HTR History: Les Thatcher & TNA's Desmond Wolfe

A Black History Month Perspective: The Ten Greatest Wrestlers Of All-Time

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HTR History: Les Thatcher & TNA's Desmond Wolfe

(2 votes, average 5.00 out of 5)

Written by Demetrus Stokes

Wednesday, 28 October 2009 21:03

If you missed tonight’s episode of Hit The Ropes Radio, you missed a treat. We had the pleasure of interviewing Les Thatcher.

When people in our generation think of the word legend, they think of Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, and Ric Flair among others.

While Les Thatcher may not be a name that most people in this generation know, he is truly a wrestling legend.

Thatcher has had a hand in training some of the biggest stars in WWE, WCW and TNA.

Les started in the business in 1960 as a wrestler. In a career that spanned 20 years, Thatcher was a multi-time tag team champion on the NWA circuit and also held the NWA Jr. Heavyweight Championship.

After his in-ring career ended, Les ventured into the world of broadcasting.Having honed his skills by working with broadcast legends such as Gordon Solie and Jim Ross, Les eventually ventured into hosting and producing shows for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Georgia Championship Wrestling, and Southeastern Championship Wrestling.

After being a successful wrestling, broadcaster and producer you would think that Les Thatcher had done it all but Les was only just beginning.

He entered the world of writing and editing. Among his accomplishments was assisting in the production of the World Wide Wrestling Federation’s (WWWF) first color magazine in 1978.

The man behind many of the magazines written for Jim Crockett promotions in the 70’s, Les eventually became a trainer and currently holds training camps all over the country.

It started with the formation of Les Thatcher’s Main Event Pro Wrestling Camp in 1995.

The graduates from Les’ camp is a who’s who among current and former stars of the WWE, TNA, and WCW. Among them are WWE stars Matt Stryker, Charlie Haas and Jamie Noble, former WCW star Elix Skipper, former WWE stars Umaga and Rosey and current TNA stars Shark Boy and, the newly acquired, Nigel McGuinness (Desmond Wolf).

Les then formed an alliance with fellow Hall of Famers Harley Race and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat to start Elite Pro Wrestling Training. In EPWT, Les, Race and Steamboat specialize in providing aspiring wrestlers and trainers with the tools to make it in the wrestling business.

With a combined 160 years of experience, EPWT focuses on teaching the fundamentals of professional wrestling, mixing “old school” philosophies with “new school” trends. EPWT travels all over the country and the respect this men command is well deserved.

Les Thatcher is not what many on the outside of the wrestling world would consider a household name. For those people who are in the wrestling world, Les Thatcher is a man who has paved the way for many stars today.

He is a wrestler, producer, writer, broadcaster, trainer, multi-time champion, award winner and hall of famer.

Les Thatcher has worn many hats throughout his 49 years in the wrestling business.

Thanks to Les, the wrestling business is a whole lot better for it.