All Sportsmen and Sportswomen risk Injury by dint of the Physical Nature of Sport!
Even the Very BEST Top Athletes are not Immune from these Risks especially within
Contact Sports such as Professional Wrestling! Even the Fittest and the Strongest and
the seemingly Invincible can come a cropper due to Serious Injury!
Thus it was with KENDO NAGASAKI at the very time that he was at the Top and still
only in his mid-'30's!
FRIDAY the 4TH JUNE 1976 was a Fateful Day for the MASKED CEREMONIAL
SWORD BEARER!
He was involved in a Match at LIVERPOOL STADIUM against BRITISH HEAVYWEIGHT
CHAMPION-GWYNN DAVIES!
Accidents happen in the Heat of Battle-and a hard and stiff FOREARM SMASH from
DAVIES caught KENDO on the side of his Neck as he was charging in to Attack!
The after effects of this Blow did not manifest themselves until the following Morning
and more or less right away NAGASAKI knew he was in Trouble!
This Injury and Condition was to subsequently force KENDO into an early Retirement
two years later and an 8 Year Lay-Off!
Just as the Day 20 Years later when BRET the HITMAN HART received a massive STIFF
KICK from BILL GOLDBERG in WCW in the States which ended his Wrestling Career-
that Fateful JUNE Night in LIVERPOOL was to change the course of KENDO NAGASAKI'S
Career forever!!
Article/Programme Note Details to follow!!
MAIN MASK
and wrestlings loss was the music industry's gain !