Les Thornton

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Les Thornton
Born(1934-04-09)9 April 1934
Manchester, England, United Kingdom
Died1 February 2019(2019-02-01) (aged 84)[1]
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Les Thornton
Henri Pierlot
Checkmate
Billed height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2]
Billed weight225 lb (102 kg)[2]
Trained byBilly Riley
The Snake Pit
Debut1957
Retired1991

Les Thornton (9 April 1934 – 1 February 2019) was a British professional wrestler who competed in Great Britain, Japan, European and North American regional promotions throughout the 1970s and 1980s including Joint Promotions, Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance.

Professional wrestling career

Thorton as the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, circa 1984

Thornton participated in cricket, football, boxing and rugby as a youth. He served in the British Navy, being stationed in Korea, where he continued boxing. Thornton later played professional rugby before being convinced to give pro wrestling a try by wrestler Bomber Bates. Thornton trained at Billy Riley's gym in Wigan, known infamously as the Snake Pit, where he built his foundation in amateur and catch wrestling.[3][4] During his career, he was considered one of the best junior heavyweights in the world at one time simultaneously holding both the WWF and NWA World Junior Heavyweight titles,[5] and would later hold NWA title five times. He had matches against Tiger Mask, Gino Hernandez, The Cobra, K J Anderssen, Dynamite Kid, Terry Taylor, Gerald Brisco, Al Madril and Tatsumi Fujinami. As a result of the hostile takeover by the WWF of Georgia Championship Wrestling, Thornton joined the WWF, but in the "Hogan Era" as it stood, Thornton was used as a jobber and would help develop young wrestlers, including Mick Foley.[6] Thornton was Mick Foley’s tag team partner in Foley's first ever WWF match against The British Bulldogs. Against heavyweights he fought Harley Race, Billy Robinson, Gene Lewis, Pedro Morales and Dory Funk Jr. He was known for his stiff forearm uppercuts, over the knee backbreakers and suplexes. Near the end of his career, he formed his own promotion in Calgary called Canadian Independent Wrestling Federation (CIWF), which included wrestlers like Ricky Fuji and Big Titan, among others.

Championships and accomplishments

1Records are unclear as to where Thornton was when he received the title for the first time nor is it known as to which NWA affiliated promotion he was wrestling for at the time.

References

  1. ^ "LES THORNTON PASSES AWAY | PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com.
  2. ^ a b c Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
  3. ^ Oliver, Greg (February 23, 2005). "Les Thornton: A life on the road". Slam Wrestling. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  4. ^ Mooneyham, Mike (February 9, 2019). "From Snake Pit to America, Les Thornton made his mark in pro wrestling". The Post and Courier. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  5. ^ "Former NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Les Thornton Passes Away". WrestlingNewsSource. February 3, 2019.
  6. ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  7. ^ "PUROLOVE.com". www.purolove.com.
  8. ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  9. ^ Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Texas: NWA Texas Tag Team Title ". Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. pp. 275–276. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  10. ^ "NWA Texas Tag Team Title [E. Texas]". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  11. ^ Rodgers, Mike (2004). "Regional Territories: PNW #16". KayfabeMemories.com.
  12. ^ Whalen, Ed (host) (December 15, 1995). "Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame: 1948-1990". Showdown at the Corral: A Tribute to Stu Hart. Event occurs at 27:55. Shaw Cable. Calgary 7.
  13. ^ "Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (1948-1990)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Les Thornton.