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Les Thornton

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Les Thornton
Personal information
Born(1934-04-09)9 April 1934
Manchester, England, UK
Died1 February 2019(2019-02-01) (aged 84)[2]
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Les Thornton
Henri Pierlot
Checkmate
Billed height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Billed weight225 lb (102 kg)[1]
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, and North America throughout the 1970s and 1980s most notably for Joint Promotions, Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and various National Wrestling Alliance territories.

Professional wrestling career

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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 professional 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 foundations in amateur, catch, and professional wrestling.[3][4] In professional wrestling, he was known for his stiff forearm uppercuts, over the knee backbreakers, and suplexes. During his career, he was considered one of the best junior heavyweights in the world, having held the NWA World Junior Heavyweight title six times.[5] He had matches against top junior heavyweight wrestlers including Tiger Mask, Gino Hernandez, The Cobra, Dynamite Kid, Terry Taylor, Jerry Brisco, Al Madril, and Tatsumi Fujinami. Thorton also sometimes competed as a heavyweight; against heavyweights he notably fought Harley Race, Billy Robinson, Gene Lewis, Dory Funk Jr., and Pedro Morales. As a result of the hostile takeover by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) of Georgia Championship Wrestling, Thornton joined the WWF, but in the "Hogan Era" as it stood, Thornton was often used as a jobber. On July 8, 1985, he took part in the King of the Ring, defeating Steve Lombardi in the first round before being defeated in the second round by Don Muraco.[6] Thornton was Mick Foley's tag team partner in Foley's first ever WWF match against The British Bulldogs. Near the end of his career, he formed his own promotion in Calgary called the Canadian Independent Wrestling Federation, which included wrestlers like Ricky Fuji and Big Titan, among others.

Championships and accomplishments

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1Only five of Thornton's reigns as NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion are officially recognized by the National Wrestling Alliance.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
  2. ^ "LES THORNTON PASSES AWAY | PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com.
  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. ^ WWF World Light Heavyweight Title - Wrestling-Titles
  10. ^ Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Texas: NWA Texas Tag Team Title [Von Erich]". 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.
  11. ^ "NWA Texas Tag Team Title [E. Texas]". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  12. ^ Rodgers, Mike (2004). "Regional Territories: PNW #16". KayfabeMemories.com.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (1948-1990)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Les Thornton.
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