Tag: Les Thatcher

Wrestling Weekly: Ashley Massaro thoughts, Double or Nothing preview

Posted on by Victor Sosa

On the new Wrestling Weekly, famed wrestling trainer and former wrestler Les Thatcher and yours truly discuss the Ashley Massaro story, AEW’s Double or Nothing, and TV networks pitching ideas to wrestling companies.

We discuss aspects of the stories that have come out since Massaro’s passing that haven’t been talked as much as some of the others, some concerns regarding AEW, Saturday’s Double or Nothing, and just how common it is (or isn’t) for the TV network airing a wrestling show to pitch ideas to the wrestling company on their station.

If you like what you hear, be sure to check out nearly 450 WW show in our archives. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!

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Wrestling Weekly: The newest Wrestling Observer HOF class

Posted on by Victor Sosa

Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa look back at the last time Les did commentary with the great Gordon Solie in 1982 and the newest additions to the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame.

The two talk about the 3/27/82 Championship Wrestling from Florida show, which was not only the last time Les worked with Gordon Solie, but was memorable for a most interesting meeting Les had with Eddie Graham and Dusty Rhodes while he was there.

The other topic of conversation is the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame and a few of the newest inductees, including the Sharpe brothers, Mark Lewin and AJ Styles.

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Wrestling Weekly: Les recaps his week at the WWE Performance Center

Posted on by Victor Sosa

Fresh off a week as a guest coach at the WWE Performance Center, Les Thatcher has plenty to say about that experience!

We’ll cover a variety of things Les got a chance to see and take part in during his week in Orlando. From there, Vic Sosa and Les discuss Alpha vs Omega; the announcement that Chris Jericho will take on Kenny Omega at the Tokyo Dome on January 4th.

In addition, we’ll spend a lot of time discussing the Ric Flair 30 for 30 that aired on ESPN and briefly touch on AJ Styles winning the WWE Championship as well as Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn being sent home from the European tour. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!

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Wrestling Weekly: Summer of ’71, pt. 1

Posted on by Victor Sosa

We have a fun, old school centric-show today looking back at the start of a successful run in the Mid-Atlantic territory for the team of Danny Miller and Les Thatcher!

That’s the main point of conversation before we open the mailbag, but there’s some other things that come up both before we get there and along the way. Before we get there, we’ll spend a few minutes on what Les was up to in Florida before getting the call to return to the Carolinas, including a match (7:15) that Vic thinks desperately needed several weeks of vignettes on TV so that it could’ve been the gold mine that it should have been.

We’ll then segue into looking at the start of the Miller/Thatcher team’s time in the Carolinas, which included a very successful June of 1971 (18:59) with wins over several name teams in the area. It also sparks Les to pull out a few old programs to run down some cards that took place in Florida, Mid-Atlantic, and in Ohio as well that include some fascinating matches.

Then we’ll open the mailbag to answer your questions about how important finishing moves were back in the day (54:29), why babyfaces today have no friends (58:53), the most painful bump Les has ever taken (69:47), and whether or not using wrist wraps while weightlifting is cheating (74:19).

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!

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Wrestling Weekly: 21 questions, thoughts on Joe Garagiola, more!

Posted on by Victor Sosa

Your hosts Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa are back with the latest Wrestling Weekly to talk on the passing of former wrestling & baseball announcer Joe Garagiola and just how big a star he was in his day.  We also discuss the end of Bobby Roode and Eric Young’s TNA careers (14:27) as well as the start of a TNA run for Pepper Parks, who got started in the business training with Les. (17:31). 

From there, Vic put together a list of questions for Les (28:42) that require him to dip into his wrestling memory bank — not just of his career but of his childhood as well. Along the way, Les will share some of the big names he grew up watching, how many of them he had a chance to wrestle, the toughest promoter he ever worked for and a lot more. 

Enjoy the latest edition of Wrestling Weekly!

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WOL 11/18: Charlotte promo, John Cena’s whereabouts, Les Thatcher talks Bockwinkel and more!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today after a disastrous storm in Seattle to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA, everything from the Charlotte promo on Raw to Emma’s cooking show and the whereabouts of John Cena. Les Thatcher also joins us to talk Don Fargo, Nick Bockwinkel and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

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