1966 Bartelli beat Kendo

Eleven is a lot of rounds for a bout with no title on the line.

Here is a treat for the Kendo Fans. One of many unmasking matches.

They set up this revenge match as a follow up. But the reporting was strange because the bill infers no rounds and does not mention falls. It was a fight to the finish with pain only.

However the report declares that Naggers got the winning fall.

Actually, in fairness to the journalist, I see the ad mentions the Hanley submission. Not very good from the promoter, Woodhouse I imagine.

Funny how Jim Hussey was always lurking around these bills. Coincidence?

In 1966 the promoters didn't value Nagasaki or appreciate his long term commitment and value. It's of no great surprise they would a low profile defeat that would go unnoticed. Well until Ron came along that is.

We are not seeing all the details.

Maybe there was a pre-bout hoo-ha with a special "stipulation" about no unmasking.

That casual journalist really should have covered the unmasking point. It wasn't Big King Al, was it?

Maybe at this stage the main men were Billy Joyce and Billy Robinson and it was unlikely that Kendo would go on to be as great as he was , But I am not sure about that as Kendo had a couple of wins against the ageing Joyce soon after. The thing is the two Billy's and Bartelli were Wryton men so Wryton had control. Maybe nobody gets to be unbeaten , it just seemed that way. I proved Kendo lost to Portz in Stampede at the end of the tour for Portz to take the belt back , again under the radar. The Count had his pride and he was the Count's trainee. The Count was so powerful that he could even do his own promotions or go on an Indy show if he so wished. Maybe he wanted his moment and the damage was very little indeed. In history March 1966 was Kendo's awakening , but maybe in reality it was really TV and Billy Howes , that period 1971/72.

But he was also good enough to be in japan in 68.

It's strange that bartelli had to unmask because he could not get back in the ring and then the same circumstance and no unmasking here.

I think there were more of these loses. I was doing something else , but one day looking through the Plunkett index. I should have made note. Robinson beat nagasaki circa 67/68 and a note "Nagasaki unable to continue". It was somewhere where I have not yet covered the newspapers. Maybe St Albans.

But whatever , I do love this find.

Maybe we simply need to consider the "tradition" that a masked man unmasks if defeated.

Maybe this was occasionally publicized pre-1966 - but in matches where the masked man didn't lose; or where he was to unmask. Otherwise, with no Kent Walton to spread the tradition, maybe nobody knew.

Maybe the tradition spread only when Kent started promoting it from 1966.

Not certain of this, but some of these losses are very surprising, even within the loose logic of professional wrestling.

It makes for great reading, but how accurate was the report? After all, it claims Nagasaki had submitted Bartelli in Hanley, which is untrue. Some of these casual local journalists didn't know their 'arf (nelson) from their elbow (slam).

You have done it again Ron.Is there no end to your skills of detection?Thanks (are you sure you are not Hercule Poirot re-incarneted)

A fascinating find Ron. There was so much going on that we were unaware of. If this had been high profile boxing with the publicity it courted this would have been back page headlines. In wrestling it just gave a few hundred Derby fans something to talk about on the way home. A good find. Well done and thanks.