Inaugural George Hackenschmidt European Cup tournament planned for Hackenschmidt’s home country of Estonia in October
The man that’s recognized as being pro wrestling’s first world champion is set to be honored with a one night championship tournament in his home country of Estonia on October 16th. The first George Hackenschmidt European Cup Tournament is being organized by SLAM! Wrestling, who are based in Finland, but have recently made excursions into Estonia a somewhat regular occurrence.
SLAM!’s first excursion into Estonia took place in September of 2019 and the company has already returned twice more, in August and October of 2020. The company has plans to return to Estonia twice more in 2021, including the Hackenschmidt Cup tournament which is set to take place at the Kalev Sports Hall in Tallinn. To the best of our knowledge, there are currently no active wrestling promotions in Estonia and SLAM!’s initial show in the country in 2019 was said to be the first pro wrestling event in the country’s history. The fact that SLAM! continues to return to the country can only be good news for wrestling fans in Estonia and also for the wrestling world as this continued presence could surely help lead to the establishment of a pro wrestling scene, and a native wrestling company, at some point down the road in Estonia.
Pro wrestling’s first world champion, Estonia’s own George Hackenschmidt
So far, SLAM! has yet to announce any participants for the one night tournament. The company has hinted that wrestlers from around Europe will be participating in the event, though. Two possible participants that could emerge as a possible fan favorite to capture the tournament are Estonia’s own Big Mikk Vainula and Kert Kukk, both of whom have performed for SLAM! in Estonia in the past. SLAM! has also announced that the event will be broadcast live for online viewing.
So far, no further details of the online viewing have been made public but when they are, and the wrestlers are announced for the tournament, WrestleMap will keep you posted!
