I want to take a few moments to thank the many people that keep in contact with me on a weekly basis. Your input keeps me energized and thinking about stories from the past and people that I knew. I appreciate each and every one of you.

From the Friend Family ... we send our best wishes for a healthy, happy holiday time. We hope that everyone in your family is blessed with good spirits and thoughts during this special time and throughout the next year.

To Rob Moore ... Thank you again for another wonderful year of putting up with me. Friends like you are very special. Hope to see you in my corner in Las Vegas at the Cauliflower Alley Club Reunion in April.--Percival

When last I left, Les Thornton had been up in Angus Campbell's face and mine. He was completely upset at us being at ringside. He wanted to beat Archie Gouldie (The Stomper) and wanted no excuses if he lost.

Les had beaten Gouldie in the first fall, and Gouldie stomped a mud hole in him and beat him the second fall in their Championship match. Angus and I had ventured out to ringside to get a better view of what was going on. Les had jumped out of the ring and got right up in our faces and screamed, "What in the Bloody Hell are you doing out here?"

He was obsessed with winning. The bell rang, and the referee had no choice but to start a count … 5-6-7-8 … Les jumped back in to break the count. Gouldie grabbed Thornton and proceeded to kick the begeebers out of him again. Somewhere, Les got the energy to roll out of the way of those huge size 14EEE boots and get to the safety of the floor.

I told Angus to be a gentleman and help Les back into the ring. He grabbed him and picked him up over his head with the ease of lifting a feather and threw him over the top ring rope. It was then that Archie decided he didn't want our help either. He jumped out of the ring and got in Angus' face, telling him what an ingrate he was and that he needed to keep his big nose out of this match. Angus never backed down from anyone ... let alone this cattle farmer from Jefferson City, Missouri.

By then, the referee and Thornton had joined in to the argument, and I decided it would be in our best interests to leave the ringside area. Gouldie had forgotten about Thornton, who was standing behind him, and turned to get back into the ring. He was met with a barrage of European forearm smashes and lefts and rights from this little powerhouse. He was beaten down to the floor when Thornton heard the referee counting 7-8-9. Les grabbed the rope and hurled his body into and back out of the ring, stopping the count.

He grabbed the beaten, bloody, battered carcass of Gouldie and threw him back into the ring. It was then that Thornton grabbed Gouldie and suplexed him nearly out of his ring tights. One boot came flying off his foot as he hit the mat. Les covered him, and the ref counted 1-2-3. Thornton was the new champ ... The North American Heavyweight Champ.

Fans started jumping into the ring, angered at what had happened to their favorite, Archie Gouldie. There must have been 10 or 12 of them that had made it into the ring before the riot squad arrived. Les was pitching bodies out over the top rope and knocking others into La La Land with vicious rights and lefts. The RCMP finally arrived and took over where the constables had not and cleared the area. They escorted Les back to the dressing room and out of the building.

There was a rematch two weeks later in Calgary, but Thornton proved out the better man again. I was fortunate in getting a title match with him some five months later, and that is when Angus became the Champ.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers