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The Wrestling Clothesline has decided to continue our popular feature where everyone gets to participate!
Asl the Expert 3 - Les Thatcher!
For anyone who has a question about ANYTHING pertaining to wrestling, you now have a place to ask it.
Les Thatcher became a professional wrestling fan the first time he watched the action on a friend’s television in 1949 at the tender age of eight years old. “The action on that little 10 inch black & white screen just reached out an grabbed me,” states Thatcher.
Les had always been involved in athletics from an early age. He played baseball, football, and basketball through out elementary and high school. At age 12 he added wrestling at the local YMCA, and at 15 years of age and one year before he was of legal age to drive in his home state of Ohio, he won his first of many drag racing trophies at an outlaw track in Kentucky. His nature was competitive, and although he did not know it at the time, the dye was cast for his future in the grunt and groan sport.
Leslie Alan Malady was born to an Irish father, and a French/English mother on October 28,1940 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The beginning of his life in pro wrestling began at what may have been the first Pro Wrestling School in America. Les read about Tony Santos, a promoter in New England, and his wrestling school based in Boston, Massachusetts in a 1959 issue of Wrestling Revue, then the top magazine in the industry, and after writing back and forth he climbed on a Greyhound Bus in February 1960 and traveled to Boston to begin what has been a 44 year love affair with professional wrestling.
When you bring up Les’ name in a conversation with wrestling fans, you at first may think they are all talking about different people. Why? Well one may speak of Thatcher the wrestler, Tag Team Champion, and World Junior Heavyweight contender. A second could talk of Les the television commentator, innovator, and producer. A third could mention Les Thatcher the writer/Editor, and still a fourth will bring up the trainer/teacher. The bottom line is that all of them are right. Les Thatcher is one of the renaissance men of pro wrestling.
As a wrestler his career spanned 20 years from July 4 1960 when he stepped into the ring as a pro for the first time against “Cowboy” Ronnie Hill in Blue Hills, Maine. During that twenty-year period he shared over a dozen different tag team titles multiable times with several tag partners. You will hear him joke that he helped prepare wrestlers for runs as NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champions as he partnered both Roger Kirby, and Nelson Royal as tag champs before either held the Jr. singles belt. As a Junior Heavyweight he held the Southern Jr. Title and in his prime was always ranked in the top 15 Junior Heavyweights in the world. Although he was considered a high flyer for the time because of his drop kicks, and flying head scissors, his sound technical in ring skills were his strong suit.
As a broadcaster, Les shared the microphone over the years with hall of famers such as Gordon Solie, Bob Caudle, Lance Russell, and Jim Ross. In 1974 he began hosting and producing Southeastern Championship Wrestling and introduced such new concepts to the pro mat world as a low-key mid-show interview segment called “Personality Profile” and other technical features that are common place today. He had runs with such great companies of that time as Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, and Georgia Championship Wrestling in the role as Host/Color man and also involved in production.
Les Thatcher the writer/Editor saw his byline in several of the nations top newsstand magazines such as Wrestling Revue, and The Wrestling News during the seventies. His “Wrestler’s Eye View” column along with his editors skills were seen in The Mid-Atlantic, Georgia, and Southeastern territories as he photographed, wrote, edited, laided out and designed both photo albums, weekly programs, and magazines.
The very first ever four color WWWF magazine was designed and edited by Thatcher for Vince McMahon Jr. in 1978.
As a trainer/teacher for the last ten years Les opened Les Thatcher’s Main Event Pro Wrestling Camp in Cincinnati in 1995 and an “off shoot” of that is the Heartland Wrestling Association which during that period was considered one of the top independent promotions in the country. From 1998 through 2001 HWA promoted the famous “Brian Pillman Memorial Shows” bringing WWF, WCW, and ECW together under the same roof on the same night for the first time in wrestling history. As a trainer, Thatcher is considered one of the tops in North America. Having been a developmental trainer for both WCW, and WWF/E. Before selling The Main Event Camp and HWA this past year, he trained, touched, and sharpened the careers of such pro grapplers as Matt Stryker, Shark Boy, B.J. Whitmer, Chad Collyer, Rory Fox, Charlie Haas, Shannon Moore, Johnny “The Bull” Stamboli, Jimmy Yang. Kaz Hyashi, Cody Hawk, Nigel McGuinness, Jamie Noble, Elix Skipper, Rosie & Jamal of Three Minute Warning, Chet Jablonski, Garrison Cade, and Steve Bradley to name a few.
To wrap it all up, EPWT was the vision of Les Thatcher as well. Adding this background with that of Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat, and Leilani Kai, the reader can see why we think EPWT can give the most complete training offered today. Les’ dream for the future is to share the over one hundred years of experience within this company along with the trainers love and passion for pro wrestling to help secure the future of the professional wrestling industry.
(Bio courtesy LesThatcher.com)
In addition to Les' amazing career a training manual, "The Professional Wrestler's Instructional and Workout Guide", (by Les, Harley Race, and Ricky Steamboat) is due out in September from Sports Publishing LLC, and can be pre-ordered on their site or at Les' training site www.epwt.com .
Les also co hosts a weekly Internet talk show with Doc Young every Sunday
night 6 to 8:PM EST at
www.wrestlingweekly.com , and you can see the schedule of training
camps on the Elite Pro Wrestling Training site, and book Les through that
site as well for seminars or training camps!
How does this work? Just post any question you have right here on our boards. Mr. Thatcher will check the boards when his schedule permits but all questions will be forwarded to him and his answers will be posted on the site and on the boards regularly! If you do not want to post your question on the boards, feel free to email it to me at WresClothesline@aol.com
So get those questions rolling, and for a look at Les Thatcher's 10 Questions,
click here!
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For those of you who have not dropped by the Ask the Expert - Les Thatcher Forum on our message board, here is a sampling of some of the amazing insight Mr Thatcher has posted thus far....
"I thought I had better take part of my Saturday morning and answer
some of these questions.
Let me begin by saying I am not sure that anyone is an "Expert"
in this crazy business called pro wrestling. What I will give you is my
opinion based on having spent my adult life working in the industry.
I'll start with "Baiba's" question, in short "Is being
a pro wrestling worth the attempt these days?" and in the same category
"Novakane's" follow up added to that "What is WWE looking
for?"
Only the athlete thinking of trying to earn a living in wrestling can
judge if it will be worth your time or not.
The only way to find out if you can climb the ladder is to take that first
step, and if your don't then the question will never be answered.
It is true that the chances of moving up in this industry, and earning
a good living are slimmer then ever before due to the lake of major promotions.
I think if you have thoughts of following your dream then you must take
an honest look at what you bring to the table. Remember, the more strong
points you have the better your chance to succeed. Ask yourself a few
questions. Are you a good athlete? Are you in the range of physical and
mental requirements needed to make it to the top (size, athletic build,
quick mind, focused, glib speaker, a passion to excel). On the back of
our Elite Pro Wrestling Training T-shirts it says "IF your big star
bound, let me warn ya, it's a long hard ride." from a David Allen
Coe song called "The Ride". It is not just a clever saying we
thought would look cute on the shirt, in this business it is a fact of
life!
You also must realize there is no time table for making it, so only you
can decide what your own personal deadline will be. Al Snow kicked around
the indies for a dozen years before getting on a television, where he
was finally seen by someone in the WWE or WWF at that time. Had he not
have made those TV appearances he might still be working the indies, or
out of the business all together.
Also think about why your are entering into the business. Today, more
then ever there are many persons just doing this as a hobby. If that is
your motivation then all the guidelines I might talk about don't really
matter, as there is always a small promotion somewhere willing to book
any warm body that comes along.
To round this out, let me say that making it in the world of professional
sports or entertainment was never nor currently is an easy task, and pro
wrestling is a combination of both. Out of several hundred athletes that
I have worked with since I began training people in 1993 only a handful
have stuck, and are currently making a living in the business. If you
take the leap, remember there are no guarantees, but if you have the tools,
and climb the ladder the feeling once you reach there is why old guys
like myself, Terry Funk, Harley Race, and others are still banging around.
There is no feeling like it in the world.
"Novakane" after seeing all the releases from WWE. Followed
up with "What is WWE looking for?"
I could be a smart ass (well, actually, I am) and say "Beats the
hell outta me!". After working in the system, I will truthfully say
it is very subjective, and it will change from time to time depending
who is on the creative staff, and who is handling talent relations.
As a trainer in the developmental system you are expected to give the
trainees as solid a foundation as possible in all the needed skills I
mentioned earlier. That system is far from perfect, but still a great
idea of two of my friends Jim Ross and Jim Cornette. I think the biggest
gap to be closed is that the writers and the department heads need to
pay more attention to the input of the trainers. Another big problem is
that the creative staff is not wrestling smart form the inside, and the
trainers are. An athlete can meet all the standards layout by the trainers,
and still not get a break, because the writers are looking at type casting
as in movies or television. That doesn't work so well in wrestling.
If a writer checks out a casting call for a TV series they want a certain
look, and for the most part those answering that casting call have acting
backgrounds. Problem with that view in wrestling is that there can be
50 athletes who "Look the part", but have very little or no
talent to perform once they enter the ring. Ours is a special business
and until the writers learn what to look for then there will be some good
talent left in their dust.
As for the talent released just last week, I have the chance to work with
about 80 percent of them, and they do have an up side. I won't say that
any of them are the next to carry the big company on their shoulders,
but all of them could be used in the middle or lower card effectively
to make that part of any show stronger. Why is any pro sports team a dynasty?
One reason is they deep in talent, and when one player slacks off due
to injury or slump, their is another to fill the void. That is what the
current writers don't understand, nor do I really think they care about.
I understand looking for the next "Stone Cold", but even Steve
had good talent to support him.
Sadly people are called up for a look, and don't have all the tools to
make it work. My hope is that some point they will be more selective in
terms of making those they bring to the dance have a higher percentage
of those qualifications. As for those cut, most were not really given
a chance to stand out for one reason or another, and it is tough to improve
your skills in four minute matches, with no promo time. Hopefully they
will all catch on with other promotions here or abroad.
I hope this has been a decent start for me answering questions. I have
to run for the time being as we are entertaining two of our granddaughters
this week, and they are ready for a big day. I'll catch "Jaden's"
question along with any other that are added within the next few days.
Sincerely,
Les Thatcher "
"Let's get some more questions answered. I'll start this one with
"Jaden" His is multi-part, and the general overview is "What
is most important to a small indie fed, their main title, or the wrestler
holding it. Can a title still draw. Does a title mean more on a name or
with the champion beating names, and lastly can you still build a strong
program around a title. Wow, man, you are making me work here.
I think the most important thing to an indie fed is both the title and
the athlete holding it. Which comes first really depends on the promotion.
If one is already established, then you use that to build the other. As
for the title holder, I think image is very important weather it be on
the smallest indie fed, or in a major one. I sometimes surf the net and
look at web sites of feds i have never seen and never heard of. If I click
on the champions page and see an nonathletic person pictured as the champ,
my first impression is that this fed is just for hobbyists, or people
play wrestling. Physical image is a big part of our business, and if your
champion looks like someone I should turn over my knee and spank instead
of wrestling or fighting them, then you have left me with a negative beginning
looking at your product. Plus whomever is your champion should be able
to lead a match and change it or alter it on the fly in the ring. I just
saw a match a couple of months ago where they put a belt on a guy who
it was apparent had to be lead totally through a 40 minute match. I promise
you this guy will not be a good title holder. Your champion should be
an athlete who you can count on to make his bookings, and he should also
be the top worker, or one of the top workers in your company. Not your
best friend who owns this cool replica belt he will let you use.
To build a title, you need to leave it on someone for a period of time.
To answer yet another part of your question, look at ROH who left their
belt on Samoa Joe for something like 18 months. Gabe was smart in that
he not only established Joe but gave a strong foundation to their title
as well. Don't do a falls count anywhere, no DQ, loser kisses the winners
foot stips in a title match. That only makes your title less important.
Make the title the main focus of the match it is defended in.
What makes the title important? How you use it, book it, and how the champion
is perceived is what determines how important it is. I know some of these
little feds make a former WWE or TNA star their champion, but I don't
think that is really effective because your fans know that this champion
is only in for you once in a while, and mostly for big shows. A good solid
worker who is there for you to build on is more to your benefit. I do
believe that if you can pair your local champ up with star power once
in a while it will add strength to your belt, and yes, I believe if you
take the time a strong program can be built around the belt. Don't go
for the cheap pop, try to build for lasting acceptance from your fan base.
"BilJim 2" asked why people in our business don't haver a better
or any contingency plan, and do I see the business changing to be a life
long career with benefits and retirement.
"BilJim 2", I am wondering the same thing! Kidding aside, I
just had Charlie Haas on our talk show last night, and we talked about
his contingency plan, which if he decided to step away from wrestling
he had a college degree and has worked as a stock broker before wrestling
full time. I do agree that it is something that most of us don't think
about, and really should. I do tell everyone in todays world when ask
about training for a wrestling career to get an education to fall back
on just in case.
As for a lifelong career, I just celebrated my 45th anniversary in the
industry on July 4th of this year. Does that qualify as lifelong??? Let
me tell you a story. I began in the biz at age 19 wrestling. One of the
greatest bookers for my money ever, Leo Garabaldi said to me one time
"Why do guys spend 25 years in the wrestling business, and then retire
and open a bar? All they know about a bar is that they have been drinking
in one for years. They have just spent 25 years learning the wrestling
business, why not put that to good use?" So that is what I have done.
You can read my resume elsewhere on this site. That doesn't mean everyone
can do the same thing, but it is something to consider. Yes, by all means
have a backup plan, period. Will we ever have benefits or retirement.
Only if someone steps up and forms a union. Right now would be the easiest
time to do that with only one major promotion. I belong to The Cauliflower
Alley Club, and part of that clubs bank account goes to helping retired
wrestlers who can't pay their medical bills, and so forth. Believe me,
I wish their was some retirement, as I would be in line with all the rest.
Do I think the business owes me, damned right I do, and it owes anyone
who has put in that much time and effort, no matter what they may have
banked or invested. I don't want a union to run the wrestling business
( we already know that corporate America, and screenwriters can't do it
very well). I just want a union to take care of the workers when they
retire, or are injured to see to it they have a life after wrestling.
Next comes a question from that pesky Brett. Can't we get this guy banned
from this board, Oh, he owns it, that's right.
He wants to know my thoughts on the future of the biz since it is currently
controlled by one company, and will they ever have a competitor.
I do believe that there will be some other promotion gain a measure of
a foothold on the industry, and they will be strengthened by talent like
those released by WWE a couple of weeks ago, and as WWE expands their
developmental system, that supplying other with talent in that manner
will continue. Those promotions will not match WWE, but will be niche
alternatives which will still show a profit, but on a much smaller scale
(ROH, TNA as examples). The only way I see anyone competing on a level
with WWE at this moment is if a large cable or broadcast network forms
a partnership with a promotion and the TV company takes on a fair share
of the expenses of running that company. Then you may be able to have
a contender.
Our last question is from "NovaKane", hey could we put Mike
Bucci, and Glen Jacobs together as a tag team with that name?!? Witty
comments aside, he want to know who my toughest opponent was during my
wrestling career. I am extremely happy to say that all of my matches were
a work, but some guys were stiffer then others. In all seriousness I feel
blessed that during my in ring career 1960 Thur 1980 I have the chance
to work with some of the top performers that have ever graced a ring.
Von Erich, Thesz, Funk, Brisco, Race, Flair, Valentine, The Sheik, Bruiser,
Kowalski, Andersons, Assassins, etc. It was a sweet ride and I wouldn't
have traded it for anything.
I guess that cover the questions for this time around. I hope I have given
you some decent insight. I'll check back in a few days to see whats up
here on The Clothesline.
Sincerely,
Les Thatcher "
That is just a sampling of two posts from Mr Thatcher so be sure to drop by the Message Board and ask some of your own questions!
