Les Thornton (9 April 1934 – 1 February 2019) was a British

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

who competed in Great Britain, Japan, European and North American regional promotions throughout the 1970s and 1980s including

Joint Promotions The history of professional wrestling in the United Kingdom spans over one hundred years. After a brief spell of popularity for Greco Roman wrestling, Greco Roman professional wrestling during the Edwardian era, the first catch-as-catch-can base ...

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

, the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

and the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

Professional wrestling career

Les Thorton NWA World Junior Heavyweight champion 1984

Thornton participated in

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

and rugby as a youth. He served in the

British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, being stationed in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, 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 Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

, known infamously as the Snake Pit, where he built his foundation in

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

and

catch wrestling Catch wrestling (also known as catch-as-catch-can) is an English wrestling style where wrestlers aim to win by Pin (sport wrestling), pinning or Submission (combat sports), submitting their opponent using any legal holds or techniques. It emph ...

. 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, and would later hold NWA title five times. He had matches against Tiger Mask,

Gino Hernandez Charles Eugene Wolfe Jr. (August 8, 1957 – February 2, 1986) was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Gino Hernandez. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with the Dallas, Texas-base ...

, The Cobra, K J Anderssen,

Dynamite Kid Thomas Wilton Billington (5 December 1958 – 5 December 2018), best known by the ring name the Dynamite Kid, was a British professional wrestler. Trained by former wrestler "Dr Death" Ted Betley, he competed in the World Wrestling Federatio ...

, Terry Taylor,

Gerald Brisco Floyd Gerald "Jerry" Brisco (born September 19, 1946) is an American retired professional wrestler. Brisco is best known for his time in the wrestling promotion WWE, where he was a backstage producer, and, during the 1990s, an on-screen charact ...

, Al Madril and

Tatsumi Fujinami (born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese Puroresu, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE on a legends contract. Fujinami is best known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. ...

. As a result of the

hostile takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (law), company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast t ...

by the WWF of

Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades b ...

, 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 Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and author. He is signed to WWE, under a Legends contract while also serving as an ambassador. Foley worked for many wrestling promotions, including the W ...

. Thornton was

’s tag team partner in Foley's first ever WWF match against

The British Bulldogs The British Bulldogs were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of cousins Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid. They competed throughout the 1980s in Britain, North America and Japan and have consistently ranked among the top tag teams i ...

. Against heavyweights he fought

Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promotion, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AW ...

Billy Robinson William Alfred Robinson (18 September 1938 – 27 February 2014) was an English professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and coach. Having trained at Billy Riley's gym, better known as " The Snake Pit" in Wigan, Robinson was one of the leadin ...

, Gene Lewis,

Pedro Morales Pedro Antonio Morales (October 22, 1942 – February 12, 2019) was a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA) and the World Wide Wrestling Federati ...

and

Dory Funk Jr Dorrance Earnest Funk (born February 3, 1941), known professionally as Dory Funk Jr., is an American professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. The son of Dory Funk (Dorrance Wilhelm Funk) and brother of Terry Funk, he was the promoter of the ...

. 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 (born September 27, 1965) better known under his ring name is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Action Advance Pro Wrestling, where he also runs the day-to-day operations. He is perhaps best known for his time with Frontier M ...

and Big Titan, among others.

Championships and accomplishments

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

**World's Strongest Tag Determination League Technique Award (1980) - with

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...

** NWA Florida Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *

NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship The NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1968 to 1980, when it was replaced with the NWA National Tag Team Championship. The title was r ...

( 1 time) - with

Tony Charles Anthony Charles Scott (July 15, 1935 – February 13, 2015) was a Welsh professional wrestler who wrestled under the ring name Tony Charles who worked in England, Japan, and the National Wrestling Alliance in the United States. Also wrestled as ...

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in ...

** NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *Middle Atlantic States Wrestling **MASW National Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

** NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 6 times)¹ * NWA Big Time Wrestling ** NWA Texas Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Tony Charles *

NWA Hollywood Wrestling NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...

** NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *

NWA Mid-America NWA Mid-America was a professional wrestling promotion territory under the umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama from 1940 until 1981. The company was founded in 1940 by Nick Gulas ...

** NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) * NWA New Zealand ** NWA British Empire Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship ''(New Zealand version)'' (1 time) *

Pacific Northwest Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. ...

** NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Moondog Mayne *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' **PWI ranked him # 320 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003 *''Ring Around The Northwest Newsletter'' **Tag Team of the Year (1977) with Lonnie Mayne *

Southeastern Championship Wrestling Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dothan, Alabama, from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller. The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship W ...

** NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *

Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship The British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling title for lighter wrestlers in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs ...

( 1 time) **

Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship The Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Championship was the major title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. From its establishment in 1968 until 1972, it was Stampede's secondary singles championship, be ...

( 2 times) ** Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 1995) * Western States Sports ** NWA Western States Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Jerry Kozak *

World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC; Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha") is a professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón, Victor Jovica, and Goril ...

** WWC World Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 2 times) 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

External links

* by Greg Oliver * by Terry Taylor * by Percival A. Friend
Championship Wrestling from Florida: Les Thornton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Les 1934 births 2019 deaths 20th-century English sportsmen 20th-century male professional wrestlers English male professional wrestlers NWA Americas Heavyweight Champions NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champions Stampede Wrestling alumni Stampede Wrestling British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Champions Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Champions WWC World Junior Heavyweight Champions

Professional wrestling career

Championships and accomplishments

References

Further reading

External links