Many modern wrestling fans know Ric Flair as the face of the National Wrestling Alliance and WCW in the 1980s, but a crucial moment in his ascent to the top of the organization was his rivalry with Harley Race. Their feud not only involved the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but also culminated at what’s considered the first wrestling pay-per-view in history.
RELATED: 10 Things Fans Should Know About Harley Race
However, because this rivalry happened in the early 1980s, many current fans likely don’t know much about it. Let’s take a look at the entire feud between Ric Flair and Harley Race, from their early encounters all the way to their last.
10 Ric Flair Was Only A Few Years Into His Career When They First Met
The first known time that Ric Flair and Harley Race shared a ring was in April of 1977 for Jim Crockett Promotions’ Mid-Atlantic Wrestling — which would later become WCW — with the two battling to a double disqualification. At the time, Flair was only a few years into his career, having debuted in 1972 and being named “Rookie of the Year” by Pro Wrestling Illustrated in 1975. Over the following years, Flair and Race clashed in various NWA territories including Georgia, Kansas, and Missouri.
9 Harley Race Was The Face Of The NWA
Harley Race, meanwhile, was already a seasoned pro, having debuted in 1959 and amassing titles across the territories, including being the inaugural NWA United States Champion, which would evolve into the WCW and WWE US Title. When they first met in 1977, Race was in his second reign as NWA World Champion, which would ultimately last a whopping 926 days, and would hold the belt a total of seven times by the end of his career. At this point, Race was the face of the National Wrestling Alliance and, for Flair, the man he needed to beat.
8 Race Ended Ric Flair’s Two-Year Reign As World Champion
In mid-September of 1981, Ric Flair finally reached the top of the NWA when he defeated Dusty Rhodes for the World Title for Kansas City’s Central States Wrestling. Flair’s initial reign lasted an impressive 631 days, but came to an end at the hand of Harley Race in a 2/3 falls match in June of 1983.
RELATED: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Ric Flair's 16 World Title Reigns
While the “10 Pounds of Gold” was back around the waist of the face of NWA, this wasn’t the end of Ric Flair. Rather, it was the beginning of a major rivalry that would last the rest of the ear.
7 Race Put A Bounty On Flair’s Head
Not every promoter in the NWA was happy with Ric Flair as champion, but the ensuing feud with Harley Race would make Flair a hot commodity by Starrcade. As part of the storyline, Race sought to thwart Flair’s efforts to win the belt back, with one of his major moves being the offer of a $25,000 bounty to anyone who could permanently injure The Nature Boy. Amid the various heels who stepped up, Bob Orton Jr. and Dick Slater proved successful.
6 Flair “Retired” During Their Feud
Harley Race was only a couple of months removed from his World Title win when his $25,000 bounty scheme worked out in his favor. The aforementioned Orton and Slater were able to earn the money by delivering a double-team piledriver to Ric Flair, giving him a neck injury and forcing him to announce his retirement. However, the retirement didn’t stick, and only a few weeks later Flair returned to attack the men who thought they had finished him off.
5 WWE Tried To Sign Harley Race During Their Feud
As stated, this whole storyline was leading to the landmark Starrcade ‘83, where Harley Race and Ric Flair would have their climactic match. However, Vince McMahon, the new owner of the rapidly expanding World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE), attempted to sabotage the whole thing. In a dinner meeting days before the pay-per-view, McMahon offered Race $250,000 to drop out of Starrcade and bring the NWA World Title to WWE. But Race was a man of principle, and refused, claiming that he wouldn’t be able to look himself in the mirror if he did that.
4 Main Evented Starrcade ‘83
Starrcade ‘83 was subtitled “A Flare for the Gold,” with Ric Flair’s challenge for Harley Race’s NWA World Heavyweight Title being the obvious choice in the main event. To add to the importance, the affair was contested in a steel cage, with former World Champion Gene Kiniski as a special guest referee.
RELATED: Starrcade 1983: The Original American Wrestling Supercard
While Kiniski’s sluggish, distracting referee work threatened to tank the match, Flair and Race delivered a classic, with Flair emerging as the new champion in a major torch-passing moment for the NWA.
3 Traded The Belts In 1984
While Flair was crowned new World Champion as well as the new face of the NWA, it wasn’t the end of his rivalry with Harley Race. The two continued to clash all over the territories and even all over the world, with Race dethroning Flair for the belt in New Zealand only for Flair to win it back days later in Singapore. Neither of these title changes were initially recognized by the NWA, but in the years that followed they’ve come to be accepted as official title reigns.
2 Fought In All Japan
Because All Japan Pro Wrestling was part of the National Wrestling Alliance in the 1970s and 1980s, that meant that the influential promotion was able to bring in NWA talent, including both Ric Flair and Harley Race. This resulted in the rivals having two matches in an AJPW ring. Their first All Japan encounter had Race defeating Flair — days before Flair won back the NWA World Title from Kerry Von Erich. The loss set up a 2/3 falls match between Flair and Race for the belt, which ended in a one-to-one draw due to both men being disqualified.
1 Flair Feuded With Race’s Protégé, Vader
Harley Race spent the second half of the 1980s performing for WWE and winning King of the Ring, but Race ended up returning to what was now WCW in the summer of 1990. Race retired by the end of the year, but remained on WCW television as the manager of the newly arrived monster heel Big Van Vader. In late 1993, Vader was in his third reign as WCW World Champion, and Flair was able to beat him for the belt at Starrcade ‘93, 10 years after he defeated Harley Race.
