Big Daddy vs Kendo Nagasaki (Mask REMOVED)

Recorded 2nd December 1975 at The Civic Hall Solihull & Broadcast 6th December 1975.
This is the WHOLE match.

[@tetosantana6368]

I watched this match with father and family live in 80s. Miss you dad rip

[@Mute_Nostril_Agony]

Ladiesandgentlemen, the referee has issued a second public warning to Kendo Nagasaki! Happy days watching World of Sport on a grim November afternoon while waiting for the teleprinter and the football results

[@christophercleary6780]

I saw Kendo Nagasaki live at the Elephant and Castle in London in the early 1990s, with William Regal performing earlier in the card, good memories, Kendo is a legend!

[@Isleofskye]

I used to go with my Dad to The Manor Place Baths just 1/2 mile from The Elephant in The Mid 1960s to see "Doctor Death" another masked, unbeaten wretler. It turned out that he was Paul Lincoln who was a Wrestling Promotor. lol Saw Juso Al Hayes who went to The USA and appeared as Alfred Lord Hayes and The Roclk's Grandad:Peter Maivia and mamy others for 3 years or so.

[@johndalton3079]

I saw some great wrestlers at the Liverpool stadium, big Daddy, the Royal bros some great names on there

[@UKAlanR]

I was at this evening - it was the first live wrestling bout I'd ever been to, so I was fortunate to see this piece of the sport's history!

[@agnostic47]

Many of the wrestlers would travel to and from the venues together and would go for a beer after the "fights". Except for Nagasaki, who maintained his mystique for decades afterwards.

[@lwalker8785]

This was Daddy's face turn, after this he became a legend in his own lunchtime.

[@christophercleary6780]

I didn't realise he'd been a heel

[@LanceHarding]

Yes he was in a tag team with Giant Haystacks for a while. Look for Big Daddy & Giant Haystacks v Tibor Szacaks & Steve Veidor, it is on this website. @@christophercleary6780

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

it wasn't quite a face turn (should be "blue eye" turn for the UK anyway) - he tended to alternate a bit between goody and baddy, he had four matches as a heel in early '76 -win over the Jamaica Kid, DQ loss to Steve Veidor and he teamed with Stax to split the pair of matches with Veidor and Tibor Szacazs that Lance mentioned.

[@mikebuk71]

He actually had to work in this match.

[@willowman7721]

Thanks for the upload. Happy memories.

[@SK93A]

Remember it like yesterday. Ken Walton - "Afternoon Grapple Fans". This contest was the only subject of talk in school all week in the lead up to the saturday and it seemed like the whole country came to a standstill that afternoon to watch the big bout. Never forget my late mum's scream when she saw Kendo Nagasaki's haircut when Big Daddy pulled his mask off. Her scream notched up another octave a few minutes later when she saw me with 2 cushions from the sofa stuffed up my jumper and doing a running body slam with my big brother and both of us crashing into the TV! Happy days ...

[@awkwardsean5141]

Well shoot, this is a find!

[@aidjunkie5335]

‘Not my ears!’ The catch phrase of the great Mick McManus.

[@neilfrench6639]

I remember watching this with my nan when i was a youngster 😂

[@musclehal]

Kendo dominated Big Daddy most of the match. Hot pin at the end

[@jacksugden8190]

Had too

[@peterboczan2116]

Big Daddy, whose real name was Shirley Crabtree said that with a name like Shirley you've got to be a big guy.

[@mikebuk71]

It was originally a man's name.

[@benp5528]

Big daddy couldn’t sell a brand new Ferrari let alone any of his opponents moves

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

He did sell until Max Crabtree decided to make him totally indestructible in 1979.

[@benp5528]

@@kurtvanderbogarde8402 that’s fair mate , I heard the same thing .

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

@@benp5528 That's why he was always in tag matches -it was either that or have the bouts end in 60-90 secs (which is what happened with his few 1980s single bouts.) Having a tag partner do all the getting in trouble stretched bouts out to up to 10 min.

[@rogerhole916]

I mc'd a charity show at Bath Pavilion in 1988 and Kendo was on the bill against Marty Jones. I also did one at Weston super Mare Winter Gardens and Steve Regal was on that bill with Robbie Brookside (a great guy) Danny and Pete Collins, Mal Sanders, Johnny Saint, Dave Duran, those were the days.

[@mrgladstone4044]

Kendo could easily better most lardy TV men in the ring, but the Snake Pit proper wrestlers often equalled his skill set. Read Kendo's book, an insight into those Saturday afternoons on the telly. Really interesting man.

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

he was a Snakepit man himself. There's a quasi-shoot interview with Billy Robinson in The Ring (the American boxing magazine which used to do the odd wrestling story) in 1971 where Billy speaks positively of Kendo - says he's not quite in the same league of (catch) wrestlers as people like himself and Billy Joyce, but pretty darn good even so.

[@aidjunkie5335]

Thanks I shall get the book and have a read 😊

[@robinbeavan5152]

I remember this live you actually felt sorry for kendo having his face exposed. It seemed a very cruel thing to do then.looking back it was entertainment. We was all talking about how he looked and his eyes at school on monday.fond memories

[@michaelzoran]

Kendo Nagasaki is 6' 2" tall. Big Daddy is supposedly 6' 6" tall. Yet, you clearly see multiple times in this video that Kendo Nagasaki is actually taller than Big Daddy. When Big Daddy is wrestling Giant Haystacks who is billed as standing 6' 11" tall, it is believable that Big Daddy might by 6' 6" tall. But, after watching this video I suspect Big Daddy is no more than 6' 1" or 6' 2" tall and Giant Haystacks is probably more about 6' 7" tall.

[@oldfrittenfett1276]

Big Daddy was still abled to "Move"(somehow) there.

[@georginagriffiths5967]

big daddy never ever gets chucked around as he fought kendo

[@LanceHarding]

That is very true.

[@jacksugden8190]

About getting bums on seat proving entertainment, discussions before the match on how it could be played out.

[@barryandrews5476]

2 Great wrestlers ...and fantastic entertainment back in the day !!

[@ady8084]

Probably the most athletic I've ever seen Big Daddy, his matches usually lasted no more than 5 minutes.

[@LanceHarding]

That was near to the end of his career I think you’ll find.

[@Kirkland-rv5jf]

Was this a "passing the torch" moment?

[@mikebuk71]

@@Kirkland-rv5jf He carried on for years. Never recall seeing him lose.

[@teamblitz1990]

The most surprising thing about this is not the fact the Kendo Nagasaki was unmasked but that big daddy was mobile and could actually move at speed

[@richallenxbox1976]

Same thing happened to Kendo Nagasaki as happened to Kane in WWE, the second he lost his mask and started talking, he became a jobber and all his "mystique" was removed.

[@nickpage4333]

That doesnt matter Kane and The Undertaker were the G.O.A.T.

[@richallenxbox1976]

@@nickpage4333 Yeah except Kendo Nagasaki (who in real life was a bloke called Tony from Stoke on Trent) made being a masked wrestler cool before Kane was even a thing.

[@raybrooking8084]

This lot should perform at The Old Vic.

[@jacksugden8190]

Had to string out the match to give as much entertainment as possible, if Daddy had finished it early, would have defeated the publics excitement.

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

Kendo wouldn't have allowed Daddy to finish it early. If they'd ordered him to, as a last resort he would have gone out and shot on Shirley.

[@honoredutrey]

The bout ended when they decided the bout would end in the dressing room beforehand.

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

@@honoredutrey How do you know the booking plan was done in the dressing room that night? It could have been booked days earlier at either of Joint Promotions's offices in Brixton or Bradford.

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

@@honoredutrey or maybe they all discussed it over the phone. Max Crabtree had a plan for his brother Shirley. Peter/Kendo was OK with making him look good and turning him into a star as long as he didn't actually officially lose a match to Shirley in the process.

[@anythingoldmechanical]

Makes a change, seeing Shirley beaten

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

Kendo beat Big Daddy solo on TV - Three times. This was the third. The second is also on KZbin and it was the semifinal of a four man tournament - look it up on here. The first was Jan '73 when Kendo KOd Battling Guardsman Shirley Crabtree in round 3.

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

Count Bartelli beat the Battling Guardsman in '74. As heels the Stax/Daddy tag team were DQd against the St Clairs in July '75 and Steve Veidor and Tibor S in their second bout in April '76. Haystacks and Bruno Ellrington beat Daddy and Gary Wensor in August 78 WoS from Digbeth - away from the TV cameras there were more 2-1 losses with the partner taking both falls in 1979, 1983 twice and 1986 and Daddy DQ'd in 1984 and 1987.

[@clairecoultan4371]

Well that was an interesting match

[@jacksugden8190]

Play acting

[@johnfellows2867]

The only time I've seen BD thrown around the ring !

[@sharonellis8776]

Saw Big Daddy wrestle at Hinckley in the 80s. xx

[@Trigger_000]

*Always enjoyed watching Puff Daddy on Saturday afternoons.*

[@darrenblockersr]

Thank you

[@tehf00n]

"You can just see the head of Shirley Crabtree there." "And Kendo's balls Brian" "Yes and Kendo's balls as well Jim"

[@richardhawkins4621]

Funiest thing ive seen in years😊

[@markboudreau1410]

If I wrestled in that bush league circuit I'd hide my face too.........I kept looking for Gordon Solly....

[@thomasmcclean4352]

Don't care what anyone says, we all know that wrestling was scripted, but they really took some knocks that had to be painful. God bless all of these wrestlers for the great entertainment.

[@joecrean9546]

I remember growing up watching the wrestling on itv with my mum she loved big daddy what's kendos book called thanks for the memories 😅😅😅😅😅jx

[@LanceHarding]

His book is called Kendo Nagasaki Man Behind The Mask. Available on Amazon or kendonagasakibook.com

[@honoredutrey]

Another very interesting book is "You grunt & I'll groan" by Jackie Pallo.He describes in in great detail how various throws and holds are executed to avoid causing any pain or dicomfort etc.

[@BBoy4040]

11:51 What the hell kind of three count is that lmao, are you determining the winner of a sporting contest or ringing the bell in a hotel lobby?

[@mymoviesbetter8466]

I forgot that Big Daddy wasn't always 35 stone

[@thewomble1509]

In the sixties he wrestled as "The Battling Guardsman", having served in the Coldstream Guards some years before. At that time he was a pretty good wrestler and had a very good physique, weighing around 17 stone (238lb).

[@mymoviesbetter8466]

That one bloke who yells "OH NOW THATS RUBBISH" 7:16

[@mynyddyquartzite2034]

All fun 🤩

[@johnny5805]

It makes a change to see Daddy allowing his opponent to get some offense in ! At 4:00, the ref says "I told you to break Peter !". Oops !

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

Opponents regularly did get offence against him until 1979 when Max finally made him indestructible.

[@thirtyfoursevenzero]

Yes cos Saggyknackers name was Peter Thornley

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

@@thirtyfoursevenzero are you one of those l00nies from Moorcroft Hall by any chance?

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

anyway, it actually boosts Kayfabe - gives the impression that the match is real even if Kendo's gimmick isn't.

[@thirtyfoursevenzero]

@@kurtvanderbogarde8402 explain that fatuous question...

[@nicklomas181]

Big daddly looks like a big toddler

[@LanceHarding]

😂🤣

[@dannyhudson482]

Kendo was a wrestler whilst daddy was a tub of guts

[@Notallowed57]

that pounce by daddy is lethal 2:05

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

It would be if he rugby tackled you. He could run people down like a truck.

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

Mick McManus told a story when Daddy was on This Is Your Life about how some bloke asked Daddy to do the bodycheck on him so he did and the guy fell to the floor and Daddy muttered darkly "Ask a bl00dy stupid question!"

[@davidfrost779]

I bet the nearest Nagasaki got to Japan was his nearest Japanese restaurant. Of course Big Daddy wasn't as big as he later was because if he had have been Daddy could have beat him in a few minutes

[@jacksugden8190]

It was play acting

[@davidfrost779]

@@jacksugden8190 It was better acting than any acting you get today

[@Shads5]

You lose your bet. He wrestled in Japan in the late 1960’s

[@mikelynch5153]

@@Shads5 As Guillotine if my memory is right, Kendo did not want to insult the natives

[@davidfrost779]

@@mikelynch5153 OK. He gave that name the chop then

[@thomasmcclean4352]

Big daddy was to wrestling, what Julian clary was to masculinity

[@thomasmcclean4352]

If someone restricted your airway, you would put up a massive struggle to the point of unconsciousness. This isn't my opinion, it's just human survival.

[@user-bc1kz4yv2b]

初代ケンドーナガサキは面型の覆面が斬新

[@davecarveswood2645]

Tiny ring

[@thomasmcclean4352]

Does anybody remember when so called Big Daddy used to partner Giant Haystacks as a tag partner and one was as dirty as the other? Then all of a sudden. Big Daddy is a good guy. Just saying......

[@jimclark6256]

The real Kendo Nagasaki was NOT an English man. And the over fat man would not know a wrist lock from a wrist watch, total fake .

[@martinburke362]

Chill out all good clean fun😅

[@JohnMurphy-mx7pd]

@8:18 #HighJump

[@localreviewking134]

Kendo Nagasaki, otherwise know as Ken from Doncaster

[@mr.y.mysterious.video1]

Never saw this one before.s daddy should have stayed this size

[@kevphillips02]

farsical .

[@seanashmore8785]

Totally disrespectful from Craptree as always.

[@ramjam25]

He even had yellow face makeup on 😁😂

[@johnmichaelford3615]

Kendo and his manager were boyfriends

[@davidicke6971]

wrong

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

This has been nicked off psxguman's channel.

[@LanceHarding]

No, other way around, I uploaded it here FIRST, a few days later, it was on the channel you mention. I had the video since last year,but just had it on my external hard drive,but uploaded it here.

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

@@LanceHarding I had that match 21 years ago from EWV's mailing list

[@shaunlowndes]

Gorgeous George seems a bit or a rum fellow😂

[@davidicke6971]

He was a really nice fella

[@simonrusk3338]

Pure entertainment 😊we had it good.. nothing serious.. they were all pals 👍🤗

[@mikebuk71]

Wrestlers never took kindly to comments like that.

[@edwardblythe16]

is this a joke?😅

[@kevinbrown6718]

All the wrestlers were good friends outside the ring it was a travelling show Kendo said this ie Peter Thornley

[@andysitton1703]

Oh dear, I wasn't standing in quite the right place where we rehearsed... I'll just run over to the side of the ring and jump over the ropes and these morons will believe you threw me, OK?

[@johnhuwroberts7766]

Crabtree brothers destroyed U.K. Wrestling.

[@LanceHarding]

Before he was Big Daddy, 10 years before, Bert Assirati challenged him to a match. Knowing what Bert was like, if he did not like you, he would hurt you, Daddy left wrestling. Go forward ten years, once Max Crabtree was given control over Joint Promotions was when his brother was brought back into the business & became who we see here.

[@jamesvoller167]

I was a big Kendo Nagasaki fan in my teens in the 70s but let's face it. It wasn't real. Both of them put together wouldn't have lasted 3 minutes against George Foreman. Mind you, at least they made a good pretence of making it all look real in those days. With the American stylle wrestling these days, I think they've stopped pretending.