Les Thatcher Leslie Alan Malady ( October 28 , 1940 ) better known by the name Les Thatcher is an American former professional wrestler who achievied many accolades over his career . He now has a hand in running " Elite Pro Wrestling Training " in his hometown of Cincinnati , Ohio , with other professional wrestlers , Harley Race and Ricky Steamboat . Early life . Thatcher was born in Cincinnati , Ohio with an Irish father and a French / English mother . He first watched wrestling when he was eight years old while at a friend ' s house . He said , " The action on that little ten - inch black & white screen just reached out and grabbed me " . In his youth , he played basketball , baseball , and football . He started wrestling at his local YMCA as a twelve - year - old . He attended Central High School in Cincinnati . Thatcher heard about Tony Santos , a promoter and owner of a wrestling school in Boston , Massachusetts . Shortly thereafter , he began training in February 1960 . Career . On July 4 , 1960 , Les Thatcher made his professional wrestling debut against “ Cowboy ” Ronnie Hill in Blue Hill , Maine . In 1966 , Thatcher started to work as part of a " cousins " faction . He was a member of the team with Roger Kirby and Dennis Hall . They used this gimmick in various southern territories until 1969 . He won several regional tag team championships with various partners , including Nelson Royal and Roger Kirby . He turned his hand to singles competition and excelled as a junior heavyweight . He was noted for his high - flying dropkicks and sound technical ability . In 1974 , Thatcher started to host and produce Southeastern Championship Wrestling . Throughout his broadcasting career , he has worked with Gordon Solie , Bob Caudle , Lance Russell and Jim Ross . During his announcing / hosting tenure , he worked for such companies as Mid - Atlantic Championship Wrestling and Georgia Championship Wrestling . He helped to introduce concepts that are still common on wrestling programming today . He also wrote for many notable wrestling publications of the time and helped to produce the World Wide Wrestling Federation ' s first color magazine in 1978 . Thatcher had a hand in the gym and bodybuilding business between 1987 and 1994 . He was involved in the designing , building , and managing of two Cincinnati area gyms during that time . It was around this time he became a professional bodybuilder . He competed in 14 contests over a seven - year stretch , winning first place in 5 contests , second on 3 outings , and third 3 times , only placing out of the money in three shows . In 1995 , Thatcher opened his training school . " Les Thatcher ' s Main Event Pro Wrestling Camp " . He also promoted the Heartland Wrestling Association . With the Heartland Wrestling Association he helped produce the Brian Pillman Memorial Show s . Notable graduates of the school include ; Matt Stryker , Shark Boy , B . J . Whitmer , Chad Collyer , Charlie Haas , Shannon Moore , Johnny “ The Bull ” Stamboli , Jimmy Yang , Nigel McGuinness , Jamie Noble , Elix Skipper , Rosey & Umaga . Now , after making appearances on various radio programs , being elected onto the board of the Cauliflower Alley Club and receiving various awards , Thatcher is part of " Elite Pro Wrestling Training " . As mentioned before , he is part of this project with Harley Race and Ricky Steamboat . Thatcher co - hosts a weekly wrestling radio program with Doc Young called " Wrestling Weekly " on www . f4wonline . com . The complete audio archives for this show are now available to download at The Wrestling Weekly Audio Archive . He also does routine website audio shows for PWInsider . com with Mike Johnson . Thatcher also appeared in an episode of To Tell The Truth .