Peter William Thornley (born 19 October 1941) is an English professional wrestler who is best known for the ring character Kendo Nagasaki. The character of Nagasaki was a Japanese samurai with a mysterious past and reputed powers of healing and hypnosis. He was one of the biggest draws of all time in British wrestling, especially in the mid-1970s and the turn of the 1980s to 1990s.
Thornley wore a mask for most of his career, the one significant exception being several months following a December 1977 televised voluntary unmasking ceremony. He had originally retired in 1978 but returned to competition briefly in 1981 and then again from 1986 to 1993. Thereafter, he made sporadic wrestling appearances.
Thornley gave occasional interviews as Kendo Nagasaki, usually photographed fully masked or with his face hidden, and often speaking through a representative. The character's voice was never heard in public. His identity as the man behind Kendo Nagasaki was first revealed publicly by a plumber who visited his house in the 1970s. His identity became more widely known after a 2002 court case over a land dispute with his neighbour. Thornley never spoke publicly about being Kendo Nagasaki until the publication of his autobiography in 2018.
Away from the ring, Thornley has been a successful business entrepreneur and also had a career in rock management for around a decade from the late 1970s to the late 1980s, managing Cuddly Toys and Laura Pallas and running his own recording studio.
Relationship with character of Kendo Nagasaki 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). According to his official website, the Nagasaki character is "in fact, a spirit guide and sensei ... who appears by being channelled through an otherwise ordinary man" i.e., Thornley/Yogensha
At the height of his career, Thornley discussed the relationship with his character in an interview for TVTimes in 1976 in which he asserted that the Nagasaki character was "the spirit of a samurai warrior who, 300 years ago, lived in the place that is now called Nagasaki" which he had contacted while in "a trance state" during meditation.
Professional wrestling career Early career (1964–1971) In November 1964 Thornley had his first professional contest against "Jumping" Jim Hussey at Willenhall Baths. 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.
Bartelli had been Nagasaki's mentor and tag team partner until they had a storyline falling out over Nagasaki's rough tactics in the ring. During the late 1960s, Nagasaki would feud with Billy Robinson and also with a young Jean Ferre. In 1968, Thornley toured Japan, where he was billed under the alternative name Mr Guillotine (but still with the same visual image).
World of Sport (1971–1986) 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. During July 1971, in what was said to be a sensational TV contest with Billy Howes, his mask came off in the heat of the battle. Howes spent a great deal of effort pounding Nagasaki's head and dragging his tight-fitting mask up, almost covering Nagasaki's eyes, and tried to untie the straps holding it on, before, under his relentless efforts, it came loose. 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 1971, he appeared for the first time with manager "Gorgeous" George Gillette at Dumfries. He then went on to tour Canada and the United States during 1972 working for wrestling legend Stu Hart. Nagasaki was renowned for his strength; in one televised match he lifted the "The Battling Guardsman" Shirley Crabtree later known as 'Big Daddy', up on to his shoulders, then calmly walked to a corner carrying him and finished the bout with his famous Kamikaze Crash, leaving the ring as Crabtree was being counted out.
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. The unmasking occurred two years before he had an official ceremonial unmasking ceremony at the Civic Hall, Wolverhampton in what was one of the most anticipated and most viewed moments in ITV's World of Sport. In April the following year (1978), he appeared as an unmasked wrestler for the first time; in a contest at Croydon against Bronco Wells. Following an August 1978 Nagasaki win on television over Colin Joynson, British Heavyweight champion Tony St. Clair entered the ring and announced he was accepting a title challenge from the now unmasked and therefore eligible Nagasaki. 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.
Nagasaki returned in 1981-1982 in a few appearances for Brian Dixon, in which the real Nagasaki feuded with notorious Nagasaki impersonator King Kendo (Bill Clarke) in a series of loser-lose-mask matches which saw Clarke defeated and unmasked night after night.
All Star Wrestling (1986–1993) In December 1986, Thornley made his masked return to the ring at the London Hippodrome in a "Disco Challenge" ladder match with Clive Myers, transmitted on ITV shortly after the New Year as the main event of the first ever edition of ITV wrestling taped at an All Star Wrestling show. It is thought Nagasaki brought over the concept over from Stampede Wrestling, where he had previously worked.Kaye, Griffin (2025) "Kendo Nagasaki & The Hilarious Disco Ladder Match" BritWrestling (Accessed: 25 January 2025)
By September 1987 he went on to become the WWA World Heavyweight Champion after defeating Wayne Bridges. 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.
Another tag team with Blondie Barrett would run for several years. During his final ITV appearance, Nagasaki and Barrett defeated the 'Golden Boys' tag team of Robbie Brookside and Steve Regal when the masked man hypnotised (kayfabe) Brookside to attack Regal. This, too, would lead to a long-running storyline with Nagasaki regularly using his 'powers' to turn Brookside over to his side at live shows.
In January 1989, George Gillette died of AIDS, and Lloyd Ryan officially became Kendo's new manager. In October 1991, he feuded with Giant Haystacks, and at one point was "robbed" of a World title (said to be the CWA World Heavyweight Championship, actually held at the time by Rambo) after Haystacks deliberately pulled off his mask "forcing" him to abandon the match. Footage from this match was featured in the BBC2 documentary on Nagasaki Arena: Masters of the Canvas.
In 1993, Nagasaki and Ryan fell out (kayfabe) and were set to feud, with Nagasaki now managed by his personal assistant Lawrence Stevens and Ryan recruiting King Kendo for a fresh battle of the Kendos. This storyline was soon aborted when Nagasaki retired once more to concentrate on his role in commerce. 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.
Millennium comeback (2000–2001) He returned in May 2000 to accept the Wrestler of the Millennium trophy in a ceremony at Hanley's Victoria Hall. This began a "Millennium Comeback" campaign for Nagasaki, as a month later, he returned to the venue, teamed with Vic Powers, to face Darren Walsh and Marty Jones, who had objected (kayfabe) to Nagasaki winning the award. Over the next eighteen months he would appear on various All Star shows, sometimes teamed with Drew McDonald. In March 2001 he again partnered Vic Powers in a charity tag ladder match against James Mason and Walsh. 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.
LDN (2007–2008, 2024–2025)
Since then, he was said to be looking for a young wrestler to pass his "powers" on to. In June 2007, he signed a deal with London-based LDN Wrestling. In November 2007, he appeared at LDN "Legends Showdown" in Broxbourne. He represented a team in a match against a team represented by his former manager, Lloyd Ryan, who had again (kayfabe) fallen out with his charge, this time over Ryan's son, young wrestler Damian Ryan. This event kicked off a storyline that saw him return to wrestling. Working exclusively for LDN Wrestling, he feuded with Robbie Brookside over The Sword of Excellence.
In May 2008, his old tag team partner, Blondie Barratt, teamed with him, along with a handpicked LDN Wrestler named Gregory Cortez, in a Triple Tag Team match to take on Powers, Brookside, and Hakan, who replaced Yorghos, whom he refused to wrestle. He then began feuding with Yorghos. Barratt wrestled against Yorghos and Hakan in a Ladder match in Hanley in September 2008. Then in October he was scheduled to wrestle Yorghos in a singles match in Wolverhampton, but refused to face him again, instead teaming with Blondie Barratt to defeat Hakan and Travis to win the LDN British Tag Team Championship. Following this match, Nagasaki left LDN and the Sword of Excellence storyline was concluded without him.
On July 22, 2012, Thornley reprised the character in a special appearance for New Generation Wrestling at the Bonus Arena in Kingston upon Hull. However, he did not wrestle again until November 2024 in Croydon when, aged 83 he teamed with the tag team Dead Gorgeous to defeat LDN promoter Sanjay Bagga and the tag team Filthy in a six man tag match.BBC Radio StokeKendo Nagasaki on his victorious return to the ring - Staffordshire's Peter Thornley, better known as Kendo Nagasaki, on wrestling return at 83.Release date:25 November 2024 access-date 2024-11-27 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. Controversially, Nagasaki's team was disqualified by the referee. Kendo appealed directly to the full-house audience, who overwhelmingly sided with him and his team. The decision was reversed, in Nagasaki's favour, and he thus regained the Sword of Excellence. After the match, to quash any rumours that another wrestler had stood in for 83-year-old Peter Thornley, after removing his mask, he invited 3 members of the audience into the ring to verify that it was the real Kendo Nagasaki who had wrestled, by allowing them to examine the characteristic tattoo on his head, which they did and duly confirmed that it was indeed Thornley. This match was documented for an application to Guinness World Records for the oldest male professional wrestler ever to take part in a match. His participation fell behind the record held by Dory Funk Jr., who had held his last match months earlier at 83 years and 203 days old, but on 10 December 2025, Guinness World Records formally accepted Thornley's application and awarded the record to him.