There are few wrestlers who have mystified the British public in wrestling more than Kendo Nagasaki.
Even six decades after he started out wrestling, very few wrestlers have commanded the crowd’s attention as much as the Japanese star (using the term “Japanese” extremely loosely).
He commanded the fans attention with his otherwordly gimmick, mixing British Catch wrestling with the ancient Japanese martial art of Judo. But who exactly is Kendo Nagasaki?
Who Is Kendo Nagasaki?
Kendo Nagasaki is the mysterious masked wrestler who dominated the ring in the golden age of British wrestling.
Billed as a mystifying masked man from Japan, Nagasaki was an enigma in England at that time. Very few people knew anything about him, with his identity being a complete mystery.
He was known for his overly-aggressive style, being dubbed “too violent for TV” early on his career (although that wasn’t the real reason he was kept off TV, as we’ll go into later).
Nagasaki wrestled in some huge matches in his career, against stars like Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks and Rollerball Rocco.
His unique style, mixing brute strength, Catch-As-Catch-Can wrestling and Judo, made him a one-of-a-kind wrestler in the 1960s and onwards.
Promoters even claimed he killed a man in the ring, although that was not entirely accurate (more on that later). Kendo Nagasaki was something never seen before in the UK, with his martial arts background and the mystery of his origins.
However, the man behind the mask was actually Peter Thornley from Crewe. A young Judo and weightlifting champion who learnt to wrestle in “The Snake Pit”, before donning his iconic mask.
Peter Thornley Was The Man Behind The Mask Of Kendo Nagasaki
While Kendo Nagasaki was seen as a mystical man from the Orient, the man behind the mask was much different. Peter Thornley has portrayed Kendo Nagasaki for the past sixty years, having created the character before making his wrestling debut.
Thornley grew up in Crewe. He had a tough childhood, with his mother dying when he was seven, and his father failing to be the parent he needed at the time.
He was a troublemaker in school and outside of it, owing to undiagnosed ADHD and dyslexia. He found success in Judo and Olympic weightlifting as he grew, while working as an apprentice building cabs for vehicles.
His Olympic dreams were shattered after he lost a finger following a fight with a local family. He could no longer grip his opponent’s Gi, nor the weight bar, so his dreams of competing were dead.
He trained for five years, working for J.H Jennings & Sons. Each day he trekked seven miles to work, the seven hours back.
He eventually bought bikes and cars, even building his own van to travel the country in when he became a wrestling star.
While he did marry, Peter Thornley later came out as a bisexual. He admitted that, had he been born later, he likely would have simply been gay, due to the sociatal pressures of the day.
As a young man, he befriended the son of Count Bartelli. He gave Thornley a job, giving him the taste off the good life that only wrestling could afford him.
The fight that cost him his finger was actually caused by Bartelli. Feeling sorry for him, he helped Thornley get into the wrestling business, to help him earn a good living away from Judo.
This is why he took up his offer to train at the Snake Pit, before creating the character of Kendo Nagasaki.
Check out more in-depth articles about how Peter Thornley became Kendo Nagasaki.
How The Character Of Kendo Nagasaki Was Created
In 1964, Peter Thornley created the iconic character known as Kendo Nagasaki.
After training with Billy Riley at the legendary “Snake Pit” in Wigan, Thornley wanted to create a character unlike anything else in wrestling.
He took inspiration from his close friend, Count Bartelli. The masked legend was one of the most famous wrestlers in the north at that that, and was one of the few to don a mask in that era.
Most wrestlers in the 1960s had very simple presentation. They were limited to wearing a dressing gown to the ring and a plain pair of trunks while wrestling.
The odd wave to the crowd was the most excitement they’d get before locking up with their opponent. Some wrestlers bucked the trend, like Count Bartelli, Les Kellett and Jackie Pallo, but they were few and far between.
There was little mystery and enigma to any characters, something Kendo Nagasaki would quickly change.
Taking inspiration from the teachings of Kenshiro Abbe, he took on the name “Kendo” from the martial art, of which he was becoming an expert.
“Nagasaki” was fresh in his mind, due to the bombing in World War II of the city. However, it was also the name of the legendary Samurai in the 14th century, which inspired the Kendo Nagasaki name.
The character embodied his spiritual side, inspired by his love for martial arts and the teachings of Kenshiro Abbe.
The image for the gimmick came to him a state of Zen, and Kendo Nagasaki was born.
Kendo Nagasaki’s Impact On The British Wrestling Scene
Kendo Nagasaki’s work in the ring helped herald in the absolute golden age of wrestling in the UK.
He was a regular feature on World of Sport from 1971 onwards, establishing himself as one of the few masked wrestlers to make it to TV.
Kendo Nagasaki was almost forced to unmask in just his third TV match. George Relwyskow was furious when he refused, but with the backing of Norman Morrel, his career on World of Sport carried on without a hitch.
Joint Promotions wouldn’t bring in any masked wrestlers originally, even forcing Count Bartelli to de-mask before making it on ITV.
This was the real reason why Kendo Nagasaki had to wait seven years, despite being one of the top billed wrestlers. However, his popularity across the country became too much for Joint Promotions to bear.
With Nagasaki as the top heel in the country and regularly on TV, the idea of masked wrestlers on ITV became much more palatable.
This led to some huge matchups on Saturday afternoons, including Kendo Nagasaki vs Big Daddy.
His Most Memorable Rivals Include Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks and Count Bartelli
One of Kendo Nagasaki’s biggest rivals in-and-out of the ring was Big Daddy.
He was brought into Joint Promotions in 1974 as the opponent of Big Daddy. He was positioned as the top heel in the promotion, and was tasked with getting Big Daddy over as Britain’s next big wrestling star.
He managed just that, even letting Shirley Crabtree (Big Daddy’s real name) unmask him in their bouts. Kendo claims that he “made” Big Daddy and was the reason why he became so beloved in this country.
One of the most important matches in Kendo Nagasaki’s career was against his long-time friend and mentor, Count Bartelli.
The two masked wrestlers clashed for the first time in 1966, but the bout was a long time coming.
A young Peter Thornley was taken under the wing of Bartelli, whom he knew as Geoff Condliffe. He was the father of Thornley’s friend Barry, and he worked selling cars with the wrestling star.
He also had sexual relations with Bartelli’s wife while on holiday in Spain, but we won’t get into that. Bartelli broke Nagasaki into the wrestling business, and chose him as the man to take his mask in 1966.
Bartelli was struggling by the mid 1960s. He was a star in the local arena, rarely traveling further than Doncaster. However, he was unknown on the national stage, and as such was never booked for television.
The Importance Of His Mask & Kendo Nagasaki’s Unmasking
Kendo Nagasaki’s mask the most important part of his gimmick, even more than his fantastic wrestling ability.
Shrouding his face from the crowd did a number of things. It kept his identity a mystery, meaning that he could live a normal life away from the glitz and the glamour.
Meanwhile, it added more speculation about his character. Fans actually believed he was Japanese, bringing his supernatural powers all the way from the Far East.
Under the mask could be anyone. It was like a magic show. Nobody actually wants to know how the trick is done, but speculating about how the magician did it is half the fun.
It was the same with Kendo Nagasaki. The idea that anybody could be the cold-blooded wrestling machine under that mask was exciting for the fans, and helped build up the mythos of the character.
It seemed bizarre that he would ever get rid of the mask, but in 1977, Kendo Nagasaki did just that.
In a ceremony in Wolverhampton, the wrestling star removed his mask and showcased his face to the world for the first time.
Fans were confused to see a young man from Crewe beneath the mask, as opposed to the Japanese star they had expected (despite the fact that a plumber had tried to out Thornley as Nagasaki years prior).
Kendo Nagasaki’s unmasking was a huge ratings draw, with millions tuning in to watch. However, it nearly killed his character, and he quickly put the mask back on, pretending it never happened.
To discover more about Kendo Nagasaki’s unmasking, click the link!
The reason for him to remove his mask was simple: exhasperation. Kendo Nagasaki was sick of others pretending to be him, so he took off his mask to prove, once-and-for-all, that he was the one and only Kendo Nagasaki.
Numerous Wrestlers Impersonated Kendo Nagasaki Throughout His Career
Over the years, numerous wrestlers decided to try and trick the public into believing they were the true Kendo Nagasaki.
Overall, four different men took on the name Kendo Nagasaki, aside from Peter Thornley. These did so to rip off Nagasaki, and did get permission from the original to don his iconic mask.
The different knockoffs were for different reasons. The first was Bill Clarke, who donned the mask after Kendo Nagasaki became a big star on TV.
He eventually changed his name to King Kendo after being sued, although that didn’t stop a Kendo Nagasaki vs King Kendo feud occuring.
Nick Haywood would also take on the mantle on TV, although it was controversial and didn’t last for long. Meanwhile, Kazuo Sakurada wrestled as Kendo Nagasaki in the United States for many years.
He was the only person to portray Kendo Nagasaki who was actually Japanse. Learn more about Kendo Nagasaki’s imposters by clicking the link.
Kendo Nagasaki Retired But Came Back To Wrestle In 2008
Kendo Nagasaki retired numerous times over the years, including the ones previously mentioned.
However, he always came back in some capacity, and his wrestling career continued until 2008.
Kendo Nagasaki’s last match was with Blondie Barrett to beat Hakan & Travis at the Civic Hall in Wolverhampton. They won the match to win the LDN Tag Team titles in the same city Nagasaki debuted all the way back in 1964.
While his last match was in 2008, Kendo Nagasaki decided that this wasn’t enough.
The iconic Nagasaki is donning his mask one more time to mark his 60th anniversary in wrestling.
The 83-year-old will wrestle one final bout, becoming one of the oldest wrestlers in history when he does.
Read more details about Kendo Nagasaki’s last match here.
