I believe it was... Gene Kiniski?
On a side note, if you happen to come across Thesz's matches in Japan most notably against Masahiro Chono and Antonio Inoki, WATCH THEM!
WTG. You win the Classic Wrestling division and you're the top IWF wrestling expert. My verdict is final. Everyone got that? It's "soulpower" with the mindpower in wrestling expertise in here. On his behalf, thank you for your contributions.
I don't know if you have "The Fight Network" or "ESPN Classic", but both of them occasionaly run classic wrestling features. They also had a hilarious show starring, among others, Kiniski, called "Wrestling With The Past". I've seen Thesz a few times on TV, and, believe it or not, I've seen him
live. He was defending the NWA World's title against Kiniski in 1965 in a 2500 seat arena in Vancouver. Thesz took that one 2 of 3 falls, in about 50 minutes. I forget how he won, but I was heartbroken, as Kiniski was my childhood hero. (I've always liked heels.) I was jubilant when I heard Kiniski had beaten Thesz for the title in St. Louis, a year later. With Kiniski, a Vancouverite, holding the NWA title, I got to see many of the big stars of that era challenge him live for the title.