Peter William Thornley (born 19 October 1941)[4] is an English retired professional wrestler who was best known for the ring character Kendo Nagasaki.
[7] Thornley wore a mask for most of his career, the one significant exception being several months following a December 1977 televised voluntary unmasking ceremony.
[9] Thornley gave occasional interviews as Kendo Nagasaki, usually photographed fully masked or with his face hidden, and often speaking through a representative.
[1] Until the publication of his autobiography in 2018, Thornley and his close associates frowned on the use of his legal name, preferring that his out-of-character self be referred to as "Yogensha" (Japanese for seer).
[2][12] Nagasaki's most notable achievement during the 1960s was in March 1966 when he defeated and unmasked Count Bartelli (Geoff Condliffe) at the Victoria Hall in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.
[3] Kendo Nagasaki made his ITV debut in May 1971 on the FA Cup Final special edition of World of Sport with a victory over Wayne Bridges.
Howes showed little sign of actually wrestling in the end stages, and was solely intent on removing the mask, which he finally did and Nagasaki quickly left the ring covering his face.
In December 1975, again facing Big Daddy (as he was by then only named) on television, Nagasaki was successfully unmasked (although he nonetheless went on to win the bout), starting a violent feud between the two.
However, before the match could take place, in September 1978 he retired on doctor's orders from the ring and began a new career in rock management.
[2] He also formed a tag team with Mark 'Rollerball' Rocco but this fell apart after a televised match in early 1988 resulting in a lengthy and violent feud between the two which would rage on at live shows during the first few years after the end of British Wrestling on TV.
[2] Over the next few years, Ryan continued to manage King Kendo (with Dale Preston taking over the role from Clarke who had also retired in 1993) in feuds with various old enemies of the real Nagasaki.
[2] This run ended in December 2001 with a formal retirement match, a Four Corners bout, again at the Victoria Hall, in which he faced and defeated Mason, Doug Williams and Dean Allmark.
[21] This was following a (kayfabe) war of words on social media and at shows regarding the Sword of Excellence which had remained in Bagga's possession since the above 2007 storyline.
[22] In December 2012, Kendo Nagasaki appeared in the BBC documentary "Timeshift — When Wrestling Was Golden: Grapples, Grunts and Grannies".
At his private estate, Moor Court Hall, near Cheadle, Staffordshire he established Lee Rigby House as a retreat for families coping with bereavement.
[1][29] However, Thornley later faced legal issues with the estate (relating to the above-mentioned land dispute) which threatened its forced sale, as a result of which he asked Lyn Rigby, who was a permanent resident in the House, either to buy or to rent the site.