The way I see it, it’s a such a badass thing to do. Be it that the mask is a sacred thing, taking it off before an audience yourself instead of losing it in a bet match is so amazing. Especially in this ceremony -like style, it reminds me of seppuku. This guy knew how live up to the gimmick. What a fucking master.
I know exactly what you mean, often when someone with a mask, a wrestler, a stunt artists or whatever takes it off and you see their face they then just seem like any old Joe and you think 'okay...nothing out of the ordinary', when Kung Fu got beat by Mick McManus he took his mask off and it was like 'big deal' but not so with Kendo Nagasaki, when he first took off his mask in full, not only does he not look at all like any old, he actually seemed even more enigmatic without the mask :O
He put Robbie Brookside under such a diabolical and evil spell that Robbie turned and fought his own tag partner, and fellow Liverpool Lad, Doc Dean. Doc was so so traumatised that he failed to order his customary melted cheese on beans at Keele motorway services on the way home. Brookside himself claims that his body and mind were under the control of Kendo - and that no power in the universe could stop him from attacking his own tag partner. Things had calmed down by 4 am as they made Pot Noodles together in the comfort of their Kirkdale kitchen.
The Kendo Nagasaki that wrestled in America was a different person using the same name. The Kendo you saw in Portland was played by Kazuo Sakurada and was legitimately Japanese. He wore facepaint instead of a mask.
I think the same. Not sure what year this was but sclera lenses? This is very weird. I didn't knew sclera lenses had been around for that long. Maybe for movie FX's. But how this guy was able to get some? Maybe he had a connection in the movie industry.
You can get colour contacts, but they would be hard lenses and not terribly comfortable. The Incredible Hulk TV show mentioned how actor Bill Bixby (who was very nearsighted in real life) absolutely hated the lenses and couldn't stand wearing them for very long, and most of the people associated with the show has said that contact lens technology in the 70s was fairly primitive.
Am I the only one who thinks Kendo's face sorta resembles a bald Henry Rollins with huge pupils????? * btw...the 2 guys doing faceplants was hilarious!
Been a wrestling fan for decades, it was my late Father who took me to the events, I remember with fond memories. Kendo - right, this question has had me curious for quite a time, his eyes, as an artist myself, using makeup and SFX with contact lenses, I'm intrigued how did someone wear full sclera lenses for that amount of time, plus in the 70's they would have been the mega expensive hard compound types, that you could only keep in for 15 mins? Unlike the soft latex types that are used now, certainly incredible to then go and have a scrap with them in! Unless his eyes are as tough as he STILL is!
Saturday itv world of sport, ken walton, 4pm loved it. Began watching wrestling with my grandfather and father and then with my son and grandson. Albeit WWE with son and grandson. Seen British and WWE live. Luckily. And met the most of them.
Huh? I'm pretty sure it's him. There have been two wrestlers to use the name/gimmick, however - The other Kendo (who's real name was Kazuo Sakurada) wrestled in America & Japan and was legitimately Japanese. Also, instead of a mask, he wore face paint.
Saturday Afternoon… wasn’t it eh? 4pm World Of Sport.. Wrestling… Marvelous.. Small boys using jumpers for goal posts .. Cheesy Peas for tea… don’t quote me on that …
The mystery is revealed! how Kendo Nagasaki lost his finger, was it in a samurai battle, in a war......no actually it was in a industrial workplace accident
That's exactly what I was coming here to say. Kendo was mentioned in conversation to me recently and I was certain I'd seen this and everyone said no, he was always a mystery. Did the commentators not realise who he was when that happened and referred to him by name as a wrestler from the past? I seem to remember them all going nuts at the time but I was about 8 and my memory is hazy now. Obviously pre-internet, the likes of this unveiling would all have been far less known of when Howes pulled his mask off at a later date. I'd love to know the timeline of it all.
How could anyone been surprised? The mask had been taken from him before I believe on more than one occassion (obviously rigged). He was Peter Thornley who had been wrestling since the early 60's, Nagasaki didn't come into being until 70 or 71. He had a long career until late 80's or maybe 90's.
I have a memory of him having his mask taken off by another wrestler during a bout and the commentators all going mad about it recognising him. I swear I saw this happen but would have no idea of the timeline other than me seeing it in the 80s. It could well have been a repeat of World of Sport from the 70s I was watching as a kid.
He'd had it removed before part way and totaly off a few times, but he didn't hang about for pictures. He's still turning up for the legends bit in 2024.
An truly fascinating insight into authentic Japanese culture there!!! God UK wrestling was bargain basement. Absolutely cheap as chips. I remember when it was on the way out in the 80's on Saturday mornings. But back in the 70's millions were tuning in to watch it over their cornflakes.
The miracle he thought it would create more media attention etc. As it was, once the mystery had gone Kendo/Peter didn’t have the same draw. 'Max Crabtree, promoter and Big Daddy’s brother, told him “All that good work that you've put in, you'll lose it all,” later he said “He didn't have a very unusual face,' he told me years later. 'He was just a nice-looking sort of guy, but nothing significant. But he was so determined to unmask that we decided to do it properly, at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall where he was hottest.” Fortunately, audiences have short memories, and this was the 70s so it was only the very rich who had video recorders, and even then I doubt they’d have bothered keeping 5 mins of wonky footage on Kendo’s real face! So when he put the mask back on he became a mystery again!
The way I see it, it’s a such a badass thing to do. Be it that the mask is a sacred thing, taking it off before an audience yourself instead of losing it in a bet match is so amazing. Especially in this ceremony -like style, it reminds me of seppuku. This guy knew how live up to the gimmick. What a master
@alexreid Wolverhampton has sacred powers to prevent a newly-unmasked wrestler's career from tanking. If Psicosis and Juventud Guerrera had unmasked in Wolverhampton they would be multi-time world champs by now. Rey Misterio Jr (I refuse to use WWE spelling) actually DID unmask in Wolverhampton. WCW used Ted Turner's money to change the decor of the whole city to make it look like America. Then they changed it back to looking like a shithole.
If you’re going to conduct a ceremony of such monumental scale and importance, the natural venue should always be the Civic Hall, Wolverhampton...
Of course.
The spiritual hub of the universe!
Hoping to make a pilgramidge one day. Though i am well aware to book in advance such is the demand.
Too right. Some great nights at the civic
Idiot
Any generation and any pro wrestling organisation- this is the best unmasking of a pro wrestler of all time
I didn't expect him to look as fitting the part as that, impressed
Yep
He looked like a god come down to earth
The way I see it, it’s a such a badass thing to do. Be it that the mask is a sacred thing, taking it off before an audience yourself instead of losing it in a bet match is so amazing. Especially in this ceremony -like style, it reminds me of seppuku.
This guy knew how live up to the gimmick.
What a fucking master.
chainsaw teddy bear- He was unmasked- by Haystacks and Big Daddy.
Are you American?
@@keithdeley7236 Me???
From the mysterious, nay mystical Civic Hall in Wolverhampton!
what?
Looks like they raided the Dr who costume dept at the BBC
I love the shouting from the crowd "Just get on with it!"
I know exactly what you mean, often when someone with a mask, a wrestler, a stunt artists or whatever takes it off and you see their face they then just seem like any old Joe and you think 'okay...nothing out of the ordinary', when Kung Fu got beat by Mick McManus he took his mask off and it was like 'big deal' but not so with Kendo Nagasaki, when he first took off his mask in full, not only does he not look at all like any old, he actually seemed even more enigmatic without the mask :O
He put Robbie Brookside under such a diabolical and evil spell that Robbie turned and fought his own tag partner, and fellow Liverpool Lad, Doc Dean. Doc was so so traumatised that he failed to order his customary melted cheese on beans at Keele motorway services on the way home. Brookside himself claims that his body and mind were under the control of Kendo - and that no power in the universe could stop him from attacking his own tag partner. Things had calmed down by 4 am as they made Pot Noodles together in the comfort of their Kirkdale kitchen.
I remember seeing Robbie Brookside working in the Memphis TN area with William Regal.
Blimey he looks scarier without the mask !
i remember that,seeing those red eyes scared the crap out of me....
Secret retreat - flat above a chippy in Burnley!
He's got a fuck off great mansion.
Seriously Kendo is richer than Jesus
Don't be so sure mate. Kendo does have a Retreat that I have visited a few times. It's a beautiful place too
@@DrJReefer And a better wrestler!
@@martinwood744 Jesus has the better cross body.
The Kendo Nagasaki that wrestled in America was a different person using the same name. The Kendo you saw in Portland was played by Kazuo Sakurada and was legitimately Japanese. He wore facepaint instead of a mask.
He just died not long ago.
Remember watching this when I was about 11 or 12 and was creeped out. Always was my favourite wrestler of that era
Now there's a gimmick that deserves a comeback.
Complete with slightly poncy British manager.
Now we all know what Henry Rollins did before Black Flag.
He looks like young Henry Rollins
Dr J Reefer Come to think of it he does, Henry right after he joined Black Flag.
Never heard of Henry
he never died....
@@jacksugden8190 the hoover I’ve got one of them
Oh... the drama....
Last time I was this excited was when I tried on a pair of gloves in Woolworths.
That's real inspirational, I've always respect a guy like kendo Nagasaki, just like the original kendo Nagasaki.
There could be no finer venue for this historic occasion than . . . Wolverhampton
I didn't know you could get coloured contacts back then! I remember seeing this live, and thinking he really was a Japanese samurai!
I think the same. Not sure what year this was but sclera lenses? This is very weird. I didn't knew sclera lenses had been around for that long. Maybe for movie FX's. But how this guy was able to get some? Maybe he had a connection in the movie industry.
There the same trey as the alien in the 70's horror prey. Bowie used some in man who fell to earth.
You can get colour contacts, but they would be hard lenses and not terribly comfortable. The Incredible Hulk TV show mentioned how actor Bill Bixby (who was very nearsighted in real life) absolutely hated the lenses and couldn't stand wearing them for very long, and most of the people associated with the show has said that contact lens technology in the 70s was fairly primitive.
@@eliezervelezful maybe the promoter asked for those from some sources like the British film industry
Such better showmanship back then.
EdCourney q
An awesome and important event in wrestling history. We are not worthy.
hound dog Jonny- We are worthy- get a life!
Am I the only one who thinks Kendo's face sorta resembles a bald Henry Rollins with huge pupils?????
* btw...the 2 guys doing faceplants was hilarious!
The man who handed Andre the Giant his first loss.
In Dudley, of all places.
Looks like a cross between Hennry Rollins and David Carradine's Kung Fu !
True
Been a wrestling fan for decades, it was my late Father who took me to the events, I remember with fond memories.
Kendo - right, this question has had me curious for quite a time, his eyes, as an artist myself, using makeup and SFX with contact lenses, I'm intrigued how did someone wear full sclera lenses for that amount of time, plus in the 70's they would have been the mega expensive hard compound types, that you could only keep in for 15 mins?
Unlike the soft latex types that are used now, certainly incredible to then go and have a scrap with them in!
Unless his eyes are as tough as he STILL is!
Saturday itv world of sport, ken walton, 4pm loved it. Began watching wrestling with my grandfather and father and then with my son and grandson. Albeit WWE with son and grandson. Seen British and WWE live. Luckily. And met the most of them.
0:46 'Its' forbidden for anyone else to wear this particular hairstyle.' Wow! That's a bummer.
Huh? I'm pretty sure it's him. There have been two wrestlers to use the name/gimmick, however - The other Kendo (who's real name was Kazuo Sakurada) wrestled in America & Japan and was legitimately Japanese. Also, instead of a mask, he wore face paint.
This is sooo cool!! love it
i was an avid wrestling fan in the 70's and 80's but i don't remember seeing this!
Saturday Afternoon… wasn’t it eh? 4pm World Of Sport.. Wrestling… Marvelous.. Small boys using jumpers for goal posts .. Cheesy Peas for tea… don’t quote me on that …
The mystery is revealed! how Kendo Nagasaki lost his finger, was it in a samurai battle, in a war......no actually it was in a industrial workplace accident
Think you're getting Kendo mixed up with Tony Iommi :-)
Isn't the ring the workplace?..)
Did Dave Allen work in the same place? ;)
real name Peter Thornley, not very oriental though.....
Legend.
I recall Billy Howes pulled his mask off during a wrestling bout on the telly!
That's exactly what I was coming here to say. Kendo was mentioned in conversation to me recently and I was certain I'd seen this and everyone said no, he was always a mystery.
Did the commentators not realise who he was when that happened and referred to him by name as a wrestler from the past? I seem to remember them all going nuts at the time but I was about 8 and my memory is hazy now.
Obviously pre-internet, the likes of this unveiling would all have been far less known of when Howes pulled his mask off at a later date. I'd love to know the timeline of it all.
They say he played the sax on Baker Street.
How could anyone been surprised? The mask had been taken from him before I believe on more than one occassion (obviously rigged).
He was Peter Thornley who had been wrestling since the early 60's, Nagasaki didn't come into being until 70 or 71. He had a long career until late 80's or maybe 90's.
I have a memory of him having his mask taken off by another wrestler during a bout and the commentators all going mad about it recognising him. I swear I saw this happen but would have no idea of the timeline other than me seeing it in the 80s. It could well have been a repeat of World of Sport from the 70s I was watching as a kid.
@@rossmatheson4303 He was unmasked by Big Daddy at Solihull in the 70's. I was there when it happened.
@@rossmatheson4303 Big daddy in a televised bout in 1975 removed the mask in which he was revealed
@@roytheboy1963 Must've been a repeat I was watching in the 80s then. I wasn't born when the original unmasking happened.
He'd had it removed before part way and totaly off a few times, but he didn't hang about for pictures.
He's still turning up for the legends bit in 2024.
Did they soak his mask in petrol or something? It went up like a bloody rocket!
A bloke on first name terms with the great man should really know the answer.
This was back in the day, you cant expect it to be as entertaining as WWE.
No, it surpasses most of WWE.
I love old school British wrestling pomp and circumstance
it's sid little without his glasses on...
That was freaking cool.
It’s Phil Anselmo from Pantera! 😂🤘
all that and it turns out to be louis spence!!!
Hahaha jesus christ
What was the reason for him Unmasking? Did they feel the gimmick needed a refresh? Was he just tired of wearing the mask?
That was another Kendo Nagasaki. This one never wrestled out of England.
I was in tearsv
Is he now the Stig ?
😲”Get on with it.”😲
All I can say is, it's a good thing I never saw this as a kid. It would have frightened me silly.
A secret retreat of meditation, he lives in Stoke on Trent !
His real name is Peter Thornley. What a brilliant showman. A very hard man . Both in aout of the ring
hare kṛiṣhṇa hare kṛiṣhṇa
kṛiṣhṇa kṛiṣhṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma
rāma rāma hare hare
Jeez.
Aren't there 2 kendo Nagasaki
I hazard a guess not many people had a hairstyle such as Kendo Nagasaki so not many people would have done it.
I always thought he was called was Ken Bomb
An truly fascinating insight into authentic Japanese culture there!!! God UK wrestling was bargain basement. Absolutely cheap as chips. I remember when it was on the way out in the 80's on Saturday mornings. But back in the 70's millions were tuning in to watch it over their cornflakes.
Not one straight guy in the ring
is kendo still alive? someone please reply
I think both Kendos are alive
He is, as I met him yesterday at a charity event, he is healthy & doing very well 👍🏽
This Kendo is alive. The Japanese one died in January 2020.
Yes, very much alive. His name is Peter Thornley. He does some great charity work.
Thank you, Nagasaki.
That's not him.
He is Japanese former wrestler, born name is Kazuo Sakurada.
@@123tenzan Nope. False info. The wrestler in the video is Peter Thonley, the original Kendo - OBVIOUSLY
its 2024......this is sooooooo exciting!!!
does anyone know why he unmasked? it just seems like such a weird thing to do because he still wore the mask afterwards.
The miracle he thought it would create more media attention etc. As it was, once the mystery had gone Kendo/Peter didn’t have the same draw.
'Max Crabtree, promoter and Big Daddy’s brother, told him “All that good work that you've put in, you'll lose it all,” later he said “He didn't have a very unusual face,' he told me years later. 'He was just a nice-looking sort of guy, but nothing significant. But he was so determined to unmask that we decided to do it properly, at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall where he was hottest.”
Fortunately, audiences have short memories, and this was the 70s so it was only the very rich who had video recorders, and even then I doubt they’d have bothered keeping 5 mins of wonky footage on Kendo’s real face! So when he put the mask back on he became a mystery again!
It was to prove he was genuine Japanese...
The way I see it, it’s a such a badass thing to do. Be it that the mask is a sacred thing, taking it off before an audience yourself instead of losing it in a bet match is so amazing. Especially in this ceremony -like style, it reminds me of seppuku.
This guy knew how live up to the gimmick.
What a master
They simply wanted fuel source for their mini ring bbq
When he unmasked, should never had wrestled again.
2:49--guy's wearing a suit to the wrestling matches...these days you wear a shirt with a collar you're risking your life
Ring looks small for a wrestling match....
Looks good to me,
when was he unmasked because if he was wrestling in the late 70s and 80s surely he would be an older man also was he not bigger and fatter than this?
Yeah. He put on loads of weight.
the original Question Mark?
why are his eyes like that?
Kendo Nagaski was just strange
What a load of"cobblers" !
Classic.
The voice of the guy speaking the introduction and wearing a wig, makeup and a cloak, sounds to me like Steve Coogan the UK comedian 🤔
well that is not the original kendo check this one out where big daddy un masks him in about 1975
1975 BIG DADDY REMOVES MASK OF KENDO NAGASAKI
Actually it is the same guy there Mr Magoo
Its the same person .
my hometown
The Demon of hell....
yes he is
He was not the original kendo Nagasaki
What guy with blonde hair?
looniechewnz his manager/partner Gorgeous George
yes
@alexreid Wolverhampton has sacred powers to prevent a newly-unmasked wrestler's career from tanking. If Psicosis and Juventud Guerrera had unmasked in Wolverhampton they would be multi-time world champs by now.
Rey Misterio Jr (I refuse to use WWE spelling) actually DID unmask in Wolverhampton. WCW used Ted Turner's money to change the decor of the whole city to make it look like America. Then they changed it back to looking like a shithole.
looks like the inspiration of the kane unmasking
No Diggity Adrian street = goldust
wait.....is dis Kane??
antsman88 it doesn't even look like kane
It's Kanedo Nagasaki.
@dirkbogarde44 he does..is he wearing colored contact lenses?
Wots with the eyes......?
Kendo is currently in a relationship with a man. And getting bum rushed.
He was married to a woman, Yvette, for a while but has since come out as transexual.
also the red eye gimmick he looks like he has contact lens in.
Big daddie a bullie no need to unmask him ,
What a performance... his eyes are BLACK!!
was my nans paper boy,back in day,,,
RIP kendo
red contact lenses
Mortal Combat comes to mind?
20 years early
lol it's phil oakey
IS THE TATTOO REAL?????????/
Put the effin mask back on, please!
because he is an albino
he wass my dads fav wrestler back in thee day xD