Wrestling in the 1940s, Paavo Ketonen was a mainstay in Arizona, later becoming a trainer who introduced numerous wrestlers as well as boxers, to their respective sports. Among the grapplers he trained were Ivan & Soldat Gorky, Bahtashda Singh and The Earthquake McGoons. He was also instrumental in the career of boxers Jerry "Schoolboy" Cheatam and Edgar "Bad News" Wallace.

For years, Ketonen operated his Top Level Gym on 16th Street downtown. Long after stepping out of the ring as an active participant, he coached from the sidelines and passed many long forgotten secrets from the wrestling trade on to younger men.

In 1985, he made one final bid at running wrestling shows in Nevada and Arizona. Though he had a respectable crew with The Lumberjacks, Marcial Bovee, Mike Gordon, Jimmy Taylor, Billy Anderson, Ken Lucas, Reggie Parks, The Black Shadow, Eddie Sullivan and others, he did not last long. It was not a problem with talent from the grapplers, but Paavo himself. As some of those behind the scenes put it, Paavo's way of booking matches, promoting, and restricting the wrestlers was way outmoded. He was living in a different era and sadly, what he wanted wasn't what the public wanted. He closed down within four months and went back to training , while the wrestlers went on with other promoters.

He died in the late 1990's after battling multiple health problems.