Today wrestling is associated with flashy pyrotechnics, oiled-up muscle-bound men and convoluted storylines that would be rejected by most soap operas.
But between 1955 to 1988 British wrestling reigned supreme and was so popular it drew bigger crowds than the FA Cup Final.
In fact, the Queen Mother was said to be a fan of ITV’s World of Sport Wrestling, which saw legendary fighters such as Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks and Mark ‘Rollerball’ Rocco slug it out.
Today there is still a demand for Great British wrestling as in June it was announced World Of Sport Wrestling will return with a taping at Epic Studios, Norwich on Saturday, September 14.
Kendo Nagasaki and George Gillett photographed in 1986 while the World of Wrestling was still on TV
Wrestler Big Daddy, real name Shirley Crabtree, throwing his opponent around the ring during a bout in 1980
Mick McManus battles a fellow wrestler during a televised bout in 1970. ITV ‘s World of Sport which ran between 1955 to 1988
Even legendary villain Kendo Nagasaki has announced he is training for a return to the ring at the ripe age of 82, which will make him the world’s oldest professional wrestler.
Wrestling is more popular than ever with WWE grossing more than £1billion in profit in 2023 and achieving a bigger global audience than in the 1990s era when it was a pop culture phenomenon with superstars such as The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Although the performers are less recognisable today we take a look at the cream of UK talent who entertained millions on World of Sport – which aired every Saturday at 4pm.
Whatever happened to the likes of British Bulldog, William Regal and Mick Manus?
Kendo Nagasaki
Kendo Nagasaki – whose real name is Peter Thornley, from Stoke – was famous for his signature ‘Kamikaze Crash’ slam. Pictured in 2006
Legendary TV wrestling villain Kendo Nagasaki was famous for his signature ‘Kamikaze Crash’ slam and appearing in the ring under the guise of a masked ‘Japanese samurai’ and mystical sensei.
At 82 years old, he is training to return to the sport as a pensioner on the 60th anniversary of his first showing – which would make him the world’s oldest professional wrestler.
The wrestling superstar, whose real name is Peter Thornely, from Stoke, is best remembered for his part in ITV’s 1970s show World of Sport.
He was renowned for his famous signature move, the ‘Kamikaze Crash’ slam.
His mask was a central part of the character and perhaps the most famous moment in World of Sport was in 1977 when he took it off in a special ceremony (although Big Daddy had actually removed the mask two years earlier in a match).
Both Daddy and Giant Haystacks were common opponents for Nagasaki and he once even lifted Daddy onto his shoulders and performed his finishing slam.
His fame grew to the extent he was also brought over to Canada to wrestle for the Hart family but continued to appear on these shores.
He wrestled throughout the 1980s and early 1990s before going into semi-retirement, with sporadic appearances in the early 2000s.
The legendary wrestling villain has announced he is planning to sell off his £1.5million, 50-room mansion to fund LGBTQ+ Zen Buddhism classes.
He is planning on downsizing from his huge Stoke-on-Trent home to Blackpool – where he owns a men-only hotel.
A spokesperson for Nagasaki told The Sun: ‘Peter is always looking to extend the reach of his Buddhist work, and this is a big motivator for the move away.
‘Moor Court Hall has therefore become less than ideal for Kendo’s charitable work, and he seeks to evolve it into a better-suited venue in Blackpool.
‘Peter is driven to share Zen Buddhism with others who also need its transformative energy.’
In 2018, Nagasaki revealed he is bisexual and said he had been in a relationship with a man since the death of his wife Yvette aged 80 in 1993.
He revealed he had had ‘flings’ with men in the 1970s, but had never been able to reveal his sexuality because of his ‘macho bad boy’ persona.
He has been running Blackpool’s Trades Hotel for several decades, with his spokesperson describing it as a ‘sanctuary for gay men’.
William Regal
Wrestler William Regal Puts an Armlock on Vito at the Sports Palace in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republlic) during the World Wrestling Entertainment Show on Friday, June 30, 2006
Regal is currently signed to WWE where he serves as Vice President of Global Talent Development
Born Darren Matthews, by the age of 15 Regal was taking on all-comers in a fairground wrestling booth in Blackpool.
He honed his abilities by travelling the world, mastering different styles and winning championships in Europe, the Middle East and Japan.
Later he battled some of the old-time favourites loved by millions of Brits such as Giant Haystacks, Big Daddy and Kendo Nagasaki.
He later went on to fight in the glitzy world of US professional wrestling, first in WCW and then carving out a legacy in WWE where he played a haughty British aristocrat, dismissing those beneath him.
But his American wrestling career was far from a dream come true.
By day he wowed crowds with the art of wrestling but by night he was taking any kind of drug he could get his hands out and drinking heavily.
In 2003 he suffered a heart attack which almost cost him his career as well as his life. But the next autumn in 2004 he saw a triumphant return to the ring.
During his career with WWE, he won numerous championships and accolades including Raw General Manager in 2007 and winning the prestigious 2008 King of the Ring Tournament.
In November 2013, William Regal faced Antonio Cesaro on NXT, which would be the final wrestling match of his thirty-year-plus career.
Since then he has stayed out of the ring for health-related purposes
He is currently signed to WWE where he serves as Vice President of Global Talent Development.
Adrian Street
Adrian Street who was known for his flamboyant costumes in action. He saidly died from a brain bleed
Adrian Street (left) pictured with his father, a coal miner, 2nd November 1974
The flamboyant former superstar once boasted he ‘beat Jimmy Savile to a pulp’.
In 2013, Street claimed to have ripped out clumps of the disgraced British TV host’s hair during a 1971 bout.
Street was unaware at the time that Savile was a sexual predator accused of abusing hundreds of young girls.
Had Street known this about Savile, who died in 2011 at 84, the wrestler would have given the TV host a ‘bigger hiding,’ he said in 2013.
‘It was all part of some big stupid gimmick,’ Street told WalesOnline. ‘But I was having none of it. I kicked his legs from underneath him, then I picked him up by his hair, held him upside down and dropped him on his skull.
Jimmy Savile, pictured in 1971, the same year Street claimed he ripped the TV host’s scalp
‘Then when I looked down at my hands, I realised they were covered in hair – Savile’s. I’d torn huge clumps out of his scalp.’
The son of a Welsh coalminer, Street’s half-century-long career began in 1950s London, where he first developed a persona that relied on extravagant, gender-bending outfits.
After retiring from the ring, Street opened a wrestling school in Florida and even created the ring outfit worn by WWE’s Mick Foley.
He survived throat cancer in 2001 and retired altogether in 2014.
Sadly, Street died at the age of 82 after developing sepsis while in hospital with a bleed on the brain.
Mark ‘Rollerball’ Rocco
Another high-flyer, Marc Rocco, aka Mark Hussey, is a fourth-generation wrestler, although his father initially refused to let him go into the business and banned him from his Manchester gym
Rocco is hailed as one of the greatest contenders in British wrestling and was a mainstay during ITV’s wrestling boom in the 1970s as Rollerball.
The Manchester-born grappler has many classic matches with The Dynamite Kid, Fit Finlay and Marty Jones.
He was three-time World Heavy Middleweight Champion and also held the British Heavy Middleweight and Light Middleweight titles.
He spent time in New Japan Pro Wrestling where he wrestled as the original Black Tiger.
After a standout career, Rollerball retired in 1991 and he spent most of his time living out of the spotlight in Tenerife.
But in 2012, he was part of the judging panel on TNA’s British Bootcamp series.
Sadly, he passed away at the age of 69 in 2020 after suffering from dementia in his final years.
Big Daddy
Big Daddy, whose real name was Shirley Crabtree, was one of the most familiar names on the circuit. He was famous for his signature leotard, which boasted a letter ‘D’ sewn on by his wife Eunice
Big Daddy’s signature move led to tragedy in 1987, during a bout with Malcolm ‘King Kong’ Kirk in Great Yarmouth. Kirk had to be rushed to hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival
The popularity of British wrestling was truly demonstrated in 1963 when Mick McManus’s clash with Jackie Pallo allegedly pulled in 16million viewers – 3million more than the FA Cup final.
Two years later, World of Sport made its TV debut, making wrestling a mainstay on British screens
Big Daddy, whose real name was Shirley Crabtree, was one of the most familiar names on the circuit.
Having started out as the ‘blonde Adonis’ in the 1950s, he won the European and British Heavyweight titles before initially retiring in 1966.
He was then tempted back into the ring in the early 1970s and began appearing on World of Sport in his leotard.
His partnership with Giant Haystacks – real name Martin Austin Ruane – became one of the most dominant in British wrestling history.
The pair’s split led to a long-running storyline feud.
His finishing move was a big ‘splash’ on a prone opponent lying on the ring floor – essentially jumping belly-first onto him.
The signature move led to tragedy in 1987, during a bout with Malcolm ‘King Kong’ Kirk in Great Yarmouth.
Kirk had to be rushed to hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival.
An inquest later ruled Kirk had a pre-existing heart condition which was the cause of his death, but the event is said to have devastated Crabtree.
Outside of wrestling he was a former rugby league player, worked as a miner and was in the Coldstream Guards.
The father-of-six died of a stroke in 1997 in Halifax aged 67.
Giant Haystacks
Pictured, Giant Haystacks in his tradmark look, a vest/trouser combination tied together by a piece of rope and a fluffy cape
Martin Ruane, better known as Giant Haystacks pictured with glamour model Gina Charles in 1982
Wrestlers Shirley Crabtree and Martin Ruane, better known by their respective stage names of Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, are seen in 1981
Martin Ruane was one of the most iconic figures in wrestling around the world due to his unique look.
His trademark beard and costume – a vest/trouser combination tied together by a piece of rope and a fluffy cape – helped him stand out almost as much as his 6ft 11ins frame.
He began wrestling in 1967 for regional promotions before appearing on World of Sport in 1975, forming a villainous tag team with Big Daddy and winning the British Heavyweight Championship once.
When Daddy turned good, Haystacks remained the baddie and the two would go on to clash several times over the next decade until Daddy retired in 1993.
Haystacks then got a huge break when he moved to the US and began competing in World Championship Wrestling as ‘the Loch Ness Monster’ in the mid-1990s.
During his time with the organisation, he even feuded with megastar Hulk Hogan, but his career was ended after a cancer diagnosis in 1996.
Two years later he died of lymphoma in Manchester aged 51.
At his heaviest, he weighed more than 48st while he had a raft of famous fans, including Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney.
Mick McManus
Weighing in at just 175lbs (79kg), the 5ft 6in Mick McManus’s talent in the ring defied his lack of physical heft. Above: McManus (right) with fellow wrestler Steve Logan in 1964
Mick McManus is seen battling comedian Tommy Cooper in the ring in 1968
Weighing in at just 175lbs (79kg), the 5ft 6in Mick McManus’s talent in the ring defied his lack of physical heft.
He went more than 20 years without a decisive loss on television and was known for his catchphrase ‘not the ears!’, which he uttered when opponents latched on to his cauliflower ears.
Out of the ring, McManus was the matchmaker for Dale Martin, the firm which controlled the wrestling business across the south of England.
By day, he worked from an office in Brixton, where he determined the line-ups and results for as many as eight shows a night.
His most famous rival was Jackie ‘Mr TV’ Pallo. They battled in matches broadcast before the 1962 and 1963 FA Cup finals.
Their feud continued with bouts around the country, including headline events in the Royal Albert Hall.
He would often cheat to win, prompting spectators on one occasion to submit formal witness statements to what they believed was an official hearing.
McManus’s televised matches proved so popular that they were broadcast twice a week.
In 1963, his Saturday slot was moved after an appeal by the shopkeepers’ union, who complained that women were staying in to watch bouts rather than go shopping.
McManus’s status also saw him mix with high society. He was photographed with the likes of Prince Philip, the Rolling Stones and Harold Wilson.
The wrestler retired in 1982 and later owned a pub in Guildford, Surrey. He died aged 93 in 2013.
The British Bulldog
He made his name in the WWF, but the British Bulldog got his start on World of Sport aged just 15
He made his name in the WWF, but the British Bulldog got his start on World of Sport aged just 15.
Wigan-born David ‘Davey’ Boy Smith debuted for Joint Promotions as ‘Young David’, wrestling as part of a tag team with his cousin Tom ‘the Dynamite Kid’ Bullington.
But his talents were not on show on ITV for long as he was spotted by Bruce Hart – of the famous Canadian Hart family that produced WWF champion Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart – and whisked away to Canada to be trained in the famous ‘Dungeon’.
He married into the Hart family when he wed Diana in 1984 and a year later joined the WWF, where he gained fame alongside his cousin as The British Bulldogs.
By 1992 he took the Bulldog name for himself and became popular in his home country due to Sky Sports’ coverage of WWF.
Perhaps his biggest moment was headlining the Summerslam event at Wembley Stadium in 1992, in which he was led out by Boxer Lennox Lewis and defeated Bret Hart for the Intercontinental Title.
He switched between WWF and WCW over the course of the 1990s but developed drug problems after becoming addicted to painkillers and steroids.
Smith died in 2002 after a heart attack and was survived by his ex-wife, whom he divorced in 2000, and their children Harry and Georgia.
The Bulldog remains one of the most decorated British wrestlers of all time having won the WWF Intercontinental, European, Hardcore and Tag Team titles.
Johnny Saint
In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Johnny Saint has a well-earned reputation as one of the finest wrestlers of his generation
In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Johnny Saint has a well-earned reputation as one of the finest wrestlers of his generation.
Now 75 years old, he has fought matches as recently as 2009 and even appeared on WWE programming earlier this year in which he grappled with 47-year-old fellow Brit William Regal to help mentor up-and-coming wrestlers.
Saint, real name John Miller, started out as a factory worker and amateur boxer before entering wrestling in 1958.
A lightweight, his style was much different from his heavier contemporaries, and he earned the nickname the ‘man of a thousand holds’ for his knowledge of submission moves, forcing opponents to quit due to pain.
He focused on speedy moves that confused those up against him, and his finishers were based around trick moves which are still being watched on YouTube today.
Despite winning a retirement match in Japan in 1996, he got back into the ring on several occasions in the 2000s despite being in his 60s.
Saint is another highly decorated British wrestler, winning the World Lightweight title 10 times alongside the European and British equivalents.
Jackie Pallo
Jackie Pallo made his TV debut in 1956, but had been a professional wrestler since the late 1940s. Above: Pallo demonstrating the Japanese leg lock on an opponent in 1961
Pallo is seen with with his son Jackie Pallo Jnr and dancer Gerry Tarbutt in 1974
Jackie Pallo made his TV debut in 1956 but had been a professional wrestler since the late 1940s.
With his trademark bleached hair, pigtail and colourful striped trunks, he was a very distinctive character.
He famously feuded with Mick McManus during the 1960s, leading to the bout that was watched by millions in 1963.
His flamboyant image earned him appearances in shows including Emergency Ward 10 and the Avengers.
It was while filming the latter that he was knocked out by actress Honor Blackman in 1964.
He said afterwards: ‘This was an accident. I have never been beaten by a woman and I never intend to be.’
The star retired with hip problems in 1983 and went on to publish his controversial autobiography two years later.
You Grunt, I’ll Groan exposed how matches operated and led to Pallo becoming distinctly unpopular with fellow wrestlers.
The star died of cancer aged 80 in 2006.
