTLING YEAR 2008

Where should I start this «year in review»? I kick off with countries I wrestled in: Japan, Spain, Austria, Germany, England, Denmark, and of course Norway.

The highlight of the year was, without doubt, to take part of the ProWres EXPO in Japan on the 24th and 25th October at the Sumo Hall in Tokyo. Ever since I started wrestling, it has been a dream for me to wrestle in Japan. The whole experience was awesome with a number of great wrestlers from all over the world, including American legend Danny Hodge as guest of honour, being at the events. On the 2nd ProWres EXPO event, I teamed with Chris the Bambikiller in the main event against the truly great Masato Tanaka and Japanese powerhouse Daisuke Sekimoto. Although I did better matches last year, this match is the one that I consider my most memorable match in 2008 despite getting «a hell of a beating»:-) My last blog was about this trip, so I will not repeat myself too much here.

I had good times everywhere else I wrestled over the year too, but I would like to mention Spain in particular. The market for live wrestling events in Spain expanded to new heights in 2008. Eventos de Wrestling Europeo (EWE), the promotion I work for there, drew between 2.000 and 4.000 people to the events where I wrestled and brought together a great mix of good European-based talents. One of the matches, from Spanish TV (vs. Italian Kaio), can be watched in full in my video section if you want to take a look. England's Jimmy Ocean and Germany's Karsten Kretschmer were two of the European veterans who I wrestled against for the first time in 2008, and it was great to be booked to wrestle them. In Norway, I was happy to wrestle «Fremtiden» Victor Dale for the first time in single matches. He is a great talent but is yet to be «discovered» outside Norway. One of my matches against him (camcorder version) can be found in my video section.

So was everything about 2008 great? Not everything. There are always disappointments with tours and bookings/events never taking place or being cancelled. It seems like some of the «best» events never take place. Injuries and pain are not uncommon for wrestlers, and it is not any different for me. Early last year, some injuries troubled me badly in several matches, but a good chiropractor has thankfully got my body back on track. All in all, I am still happy about the wrestling year 2008.

I will finish this year in review by thanking all the promoters who booked me in 2008, all the wrestlers I worked with and all the wrestlers and people who I enjoyed being with at events and on my travels.

A NEW YEAR AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES?

My first event in 2009 took place on the 10th January, when NWF promoted «the Norwegian Tag Team Championship Tournament». Eight teams took part in the tournament. Although my new tag team partner in Norway, Hans Christian Haandlycken, is not in the same league as «Sporty» Rainer Hansen or «The Idol» Daniel Sebastian, he did alright, and we reached the final in a fun tournament. Although I am first and foremost a single wrestler in Norway, I do not rule out the possibility of teaming with him again later in the year from time to time.

Upcoming matches and travels are in the pipeline. I make my long awaited return to Fight Club Finland in February when I wrestle Valentine for the FCF Championship, a title that I held briefly in 2007. This looks to be my first international match this year. Hopefully, I get opportunities to return to Japan in 2009 and also to experience wrestling in other parts of the world. I am just about to start another wrestling-related role also but I will tell more about that in a future blog.

TWO SAD NOTES AND A HAPPY ONE!

I was sorry to hear about the recent death of American wrestler Paul E.Normus (33 year old Paul Fuchs). I met him in Italy a couple of years ago. Just last month, we were exchanging messages on myspace. I will not say that I knew Paul very well, but he came across as friendly when I met him, and I appreciated his messages. I was thinking about sending him a message last week but decided to do it later. Too late sadly, when I read about his death on the internet Friday night last week. Paul can be seen in the new movie «The Wrestler». Vic Powers, a UK wrestler I worked with a couple of times as a green rookie in 1996, passed away last month at the age of 48. My thoughts are with their friends and families. Rest in peace.

On a happier note, long-time NWF wrestler Daniel Sebastian got married to his Therese last month. I was at his wedding in Bergen, on the westside of Norway, where he moved last summer. He has taken an extended break from wrestling, but I still consider him one of my best and most successful trainees, making his wrestling debut at the age of 15. Before he turned 18, Daniel had already wrestled outside Norway in Spain, Italy and Finland, impressing people everywhere. He was just 14 years old when he came to his first wrestling training. Now he is 22 years old and a happily married man! Congratulations:-)

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Until next time: All the best,
Erik

credits:Erik Isaksen MySpace