Les Thornton
| Les Thornton | |
|---|---|
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
World Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance
.
Professional wrestling career
Thornton participated in
Big Titan
, among others.
Championships and accomplishments
- All Japan Pro Wrestling
- World's Strongest Tag Determination League Technique Award (1980) - with Billy Robinson[7]
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- Georgia Championship Wrestling
- NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Tony Charles
- Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
- Middle Atlantic States Wrestling
- MASW National Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[8]
- National Wrestling Alliance
- NWA Big Time Wrestling
- NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Tony Charles[9][10]
- NWA Hollywood Wrestling
- NWA Mid-America
- NWA New Zealand
- NWA British Empire Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship (New Zealand version)(1 time)
- Pacific Northwest Wrestling
- Moondog Mayne
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- 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[11]
- Southeastern Championship Wrestling
- Stampede Wrestling
- 1 time)
- 2 times)[2]
- Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 1995)[12][13]
- Western States Sports
- NWA Western States Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Jerry Kozak
- World Wrestling Council
1Records are unclear as to where Thorton 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
- ^ "LES THORNTON PASSES AWAY | PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
- ^ Oliver, Greg (February 23, 2005). "Les Thornton: A life on the road". Slam Wrestling. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Former NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Les Thornton Passes Away". WrestlingNewsSource. February 3, 2019.
- ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "PUROLOVE.com". www.purolove.com.
- ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "NWA Texas Tag Team Title [E. Texas]". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
- ^ Rodgers, Mike (2004). "Regional Territories: PNW #16". KayfabeMemories.com.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (1948-1990)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
Further reading
- ISBN 0-06-103101-1
- ISBN 1-58261-991-3
- Johnson, Weldon T. and ]
- McCoy, Heath. Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. Toronto: CanWest Books, 2005. ISBN 0-9736719-8-X
External links
- SLAM! Wrestling - Les Thornton: A life on the road[usurped] by Greg Oliver
- SLAM! Wrestling: Les Thornton - What you DIDN'T know![usurped] by Terry Taylor
- The Way It Was - Les Thornton at the Wayback Machine (archived October 28, 2009) by Percival A. Friend
- Championship Wrestling from Florida: Les Thornton
- Profile at OWW