Thornton later played professional rugby before being convinced to give pro wrestling a try by wrestler Bomber Bates.

Thornton trained at Billy Riley's gym in Wigan, known infamously as the Snake Pit, where he built his foundation in amateur and catch wrestling.

He had matches against Tiger Mask, Gino Hernandez, The Cobra, K J Anderssen, Dynamite Kid, Terry Taylor, Gerald Brisco, Al Madril and Tatsumi Fujinami.

Against heavyweights he fought Harley Race, Billy Robinson, Gene Lewis, Pedro Morales and Dory Funk Jr.

Near the end of his career, he formed his own promotion in Calgary called Canadian Independent Wrestling Federation (CIWF), which included wrestlers like Ricky Fuji and Big Titan, among others.