Peter Thornley
Encyclopedia
Peter Thornley is a British
professional wrestler known as Kendo Nagasaki
. He was one of the biggest draws of all time in British Wrestling
, especially in the mid-1970s and the turn of the 1980s/1990s.
born Geoff Condliffe) at the Victoria Hall, Hanley. Bartelli had been Nagasaki's mentor and tag team partner (and Condliffe had been Thornley's real life trainer) until they had a storyline falling out over Nagasaki's rough tactics in the ring. During the late 1960s, Nagasaki would feud with Billy Robinson
and also with a young Jean Ferre
In December 1971 he appeared for the first time with manager
"Gorgeous" George Gillette at Dumfries
. He then went on to tour Canada
and North America
during 1972 working for wrestling legend Stu Hart
. Nagasaki was renowned for his strength; in one televised match he lifted Big Daddy
(26 stones (165.10762268 kg)) up on to his shoulders, then calmly walked to a corner carrying him and finished the bout with his famous Kamikaze Crash, walking out the ring as Big Daddy was being counted out.
In December 1975, he was unmasked on television by Big Daddy
starting a violent feud between the two. This was two years before he had an official Ceremonial unmasking ceremony at the Civic Hall Wolverhampton in what was one of the most anticipated and most watched moments in ITV
's World of Sport
.It wasn't until April the next year (1978) that he appeared as an unmasked wrestler for the first time; in a contest at Croydon
against Bronco Wells. However, in September 1978, he retired on doctor's orders from the ring and began a new career in rock management, but returned in 1981-82 in a few appearances for Brian Dixon.
Starting in the early '80s, a new man began appearing in the southern United States territories. This incarnation was actually performed by Kazuo Sakurada
and looked vastly different from the original.
with Clive Myers, and by September 1987 he went on to become the WWA World Heavyweight Champion after defeating Wayne Bridges. He also formed a tag team with Rollerball Rocco
but this fell apart after a televised match in early 1988 resulting in a lengthy and violent feud between the two which would rage on at live shows during the first few years after the end of British Wrestling on TV.
Another tag team with Blondie Barrett would run for several years. During his final ITV appearance, Nagasaki and Barrett defeated the 'Golden Boys' tag team of Robbie Brookside
and Steve Regal when the masked man hypnotised (kayfabe) Brookside to attack Regal. This too would lead to a long running storyline with Nagasaki regularly using his 'powers' to turn Brookside over to his side at live shows.
During 1990, George Gillette died and Lloyd Ryan officially became his new manager. In October 1991, he feuded
with Giant Haystacks, and at one point was robbed of a chance at the CWA World crown after Haystacks deliberately pulled off his mask 'forcing' him to abandon the match. He eventually retired once more in 1993 to concentrate on his role in commerce
.
's Victoria Hall. This began a "Millenium Comeback" campaign for Nagasaki as a month later he returned to the venue teamed with Vic Powers to face Darren Walsh and Marty Jones
who had objected (kayfabe) to Nagasaki winning the award. Over the next eighteen months he would appear on various All Star
shows, sometimes teamed with Drew McDonald
. In March 2001 he again partnered Vic Powers in a charity tag ladder match against James Mason
and Walsh. This run ended in December 2001 with a formal retirement match - a Four Corners bout in which he faced and defeated Mason, Doug Williams
and Dean Allmark
.
over The Sword of Excellence.
In May 2008 his old tag team partner Blondie Barratt teamed with him, along with a handpicked LDN Wrestler named Gregory Cortez in a 6 Man Tag Team match to take on Powers, Brookside & Hakan - who replaced Yorghos who he refused to wrestle. He then began feuding with Yorghos. Barratt wrestled against Yorghos & Hakan in a Ladder match in Hanley in September 2008. Then in October he was scheduled to wrestle Yorghos in a singles match in Wolverhampton, but refused to face him again, instead teaming with Blondie Barratt to defeat Hakan & Travis to win the LDN Tag Team Championship.
He was scheduled to wrestle Yorghos for the LDN British Heavyweight Championship in November 2008 in Grays, but a few days before the event he quit LDN, and Blondie Barratt took his place.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
professional wrestler known as Kendo Nagasaki
Kendo Nagasaki
Kendo Nagasaki is a professional wrestling stage name, used as a gimmick of that of a Japanese Samurai warrior with a mysterious past and even supernatural powers of hypnosis...
. He was one of the biggest draws of all time in British Wrestling
Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom
Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom spans over 100 years but became popular when the then new Independent Television station - ITV began showing it in 1955 firstly on Saturday afternoons and then also in a late night mid week slot...
, especially in the mid-1970s and the turn of the 1980s/1990s.
Early days
In November 1964 had his first professional contest against "Jumping" Jim Hussey at Willenhall Baths. Nagasaki's most notable achievement during the 60's was in March 1966 when he defeated and unmasked Count Bartelli (CreweCrewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
born Geoff Condliffe) at the Victoria Hall, Hanley. Bartelli had been Nagasaki's mentor and tag team partner (and Condliffe had been Thornley's real life trainer) until they had a storyline falling out over Nagasaki's rough tactics in the ring. During the late 1960s, Nagasaki would feud with Billy Robinson
Billy Robinson
Billy Robinson is a British professional wrestler and catch wrestling instructor. Robinson was well known in Japan where he has trained mixed martial arts fighters in catch wrestling...
and also with a young Jean Ferre
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...
TV Career 1971-1978
Kendo Nagasaki finally made his ITV debut in May 1971 with a victory over Wayne Bridges. During July 1971 in what was said to be a sensational TV contest with Billy Howes, his mask came off in the heat of the battle causing confusion all around. Howes spent a great deal of effort in pounding Nagasaki's head and dragging his tight fitting mask up, almost covering Nagasaki's eyes, and tried to untie the straps holding it on, before under his relentless efforts it came loose. Howes showed little sign off actually wrestling in the end stages, and was solely intent on removing the mask, which he finally did and Nagasaki quickly left the ring covering his face.In December 1971 he appeared for the first time with manager
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
"Gorgeous" George Gillette at Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
. He then went on to tour Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
during 1972 working for wrestling legend Stu Hart
Stu Hart
Stewart Edward "Stu" Hart, CM was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. Hart founded Stampede Wrestling, a promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, and was the father of famous wrestlers Bret and Owen Hart...
. Nagasaki was renowned for his strength; in one televised match he lifted Big Daddy
Shirley Crabtree
Shirley Crabtree, Jr, better known as Big Daddy was a British professional wrestler famous for his record-breaking 64 inch chest...
(26 stones (165.10762268 kg)) up on to his shoulders, then calmly walked to a corner carrying him and finished the bout with his famous Kamikaze Crash, walking out the ring as Big Daddy was being counted out.
In December 1975, he was unmasked on television by Big Daddy
Shirley Crabtree
Shirley Crabtree, Jr, better known as Big Daddy was a British professional wrestler famous for his record-breaking 64 inch chest...
starting a violent feud between the two. This was two years before he had an official Ceremonial unmasking ceremony at the Civic Hall Wolverhampton in what was one of the most anticipated and most watched moments in ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's World of Sport
World of Sport (UK TV series)
World of Sport was a British television sport anthology programme which ran on ITV between 2 January 1965 to 28 September 1985 in response to competition from BBC's Grandstand...
.It wasn't until April the next year (1978) that he appeared as an unmasked wrestler for the first time; in a contest at Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
against Bronco Wells. However, in September 1978, he retired on doctor's orders from the ring and began a new career in rock management, but returned in 1981-82 in a few appearances for Brian Dixon.
Starting in the early '80s, a new man began appearing in the southern United States territories. This incarnation was actually performed by Kazuo Sakurada
Kazuo Sakurada
, better known as Mr. Sakurada and as the Japanese version of , is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. He is best known, under various monikers, for his work in Stampede Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling. Sakurada is also highly regarded by Bret Hart as...
and looked vastly different from the original.
All Star Wrestling 1986-1993
In December 1986, Thornley, the original Nagasaki, made his masked return to the ring at the London Hippodrome in a ladder matchLadder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...
with Clive Myers, and by September 1987 he went on to become the WWA World Heavyweight Champion after defeating Wayne Bridges. He also formed a tag team with Rollerball Rocco
Mark Rocco
Mark Hussey is a retired English professional wrestler who competed for All-Star Wrestling as Mark "Rollerball" Rocco and as the original masked Black Tiger in New Japan Pro Wrestling during the 1970s and 80s...
but this fell apart after a televised match in early 1988 resulting in a lengthy and violent feud between the two which would rage on at live shows during the first few years after the end of British Wrestling on TV.
Another tag team with Blondie Barrett would run for several years. During his final ITV appearance, Nagasaki and Barrett defeated the 'Golden Boys' tag team of Robbie Brookside
Robbie Brookside
Robert Edward Brooks , better known by his ring name Robbie Brookside, is a British professional wrestler. He has toured all over the world during his career including such countries as the United States, Japan, Germany, and Mexico...
and Steve Regal when the masked man hypnotised (kayfabe) Brookside to attack Regal. This too would lead to a long running storyline with Nagasaki regularly using his 'powers' to turn Brookside over to his side at live shows.
During 1990, George Gillette died and Lloyd Ryan officially became his new manager. In October 1991, he feuded
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
with Giant Haystacks, and at one point was robbed of a chance at the CWA World crown after Haystacks deliberately pulled off his mask 'forcing' him to abandon the match. He eventually retired once more in 1993 to concentrate on his role in commerce
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
.
Millenium Comeback 2000-2001
He returned in May 2000 to accept the Wrestler Of The Millennium trophy in a ceremony at HanleyHanley
Hanley, in Staffordshire, England, is one of the six major towns that joined together to form the city of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910. Hanley was the only one of the six towns to be a county borough before the merger; its status was transferred to the enlarged borough...
's Victoria Hall. This began a "Millenium Comeback" campaign for Nagasaki as a month later he returned to the venue teamed with Vic Powers to face Darren Walsh and Marty Jones
Marty Jones
Marty Jones is a retired English professional wrestler best known for his work in All Star Promotions throughout the 1980s and 90s. Jones was also responsible for training Darren Matthews. Jones was trained by Billy Robinson....
who had objected (kayfabe) to Nagasaki winning the award. Over the next eighteen months he would appear on various All Star
All Star Wrestling
All Star Wrestling is a British Professional wrestling promotion also known as All Star Promotions, Superslam Wrestling and Big Time Wrestling and originally known as Wrestling Enterprises , run by Brian Dixon and based in Liverpool, England...
shows, sometimes teamed with Drew McDonald
Drew McDonald
Drew McDonald changed his name by deed poll to Drew McDonald is a Scottish professional wrestler. He is best known for wrestling on the independent circuit in the United Kingdom since the 1980s.-Professional wrestling career:...
. In March 2001 he again partnered Vic Powers in a charity tag ladder match against James Mason
James Mason (wrestler)
James Atkins is a British professional wrestler best known under his ring name James Mason.-Career:A childhood fan of Big Daddy, Atkins began wrestling for All Star Promotions in 1993, adopting the ringname James Mason, after the film actor of the same name at the behest of ring announcer John...
and Walsh. This run ended in December 2001 with a formal retirement match - a Four Corners bout in which he faced and defeated Mason, Doug Williams
Doug Williams
Doug Williams may refer to:*Doug Williams , Super Bowl XXII MVP*Doug Williams , Australian rules footballer*Doug Williams , English professional wrestler...
and Dean Allmark
Dean Allmark
Dean Allmark , is an English professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in All-Star Promotions and his appearance in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
.
LDN
Since then, he was said to be looking for a young wrestler to pass his 'powers' on to. In June 2007, he signed a deal with London based LDN wrestling. In November 2007 he appeared at LDN "Legends Showdown" in Broxbourne, England. He represented a team in a match against a team represented by his former manager Lloyd Ryan who had again (kayfabe) fallen out with his charge, this time over Ryan's son, young wrestler Damian Ryan. This event kicked off a storyline which saw him return to wrestling. Working exclusively for LDN Wrestling he feuded with Robbie BrooksideRobbie Brookside
Robert Edward Brooks , better known by his ring name Robbie Brookside, is a British professional wrestler. He has toured all over the world during his career including such countries as the United States, Japan, Germany, and Mexico...
over The Sword of Excellence.
In May 2008 his old tag team partner Blondie Barratt teamed with him, along with a handpicked LDN Wrestler named Gregory Cortez in a 6 Man Tag Team match to take on Powers, Brookside & Hakan - who replaced Yorghos who he refused to wrestle. He then began feuding with Yorghos. Barratt wrestled against Yorghos & Hakan in a Ladder match in Hanley in September 2008. Then in October he was scheduled to wrestle Yorghos in a singles match in Wolverhampton, but refused to face him again, instead teaming with Blondie Barratt to defeat Hakan & Travis to win the LDN Tag Team Championship.
He was scheduled to wrestle Yorghos for the LDN British Heavyweight Championship in November 2008 in Grays, but a few days before the event he quit LDN, and Blondie Barratt took his place.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Kamikaze Crash (Rolling fireman's carry slam)
- Powers of hypnosisHypnosisHypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- "Gorgeous" George Gillette
- Lloyd Ryan
- Atlantis Chronos Goth
Championships and accomplishments
- 1-time Stampede North American Heavyweight ChampionshipStampede North American Heavyweight ChampionshipThe Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship is the major title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. From its establishment in 1968 until 1972, it was Stampede's secondary singles championship, becoming the top title in 1972 after the previous top...
(1972) - 1-time WWA World Heavyweight Championship (UK version)
- 1-time All-Star British Heavyweight Champion
- Wrestler Of The Millennium trophy winner (2000)
External links
- HouseofDeception.com - unique backstage, in-ring, and promo photos; quality links
- Guardian article on Thornley/Kendo
- The Immortal Legends of British Professional Wrestling from the BBC
- British Wrestling Archive
- British Wrestling