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Peter Thornley

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Peter Thornley
Born (1947-10-19) 19 October 1947 (age 76)
Stoke-on-Trent, England[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Kendo Nagasaki
Billed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1]
Billed weight15 st (95 kg) - 18 st (110 kg)[1]
DebutNovember 1964[1]

Peter William Thornley (born 19 October 1946 in Stoke-on-Trent) is a British professional wrestler known as Kendo Nagasaki, a Japanese Samurai warrior with a mysterious past and supernatural powers of hypnosis.[1] 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.

Career

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 (Crewe 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

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 of 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 "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 the 26 stone 9 pounds (169 kg) "The Battling Guardsman" Shirley Crabtree later known as Big Daddy, 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 Crabtree 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.

Nagasaki returned in 1981-82 in a few appearances for Brian Dixon, in which the real Nagasaki feuded with notorious Nagasaki impersonator King Kendo (Bill Clarke) in a series of loser-lose-mask matches which saw Clarke defeated and unmasked night after night. Also 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.

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 match 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. Footage from this match was featured in the BBC2 documentary on Nagasaki Arena: Masters Of The Canvas.

In 1993 Nagasaki and Ryan fell out (kayfabe) and were set to feud with Nagasaki now managed by his personal assistant Lawrence Stevens and Ryan recruiting King Kendo for a fresh battle of the Kendos. This storyline was soon aborted when Nagasaki retired once more to concentrate on his role in commerce. Over the next few years, Ryan continued to managed King Kendo (with Dale Preston taking over the role from Clarke who had also retired in 1993) in feuds with various old enemies of the real Nagasaki.

Millennium comeback 2000-2001

He returned in May 2000 to accept the Wrestler Of The Millennium trophy in a ceremony at Hanley's Victoria Hall. This began a "Millennium 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.

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 Brookside 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

  • Managers
    • "Gorgeous" George Gillette[1]
    • Lloyd Ryan[1]
    • Atlantis Chronos Goth

Championships and accomplishments

Filmography

Acting

Wrestling as Kendo Nagasaki

  • World of Sport 1971-1978 including unmasking ceremony 1977
  • Professional Wrestling (late night/lunchtime ITV wrestling) 1971-74
  • Wrestling (standalone ITV wrestling broadcast) 1987-88
  • Robbie Brookside's Video Diary, BBC2 1993
  • Best of ITV Wrestling (DVD compilation of ITV wrestling footage) 2005
  • Best of ITV Wrestling: A to Z (DVD compilation of ITV wrestling footage) 2006
  • LDN Legends Showdown I 2008

Personal appearances as Kendo Nagasaki

Portrayals by others

  • Genesis in Portrait (animated film)
  • World of Wrestling (short comedy film)
  • Darts (interview featuring Thornley as Kendo Nagasaki, Roger Moore and Carla Bruni)

Kendo Nagasaki is featured in the song "Everything`s A.O.R" by British indie band Half Man Half Biscuit - the lyric "I can put a tennis racquet up against my face and pretend that I am Kendo Nagasaki" features in the song's chorus.

Dance DJ Steve Burgess released a single called The Nagasaki EP (I Need A Lover Tonight) under the name Ken Doh in 1996.

Kendo Nagasaki is featured in the lyrics to British singer Luke Haines's song "Leeds United" from his 2006 album Off My Rocker at the Art School Bop. Haines also references Nagasaki in his 2011 track 9½ Psychedelic Meditations on British Wrestling of the 1970s and early '80s.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Kendo Nagazaki profile". OWOW. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  2. ^ "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". Web.archive.org. 16 December 2005. Retrieved 28 March 2012. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)

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