Just before The book comes out I thought it would be interesting to get to Heritage roots and see what memories we have of pre-tv Nagasaki.
For my part I remember we were fascinated by his skirt. And we were unable to pronounce his name. When you went to a live show then and the wrestler hadn't been on tv, there were no Waltonisms in existence to tell us what to think.
I remember the move he favoured was the push back to the ropes and spring back into the crossed arms.
Oh, and by the way, in the sixties he WAS Japanese. There was no doubt about that. His skin was so pale. No doubt at all.
What other memories do you have of Sixties Nagasaki?
I had half expected Kendo to have fought Hussey most nights that first week. Just shows you never can tell.
As it happens he had fought Bengochea in Wales on the Wednesday so they should have had an understanding for that Wryton match on the Friday.
Other opponents that first week were Francis Sullivan and Terry O'Neil.
I first saw him against Jim Hussey in late 1965 and then in 66 against Johnny Allen and Bill Rawlings just before I packed in working at St James Hall. Although I had become a bit jaded with the wrestling at that time and nothing new appeared to be happening Kendo was the one who stood out as a believable and uncompromising villain who could seriously induce fear into the heart of the punter. There was the salt and the charging across the ring with the sword but in the ring there was someone who could become a main attraction.
First saw Naggers v Mike Marino about 1969/70 as a very young lad! Double county out was the result. I was mezmorised by the sight of a wrestler in a mask!
Thanks Bernard,
Yes, Jim Hussey seems to have been universally respected. Being the first to face Nagasaki was quite a responsibility.
If you want to transfer this thread to Jumping Jim, I saw him a few times in the 1950's.
Very short for a heavy man. Broad shoulders and a black moustache.
With his weight I was very surprised to see him drop kick tall opponents.
Good hard wrestler, never went more than 2 rounds clean when I saw him. Lots of dirty little tricks behind the ref's back.
Apologies for digressing, to the O.P.
Hussey, Hussey, Hussey .... there's the one we really know very little about. Even though he seems to be very obvious. The man is everywhere.
The book tells us that he also wrestled in tournaments promoted by Jack Atherton very early on.
I don't think any of the danger came from the Wryton regulars , friends of Bartelli.
Kendo did Japan , I think with Hussey. I think he must have worked well with Howes.
It's gossip really from the back of Kings Hall. I was told he had to be a bit wary of Streiger and also that Thornton did not like him having to always be the main man.
I think the clues lie in who did he not fight often. I have managed to find him meeting Streiger a few times but perhaps not in the 1970's. Similar Thornton. These guys also were not regular Wryton. Both went to North America and were more free agent status.
As little as I know , I feel confident that he worked well with Robinson , Wall ,Kirk , Angus , Davies , Howes , Roberts , StClair, Gargantua , Hussey , Bull Davis, Bartelli and more.
It was not just multiple bouts but dozens , maybe even 50 or more with some of them.
I would imagine any wrestler who got regular work off a Joint Promotion Promoter would not rock the boat and in any case be a real pro in what they did.
It's just an opinion , but maybe the grudges came from workers who had uncertain work with a regular promoter.
As far as 1965 goes (His first full year) Kendo was very much under the wing of Wryton as had been Bartelli.
Kendo knows best...…..will he tell us.
I think there was a core of hard wrestlers who agreed to go at it hammer and tongs in the ring, thereby extending their mutual respect and friendship.
Jumping Jim Hussey seems to have been a key figure. Then Billy Howes, seemingly Roy St Clair, possibly Bull Davis. Ct Bartelli in the fiften pre-Nagasaki yaers, too. All had numeous bouts with Nagasaki. He was one of the lads in this respect.
To maintain his unbeaten run, and for the losers to have lost to his menace so believingly, well, Nagasaki must have been very very much in their debt and probably demonstrated this in some ways.
All that time he wore a mask ... let's face it, any or all of the above could have ripped it off.
Wrestling is/was a work. Nagasaki, with the meticulous bout planning he was known for, was quite simply exceptional at making it look real - all within outlandish garb and gimmick.
So much to discover.
Hi ANGLO- wasn't one of ROBERT'S victories over KENDO by the only Fall in a 1 Fall Contest and as
such NAGASAKI wasn't required to Unmask-I seem to recall from somewhere?
Regarding the 2 ST.CLAIRS' quickest ever Fall on KENDO at BELLE VUE-do you know what? I'm
not SO sure this was cooked-up 'in the back'-KENDO did a lot of remonstrating about this 'score' with
the Ref. and proceeded to have a lot to 'say' about it by giving ROY a TORRID time in the Bout. The
impression I got at the time was that seemingly KENDO thought he'd been made a fool of-but if not
then great acting! Blimey my seat wasn't even warm yet after coming back from the Bar-and a minute
later I'd have missed that 'score' altogether!!
Interesting point RON you pose!-in Matches I saw BILLY HOWES always tried to 'rough-up'' KENDO
and BUCKTAYLOR64 has just told us that on the 21st this month at the 'Keepers of the Salt
get-together at the Retreat KENDO Himself actually admitted that BILLY ROBINSON DID rough him
up at RILEY'S GYM and subsequently in the Ring!!
Also I saw him in a couple of Fights with an early MAL KIRK-one which ended in a 1-1 draw at the
KING GEORGES HALL BLACKBURN I think-which were far from a walk in the park for KENDO!!
i always try to bear in mind that despite the 'Scripts' some Wrestlers plain DIDN'T like some other
Wrestlers too much Part of Life!!
A bit like JOE FRAZIER who often thought nothing of whacking Opponents in the Goolies!
ABE GINSBERG was another who always went in HARD!!
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Always impressed but I was left wondering how he might manage to survive with the real big heavies.
Of course I believed it all in those days.
Sixties Naggers was very slim at the waist , aggressive , slippery , violent, lucky and most of all mysterious.
My real awakening was seeing him on TV and somehow I had been unaware that he had fought all the best certainly as early as 1966.
1964 bills are hard to find but there are plenty after that pre the Bartelli unmasking.
By the time I saw him I had no idea how much he had already fought Bill Robinson and Albert Wall etc.
The matches with Robinson at Newcastle I highlighted in a thread recently.
It was too much to expect but I don't think in his book , he will reveal the names of the workers who tried to rough him up or worse , or dressing room spats.
Maybe that is unfair of me. I do hope he will give us his thoughts on Stampede.
Surprised to see so few of us saw Nagasaki in the sixties.
Interesting comments as usual from Main Mask. Interesting in that we can start to trace a thread of close collaboration between Roy St Clair and Nagasaki. We know that Roy and Judo Pete were two wrestlers to hold surprising victories over unmasked Nagasaki around 1970; two apiece, in fact.
So they cooked up this exciting melée together, did they MM? How fascinating.
Nagasaki's coming out this month has started to teach us a lot. "Started". No doubt we have much more to learn.
As Hack, I and many others have mentioned, we all kind of reckoned he was some kind of loose cannon, not particularly loved by the rest and not really loving the others. But now the lid is starting to creak open and we see these relationships starting to emerge. Secrets guarded so carefully over 50 years. A game of Hide & Seek where we have simply lost, given up, and had to be shown the concealed object.
The Roy & Naggers Show is one that no doubt holds many more episodes.
The lack of TV coverage made the first appearance of Kendo all the more spectacular. My first experience was a photo. Not familiar with all this eastern martial arts stuff I found it hard to make out what was what.
When he turned up at Preston my recollection isn't so much of the wrestling. It was the entrance. So slow. So menacing. Then in the ring the way he just stood there. Disinterested or unconnected with what was going on.
This man knew how to work us. He was a hit. Being able to wrestle was just a bonus.
Well ANGLO- Yes he could have been Japanese-which was intriguing-there are plenty of WHITE
Japanese on the Northern Island of HOKKAIDO!!
I remember once at BELLE VUE-saw him in a 2 Fall Contest against ROY ST.CLAIR!-TONY
accompanied his Brother into the Ring!-The Bell rang BOTH of them jumped on NAGASAKI-upended
him in double body slam-ROY Splashed him and KENDO was 1-0 down after 30 seconds!!
Outrageous-the Ref ALLOWED it and the Crowd went berserk!!-KENDO still went on to Win but
No-one expected that Opening!!-He did more Judo throw moves in the '60's than in the next decade
and used a wider range of Wrestling Moves-one I saw a lot was his Submission reverse elevated
Bear Hug-he beat BARTELLI with this as the only score in a 2 Fall Bout! His early Wrestling 'Style'
that I saw was Powerfully Aggressive!-He himself has described it as 'Robust'-Article in the Chap-I
think-and said also that he was asked 'to tone things down for T.V. I saw him literally demolish many
Opponents-and from the front row you could HEAR the bones 'crunching'!!
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