| Les Thornton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1934-04-09)9 April 1934 Manchester, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 1 February 2019(2019-02-01) (aged 84)[1] Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Les Thornton Henri Pierlot Checkmate |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 225 lb (102 kg)[2] |
| Trained by | Billy Riley The Snake Pit |
| Debut | 1957 |
| Retired | 1991 |
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.
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.
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.
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