Kendo Nagasaki

Many people, when asked who their childhood heroes were, would probably name a sporting hero, an actor or actress, a musician, or someone, say, like Neil Armstrong, who achieved something great.

Sure, I have many people like that who were childhood heroes of mine, but a particular favourite of mine was not a pop star, an actor, or even an astronaut.

His name was Kendo Nagasaki, and in my opinion, was the greatest heel ever to step into a British wrestling ring.

Nagasaki had it all. He was the evil silent warrior whose face was covered in that red mask, and whose blood red eyes stared out at you from within your television on a Saturday afternoon, who made all the so-called good guys, including the likes of Big Daddy, run for cover just by looking at them.

So why did I like this guy so damn much? To be honest, I have no idea. I have always liked the most vicious bastards in wrestling. I cheered when Earthquake squashed Hulk Hogan. I cheered when The Undertaker locked The Ultimate Warrior in a casket, and I cheered when Jake The Snake unleashed his cobra Lucifer on The Macho Man.

I would like to think that, in his own way, Nagasaki appealed to a great many people. He was indeed a silent warrior. He never spoke, never cried out in pain, just kicked ass. When you saw him coming to the ring, decked out in full Japanese kendo attire, you knew you were in for a treat!

And yet, Kendo was at the centre of one of the biggest travesties in British wrestling history. Like in Mexico, if a masked man loses, he must also lose his mask. Yet, in a match with Big Daddy (spits on the carpet, barely missing the cat) the fat slob managed to rip the mask of Kendo. Kendo would have to wrestle without the mask, even though the fat slob never pinned him or made him submit.

Things would soon revert to normal though, as our beloved Kendo soon donned the mask again.

When British wrestling began to decline in the mid-to-late 80's, I remember Kendo, through his manager George Gillette, challenging Hulk Hogan to a WWF title match. Obviously, this never happened. A shame, really. The bastard that was Nagasaki would have been great in the WWF of the late 80's. I would have loved to see him whip Hogan like a dog. Of course, I know that Kendo would never have actually pinned Hogan for the title, but given the proper handling and storylines, a Hogan/Kendo feud would have been great, and while probably not worthy of a Wrestlemania main event, it would have done for a Summerslam or Royal Rumble.

I also remember a connection he has to a current WWF superstar - in a tag-team match, one of Kendo's opponents was a certain Steve Regal (now William Regal). I forget exactly who Kendo's partner was, and who Regal's partner was, but I do remember that Kendo hypnotised Regal's partner, ordering him to attack Regal.

As far as I know, Kendo did compete in the US, in the old Global Wrestling Alliance, the small group that ran shows in the old Sportatorium. This group gave us the likes of The Patriot, The Lightning Kid (aka X-Pac), and The Handsome Stranger (aka Buff Bagwell), but it wouldn't have given Kendo the national stage his talents deserved. He also competed in Japan as well.

I remember a few years back, Arena, the BBC2 arts programme, did a special on Kendo. Unlike other so-called wrestling documentaries, they were very respectful to Kendo. They managed to keep the air of mystery that has surrounded the man for his entire career, so much so that, in an actual interview with the man himself, Kendo kept his mask on, and his voice was muffled-out. The only way you could tell what he was saying was by the subtitles. He came over as a remarkable man, not breaking character even once in the programme. Rumour has it that the BBC are interested in making another programme about Kendo. Sadly, they are only rumours.

Kendo is now retired. What he does now, I have no idea. But while doing research for this article on the Internet, I discovered something rather startling - there is no actual in-depth information on Kendo. There are a few pages showing what championships he won, and some match results from a few years back, but that's all. All of what you have just read here comes from my memories of the man, and the enjoyment I had from watching him compete. So, if anyone knows of a Kendo Nagasaki website, or a site where I can get some in-depth detail about the great man, please let me know. Also, if anyone has a copy of the Arena programme they could let me have, could they let me know also.

Perhaps the reason for this is to keep us guessing for years to come, to keep the air of mystery about him long after he leaves this mortal realm. If it is, then his people are doing a great job. And if the great man somehow, somewhere, reads this, I'd like to wish him all the best. Thanks for the memories.