Very rare for "our" wrestlers and wrestling still to hit the headlines in 2024, but:
Sweet implication that he Kamikaze crashed Haystacks!
I find the language strange as written by someone who was no doubt born this century. Like World of Sport was a tv "show." Terrible to be so young and so out of touch.....
Looks like Kendo wants one more last go, but unlikely to be at the Victoria Hall
Hi Terry. You will get more replies if you tell us your personal memories. What did you think when you first saw Nagasaki. Did he look frightening? When was it? Do you remember the opponent? How did you feel as he got away with his villainy.
Kendo Nagasaki,The Masked Wrestler appeared on ITV World of Sport with his manager George Gillette who grapped the microphone of The MC's and he is always the winner and going strong today.
He Won The World Wrestling Championship Belt over Wayne Bridges in 1987 at Bradford,Yorkshire for All Star Promotions in Liverpool on ITV Sport.
Kendo Nagasaki is the great icon of Professional Wrestling for many years.
Terry Christie,Sunderland
The Count made an 'appearance' in Kendo's latest story about him and George.
The Count would turn in his grave if this were to happen .... can his cut be sent to him beyond the grave?
So now Kendo is trying to set up another match. Hold onto your hats. This time it'll be Kendo and the spiritual presence of Count Bartelli v Bagga and his Croydon referee. He wants it to be at the Victoria Hall, Hanley.
Anyone at the Dudley show on Dec 28? Kendo was due to be appearing.
I wonder if he wants to die in the ring, at his age it could happen
Well he has given an interview already on BBC Radio Stoke and made it clear that he wants a one-on-one match with Bagga. I just wish he'd get a manager and have them do the talking.
Thank you for sharing the official publicity. It's a chance to see up close the gauntlets and helmet I mentioned previously.
It's great that Kendo Nagasaki is doing this. He could easily just do an interview, but given the 100% openly staged and non-competitive nature of modern professional wrestling, why not adapt to the current day and get involved in what we old geezers would term a nonsense match?
As long as there are fans who want to fork out to see the show, I say good luck to all concerned. Without the demand there would be no supply.
We are fortunate in having seen sixties and early seventies Nagasaki in some humdinger bouts when he was at his peak. We mustn't let this good fortune turn into churlishness with disdainful comments about a spectacle that is taking place 50+ years later in a wholly different context.
Kendo has already mentioned that.
Kendo Nagasaki will be appearing the Dudley Town Hall on Saturday 28th December for a face to face confrontation with the LDN promoter Sanjay Bagga! This is far from over!
Interview on BBC Radio Stoke today and he's due to appear in Dudley next month continuing his feud with Bagga. He wants a one-on-one match with him. "I love it" he said. Still claims he's the oldest professional wrestler to have a matchh but he's not. Dispute going on with Guinness over whether it's the longest pro career because of his being retired a few times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNFyySZvtJ8
And Paul just wrote about Masambula's Yorkshire accent: which we never ever heard at the time. He grunted when signing autographs. I was happy enough to believe he didn't speak much English. But clearly he too was wise enough.
Is it me but why just why
Do you think Kendo would have been such a legend if he'd spoke as he does now? Mystery Samurai warrior with the thick midlands accent.
Thank you.
Great to see him loving the fans - we never got that openly in our day.
First Nagasaki match I've seen without the helmet and "gauntlets". And where he speaks.
Never would have thought I'd see this day when I first saw Nagasaki in 1967.
Looks like the result leaves the door open for a rematch....
Here's the match - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7r-L1clGio
Thanks Hack. The photo is captioned as Nagasaki being thrown around the ring. But he is performing the throw. I wonder if he took any bumps.
Kendo Nagasaki's record breaking achievement in The Sun.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/31941944/wrestling-legend-kendo-nagasaki-guinness-world-record-oldest/
I am so glad he's safe.
Well 83, but our inside reporter tells us that Kendo did a good job tonight. The match went a decent length of time to give good value for money. Sanjay's team were apparently winners until disqualified for bringing their own salt into the ring and getting disqualified for throwing their own salt (Saxo?) into the eyes of Kendo to obtain the last fall.
The hall isn't well managed or marketed, Kendo's bout is an easy target. After the millions spent on the venue the writer presumes it should be more upmarket. Fairfield stayed in existence for so long because of wrestling shows , rock gigs and the like. It seems the woes connected with venue have nothing to do with the wrestling show at all.
It appears Inside Croydon aren't wrestling fans. https://insidecroydon.com/2024/11/08/kendo-nagasakis-return-bout-could-be-knock-out-for-fairfield/
Features such great lines as: "Staging bogus wrestling shows in Croydon’s premier arts venue, after years of hard work to try to re-establish the Fairfield’s once worldwide reputation for classical music, will do nothing to address growing concerns over BHLive’s feeble programming at the under-used venue."
More from Kendo on the eve of his return.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/tv/kendo-nagasaki-i-would-wear-my-mask-in-the-shower-to-maintain-the-mystery/ar-AA1uBHGe
The day for this must be coming round soon?
I'm up for a bout, just for old times' sake. Blondie Barrett! Are you tagging with me or Kendo?
A long interview with Kendo starts at 2:07:15
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0jq2z6d?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile
Do I really want to perpetuate this?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0jwc76m?at_link_type=web_link&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_format=video&at_link_origin=BBC_Radio_Stoke&at_ptr_name=facebook_page&at_campaign_type=owned&at_link_id=2B449786-857E-11EF-A9F6-A607F6BF2CA8&at_medium=social&at_bbc_team=editorial
More publicity today:
But lots of new news buried deep in the article. A very nice article indeed.
As the promoter of LDN Wrestling I can say it is the one and only Kendo Nagasaki (Peter Thornley). I will refund every single person in the building if isn't Peter in the mask in the ring at Croydon! There is a lot of interest and lots of tickets have been sold. His appearance in April at the Fairfield Halls, was a sold out event with the meet and greets taking 92 mins.
Matey Dave writes
With the news Peter Thornley is about to jump back into the nearest ring I must admit tAnglo’s headline “Milking it still at 83” was sheer brilliance and very honest. Up there with the news that “Mamma Mia 3” is being produced to milk the public.
Many know my feelings on Peter Thornley and his gimmick with many having to job for him and make him look good. I am very much concerned that his comeback will cause some problems. To be honest would not be surprised if behind the mask there will a jobbing actor.
With the news our Peter is running the Trade Hotel in Blackpool I can see many of the older fans taking their grandchildren there to meet the great man. Our Peter claims the hotel for teaching the local LGBT community the art of Zen Buddhism. Read the reviews.
He worked hard for 25 plus then another 25 years to keep his original gimmick alive and create mystique. In recent years, where the Americans have abandoned any pretence that professional wrestling is in any way legitimate, he has creatively identified several ways to exploit the gimmick further, including this appearance.
For youngsters under 50 who never witnessed the ring entrance and the close-up effect of his beautiful silk costume, this will be an undiminished delight. They'll get sword swishing and salt, all delivered with the aplomb that this is indeed real, and they will sink back in their seats and wonder. In the gassy, loud and brash world of the WWF and its offshoots, this silence will stand out still. I hope the same little leather bag is still there and gets a diamond jubilee rosette of its own.
Nowadays they are all jobbers. It's not hard to imagine a tag scenario where he has minimal contact and takes zero bumps but inflicts a few "killer" chops. He can interfere from his tag rope, quarrel with the ref and his partner, and passively crumple to allow a trusted foe to get his mask up to his nostrils. He can hold his hands to his ears to block out the boos from the audience (I always enjoyed that bit). Let's just hope he runs with the original black mask with the thin white bars. From modern times he can do the red eyes thing if that works, but I would go without.
I am sure he will enjoy himself; and a lot of people will be pleased, though I can hear them already whingeing afterwards "it wasn't the real Nagasaki, he didn't do the kamikaze crash."
Good luck to him I say, and all respect for adapting to the times and deriving and providing enjoyment. If his jealously guarded persona - the word gimmick really doesn't do it justice - can earn him another monkey or two, that's great, too.
This is about more than just Nagasaki. Only yesterday we saw the national press featuring the names, faces and details (mangled of course) of a few the great names from the Heritage years: Les Kellett, Steve Logan, Jackie Pallo, Adrian Street Esquire, Mal Kirk, Johnny Saint and Mick McManus. In what other context could we expect such a high level of exposure in 2024? Maybe the Nagasaki show will stimulate further interest in our proper professional wrestling of the past.
Matey Dave has written:
"Our peter surely does not need the money, now is the time he needs to spend his twilight years in a rocking chair dreaming of past challenges sipping Complan. Wonder who will job for him?"
For once I agree with Matey Dave. What on earth would we be saying about our 1960s wrestling if we had been asked to pay to watch an 82 year old man?
Why lure of the lights,right move,kendos mentor when on not for the money but the lure of the lights,I witnessed the sad spectacle of Geoff arguing over results he could buy and sell the guy he was arguing with so why. I believe I know why there's a kinda rush and if you give 100 percent great buzz. The buzz waned in the late 70s so why does kendo dothis
The Daily Mail has really got into this during the course of the day and have appreciably expanded their article now to include Pallo and:
Some all-new photos. Well worth a look here:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13787439/wrestling-british-world-sport-kendo-nagasaki-fa-cup.html
Not the world's oldest wrestler, Dory Funk jr is getting back into ring at the age of 84 in a tag match in Japan.
Is this true from the Daily Mail? I don't think so at all: