 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1934-04-09)9 April 1934 |
| Died | 1 February 2019(2019-02-01) (aged 84)[2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Les Thornton Henri Pierlot Checkmate |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 225 lb (102 kg)[1] |
| Trained by | Billy Riley The Snake Pit |
| Debut | 1957 |
| Retired | 1991 |
Les Thornton (9 April 1934 – 1 February 2019) was a Britishprofessional wrestler who competed in Great Britain, Japan, and North America throughout the 1970s and 1980s most notably forJoint Promotions,Stampede Wrestling, theWorld Wrestling Federation, and variousNational Wrestling Allianceterritories.
Thornton participated incricket,football,boxing andrugby as a youth. He served in theBritish Navy, being stationed inKorea, where he continued boxing. Thornton later played professional rugby before being convinced to giveprofessional wrestling a try by wrestler Bomber Bates. Thornton trained atBilly Riley's gym inWigan, known infamously as the Snake Pit, where he built his foundations inamateur,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 bestjunior heavyweights in the world, having held theNWA World Junior Heavyweight title six times.[5] He had matches against top junior heavyweight wrestlers includingTiger Mask,Gino Hernandez,The Cobra,Dynamite Kid,Terry Taylor,Jerry Brisco,Al Madril, andTatsumi Fujinami. Thorton also sometimes competed as a heavyweight; against heavyweights he notably foughtHarley Race,Billy Robinson,Gene Lewis,Dory Funk Jr., andPedro Morales. As a result of thehostile takeover by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) ofGeorgia Championship Wrestling, Thornton joined the WWF, but in the "Hogan Era" as it stood, Thornton was often used as ajobber. On July 8, 1985, he took part in theKing of the Ring, defeatingSteve Lombardi in the first round before being defeated in the second round byDon Muraco.[6] Thornton wasMick Foley's tag team partner in Foley's first ever WWF match againstThe British Bulldogs. Near the end of his career, he formed his own promotion in Calgary called the Canadian Independent Wrestling Federation, which included wrestlers likeRicky Fuji andBig Titan, among others.
1Only five of Thornton's reigns as NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion are officially recognized by theNational Wrestling Alliance.
