One of the more surprising recent revelations in British wrestling was Kendo Nagasaki becoming a champion of the LGBTQ+ movement. Once a silent and mysterious masked miscreant, he would come out about his sexuality in his tell-all 2018 autobiography Kendo Nagasaki and The Man Behind The Mask. Early Years Peter Thornley, the man who … Read more
Between 1965 and 1988, everything stopped at 4 o4 oc’clock. That was because it was time for the British public to sit down in front of the TV and watch Kent Walton introduce “The Wrestling“. Stars from all over the country became household names. Even today, they remain fondly remembered by people of a certain … Read more
Despite the golden era of British wrestling ending when World of Sport was cancelled in 1988, some legends of the ring have appeared in modern video games. We’re not just talking about the usual players. Obviously, British Bulldog has appeared in numerous WWE video games. Finlay was a constant presence in the WWE and WCW … Read more
The United Kingdom, England especially, has a long and storied history of masked wrestlers performing in the ring. Wrestling under a mask, like modern stars such as Rey Mysterio, has been going on for as long as the sport itself. In France, the first mention of a masked wrestler was in 1848 that L’Homme Masque … Read more
Wrestling was in a state of flux in 1987 and Kendo Nagasaki had a slightly faulty vision for how All-Star Wrestling could compete with the glitz and glamour of the WWE. If one word could describe Joint Promotions’s presentation, it might be ‘traditionalist’. Indeed, its conservative approach saw few real characters, white meat goodies take … Read more
Peter Thornley create the Kendo Nagasaki gimmick in 1964, going on to become one of the greatest wrestlers in British wrestling history.
The mystery of how Kendo Nagasaki lost his finger has finally been revealed. For nearly sixty years, the legendary wrestling champion and judo master has hidden the secret behind his missing phalange. The wrestler, who is really a man named Pete Thornley from Crewe, has been missing the index finger from his right hand ever … Read more
Count Bartelli’s unmasking at the hands of Kendo Nagasaki should have been the start to the second half of his career with even more success than the first. In the annals of British professional wrestling, few names evoke as much intrigue and admiration as Count Bartelli. A Crewe-based car salesman by day and a masked … Read more
Kendo Nagasaki is returning to the ring at the age of 83, 16 years after his last match. He will become one of the oldest wrestlers ever when that happens.
The story of how Peter Thornley transformed into the mystifying masked wrestler known as Kendo Nagasaki is one that is often shrouded in mystery. For years and years, nobody even knew who donned the famous red-and-white mask. Thornley would mask up before he got to the building, even wearing a special mask just for showering. … Read more