| Variations of Name | Peter Thornley | Brian Stevens |
| Biography | Peter Thornley, aka Kendo Nagasaki is a retired English professional wrestler. 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/1990s.
Thornley wore a mask for most of his career, the one significant exception being several months following a 1977 televised voluntary unmasking ceremony. He originally retired in 1978 but returned to active competition briefly in 1981 and then more permanently in 1986, remaining active until 1993 and then making sporadic wrestling appearances ever since.
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 and again during a 2002 court case over a land dispute with his neighbour. Despite this, Thornley never spoke publicly about being Kendo Nagasaki until the publication of his autobiography in 2018 and during interviews to promote the book.
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. |