Peter Preston is not a name most wrestling fans will remember, but the wrestlers in the back will look back at him and not be impressed at what they saw.
He was an unpredictable fighter. You never knew who was going to win a match when he stepped into the ring. While the results of matches involving the likes of Mick McManus or Big Daddy were usually set in stone, Preston could lose to anyone but also pick up an upset when needed.
Jackie Pallo described him as a “good, hard little wrestler who lacked charisma”, which limited his ceiling in the business. He had a background in real fighting, which meant that nobody could stop him if he decided he was going to win a match (which we’ll get to next, don’t worry).
He had huge wins over some top stars but never had any sustained success. This is likely due to the immense distrust behind the scenes from the other stars and promoters, due to his propensity to do whatever the hell he wanted against whoever he wanted.
Peter Preston Shot On Mick McManus And Beat Him For The First Time Ever
Mick McManus was a man who famously didn’t lose on television for over 20 years. However, that fact is tainted by his sole loss by disqualification against Peter Preston.
The trouble is, that wasn’t how the match was supposed to go down. The plan, as usual, was for McManus to lose the first fall and then cheat to win the next two, annoying the crowd with his hellish antics while making his opponent look good.
But Peter Preston didn’t want to look good, he wanted to win. The promoter, Norman Morrell, had subtly hinted that he should shoot on McManus and win the match himself, a victory that would instantly make him a star in the promotion.
The bout went as planned up until the first of the three falls. However, Mick McManus quickly figured out that Peter Preston wasn’t going to play ball. He was an accomplished amateur wrestler, so The Man You Love To Hate couldn’t take him on in a real fight.
He had to be creative. McManus decided to start punching Peter Preston in the head, trying to knock him out before he could do any more damage to his reputation. When this didn’t work, he simply aimed for his groin area, getting disqualified.
While he lost the match, it was only by DQ – this helped salvage his reputation from the bout and correctly claim he’d never been pinned nor submitted on television.
Peter Preston’s career went from strength to strength after thew in, and the pair avoided each for years before stepping into the ring one last time just four years later.
Read more about Peter Preston and Mick McManus match and the ensuing controversy that followed.
He Had A Backstage Fight With Kendo Nagasaki
Another controversial moment from Peter Preston’s career was when he tried to take on one of Britain’s deadliest fighters and came off looking very stupid indeed.
This encounter happened backstage at a show that Kendo Nagasaki, Peter Preston and Jackie Pallo were all performing on.
Being the biggest star in the business at that time, Kendo Nagasaki had his own little seat in the dressing room. It was the sole armchair in the room and thus was the most sought-after chair by all the wrestlers. Nagasaki had earned the respect of not having his seat taken or anything tampered with.
However, Peter Preston did not show Kendo Nagasaki the respect he or the other wrestlers thought he deserved. As soon as Nagasaki, who was portrayed under the mask by Crewe car salesman Peter Thornley, got up to use the toilet, Preston pounced.
Peter Preston took over the seat and once Nagasaki returned and politely requested his seat back, he told him to “Fuck off”. Now, this was antagonistic at the best of times, but doing it to one of the top stars in the business was just moronic.
What was even stupider was doing it to one of the most legitimate fighters in the business. Nagasaki was an Olympic-level Judoka, only missing out on competing due to his losing a finger in a fight. He was also a high-level weightlifter, with the strength and technique to flatten Peter Preston if he needed to.
Kendo Nagasaki tried to reason with the unsuspecting man, but he turned after a few “fuck offs” too many. He grabbed the smaller man in a headlock, before dragging him into another room and hanging him from the top of a tallboy dresser with his legs dangling in the air.
He was then duly warned by Nagasaki to “Stay out of my chair or I’ll kill you”. Given the stories that have come out about some wrestlers, like “Crybaby” Jim Breaks, it behoves you to take threats like this seriously.
Peter Preston promptly fell off the dresses, crumpling in a heap on the floor as all the wrestlers burst into laughter. That was the end of his arrogance towards Nagasaki as he was put in his place in a hilarious fashion.
This story is told brilliantly by Jackie Pallo in his 1985 book “You Grunt, I’ll Groan”.
