SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH... WRESTLER, PROMOTER AND TRAINER LES THATCHER

FSM: Can you please tell us about your own pro wrestling training?
Les Thatcher: I started in Boston in 1960, when I was 19. I had gone to a promoter near my home in Cincinnati, and spoke to him to no avail. I wrote a letter to Tony Santos in Boston, and when I heard back from him, I was told it was a six-month training period at $300 (Editor's note: over £1,500 in today's money). I trained with Mr. Santos, and had my first professional match on July 4 of that year. This past July, I celebrated by 53rd anniversary in wrestling.

You had somewhat of an amateur background. Do you think that's important for today's pro wrestlers?
An amateur background gives you a foundation to work from, and an understanding of leverage, balance, and that sort of thing. I'd recommend it, because amateur wrestling is also a good conditioning sport; it works the entire body, and takes a lot of dedication. I think it gives you an idea of what you're going to need in terms of athleticism and mental focus.

Growing up, what sort of names inspired you to want to become a wrestler?
"Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers was my childhood idol. Here was a guy who would walk down that aisle, and everybody knew he was the man. He didn't need a belt; it was just his stature, and the way he carried himself.
There were two men who could enter a room when you had your back turned, yet you'd know they'd walked in the door, and those men were Lou Thesz and Buddy Rogers. I tell young people now, if they can get their hands on Rogers versus Pat O'Connor from 1961 at Comiskey Park in Chicago, where Rogers won the NWA title, they are going to see timing, pacing, facials, body language and just great wrestling. No crazy big bumps, but all the foundation that young wrestlers today need to become great.

Do you encourage your students to call their match in the ring?
Absolutely. Everyone who has started with me, no matter what they do today, was taught to call a match in the ring, and how to tell a story.
One of the things I'd always have during my training camps were these cardio drills the kids call "blow up drills", but the fact is that the brain works on one ingredient: oxygen. When you've depleted that oxygen, then the brain doesn't function well. To be a good wrestler, you need to be thinking all the time; where are we? Where are we going? What are we building towards? The most important thing is not just bumps for the sake of bumps, or moves for the sake of entertaining yourself, but that you are a living, breathing, walking, talking book, and you can't turn the pages too fast, otherwise the readers don't absorb the story.

What can a young wrestler do to ensure he's learning as much as possible?
You need to test yourself. I can tell by watching a lot of young men whether or not they've had the same match 50 or so times - they just go through the motions. They don't feel it, and there's no emotional rollercoaster ride - it's just moves.
Back in the day, we were blessed to be able to go to different territories, and each territory was a new school. No matter what promotion you start with, you need to branch out and work with people who are above you, to either learn that you can step up, or that you need more work, or even that you don't belong there at all. Watching tapes of matches, reading books or looking on the internet will not teach you that - it comes from experience.

Do you have any suggestions for what young wrestlers can do to learn their craft when they're not actually in the gym?
Watch old stuff, and not necessarily stuff that's a million years old! I promoted the four Brian Pillman Memorial shows, and the Chris Benoit versus William Regal match from 2000 is one that every young wrestler should watch over and over again. They stole the show, wrestling for 23 minutes, only using the ropes once. And they needed just three minutes in the dressing room to discuss it.
So much of what we did in the '70s would feel new if wrestlers used it now. Our Race For The Ring tournament in the Wrestling Cares Association has four scoreboards, and you earn a point by winning via pinfall, submission or count-out. If you're disqualified, your opponent gains a point. Matches have a 10-minute time-limit, and whomever has the most points by the end of the match goes into the next round. If you're tied in points, there's a three-minute sudden death round. If nobody scores during that, then both wrestlers are eliminated.
We've found that fans are really enjoying it, because there's more psychology, more strategy, and gives them a sense of other sports where there's a time-limit. The scoreboard and clock matter, and both Nigel McGuinness and I are very excited about it. I feel we've got a good product. As Nigel has said, we're not trying to reinvent the wheel, but just turn it in a slightly different direction.

Is there a piece of advice you received as a young wrestler that stayed relevant to you throughout your career?
When I was just six months into the business, Pat O'Connor, who was the NWA champion, came in to wrestle for Tony Santos, and as I had a decent automobile at the time, I was charged with driving him around. One evening in Revere Beach, Massachusetts, I asked him if he would watch my match. He did, and when I asked him what he thought of it, he told me he could see bits of Don Eagle and Buddy Rogers in my work - but he wondered when he'd get to see Les Thatcher.
I didn't understand at the time, but I sure do now. It's all right to pick this or that from certain guys, but it comes down to making something be you. You have to feel it, and you have to project that it belongs to you.
To me, the independents should be where the fundamentals of wrestling are learnt, and all the sports entertainment should be picked up when you need it.

For more information on the Wrestling Cares Association, or to purchase one of their recent events on DVD, please visit www.WrestlingCares.com