10 Things Wrestling Fans Should Know About Harley Race's Time In WWE

Read update

• Whenever you're having a discussion on who some of the toughest men in the world of wrestling were, Harley Race has to be in that conversation. Race was well known for being one of the guys no one wanted to cross backstage, but he was, and remains, incredibly well respected for his in-ring work. Many wrestling greats cite Harley Race as one of their main influences when watching wrestling back in the territory days. Race wrestled for many promotions, but didn't make his way to WWE until the mid 80s. Let's take a look back on his time in WWE.

An eight-time World Champion, the legendary Harley Race was the face of the National Wrestling Alliance in the 1970s and early 1980s, cementing his status as one of the all-time greats in pro wrestling. During his three-decade in-ring career, Race also has the distinction of being the first-ever NWA United States Heavyweight Champion, a title that exists today as the WWE United States Championship — but that isn’t the end of his relationship to WWE.

10 Things Fans Should Know About Harley Race

In the mid-1980s, Harley Race ended up moving from the NWA to WWE, spending a few years working for Vince McMahon. Race is most famous for his NWA work and stopped wrestling in 1990s, so many fans might not know about his time with WWE.

UPDATE: 2024/02/19 20:00 EST BY STEFANO MOCELLA

Whenever you're having a discussion on who some of the toughest men in the world of wrestling were, Harley Race has to be in that conversation. Race was well known for being one of the guys no one wanted to cross backstage, but he was, and remains, incredibly well respected for his in-ring work. Many wrestling greats cite Harley Race as one of their main influences when watching wrestling back in the territory days. Race wrestled for many promotions, but didn't make his way to WWE until the mid 80s. Let's take a look back on his time in WWE.

10 Already A Legend In The NWA Territories

Race Entered WWE With A Well-Established Reputation

• Race wrestled in various territories through the 70s and early 80s
• Had a historic rivalry with Ric Flair
• Jumped to WWE after frustrations with NWA

As alluded to, by the time Harley Race arrived in WWE, he was already a well-accomplished and respected veteran of pro wrestling. By the early 1980s, Race was locked into a rivalry with Ric Flair that would see Flair succeed Race as the face of the NWA in a torch-passing moment at Starrcade ‘83.

At the time, Vince McMachon was trying to get Race to jump ship, but it was Race’s frustration with NWA president Sam Muchnick that really caused Race to leave, as he began to feel that the organization wasn’t long for this world.

9 Managed By Bobby Heenan

Joined the Heenan Family Stable

• Race debuted as 'Handsome' Harley Race
• Race and Heenan were real-life friends
• Heenan previously managed Race in AWA

Upon signing to WWE in 1986, Harley Race debuted in May of that year. Billed as Handsome Harley Race, the legend worked heel in WWE and, like most heels in 1980s WWE, had a manager handling his business. In Race’s case, he was part of The Heenan Family stable, managed by Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. A real-life friend of Race’s, Heenan had managed Harley Race in the American Wrestling Association, but ended up departing the promotion for WWE in 1984.

8 Won King Of The Ring

Won Tournament In July 1986

• Defeated Pedro Morales in the finals
• Second ever King of the Ring
• Donned the cape and crown and billed himself as 'King' Harley Race

Harley Race’s time as a commoner in WWE would only last a few months. After working through various jobbers and some known mid-card talent, in mid-July of 1986 Race entered the King of the Ring, defeating Pedro Morales to become the second-ever winner of the tournament.

10 Things You Should Know About Harley Race's Wrestling Career In The 1980s

While he wasn’t the first King of the Ring, Harley Race was the first to make the achievement a whole gimmick, adopting a haughty attitude while wearing a crown and a cape — a tradition that continues to this day.

7 Feuded With Junkyard Dog Going Into WrestleMania 3

Race's only one-on-one WreslteMania match

• Feud was positioned as royalty vs. the common man
• Race defeated Junkyard Dog
• Race would enter the 20-man battle royal the following WrestleMania

Now dubbed King Harley Race, the regal heel gimmick was pretty much made to result in feuds with more “common man” types of babyfaces. His first major foe in this new era was Junkyard Dog, who Race was determined to make bow to him. After clashing at house shows, in late March 1987, the two had a match at WrestleMania 3 with that very stipulation. Race won the match and JYD honored the rules by bowing to the King, but then assaulted Race and stole his cape.

6 Jim Duggan Also Stole His Regalia

Duggan's Thievery Led To A Feud With The King

• Duggan stole Race's crown and cape
• The pair wrestled at house shows and regional TV tapings
• Duggan would eventually win a King of the Ring tournament as well

Since the King of the Ring gimmick is centered around costume props — usually a crown and cape — it’s not uncommon for a King’s opponents to steal his stuff. One such thief was “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, who’d himself become a king by defeating Harley Race’s successor, Haku (see below). But before that, Duggan stole Race’s crown and cape in the fall of 1987, resulting in a feud between the two. As was common in 1980s WWE, the two had countless singles matches at house shows and on regional TV shows, but they also brawled at the 1987 Slammy Awards ceremony.

5 Took Part In The First Survivor Series

Teamed Up Opposite Of Jim Duggan

• Race teamed up against Duggan's team in 1987 and 1988
• Heenan would manage Race's team
• Race and Duggan were counted out after brawling outside the ring

While most of Jim Duggan and Harley Race’s televised matches were on regional WWE shows, they did have a big encounter at the first-ever Survivor Series pay-per-view. The two were on opposite sides of the opening five-on-five elimination tag team match, and ended up brawling at ringside, resulting in both being counted out as well as being the first eliminated from their respective teams. That wasn’t Race’s only Survivor Series outing however — he also took part in the 1988 iteration, with Duggan once again on the other team.

4 Challenged For The WWE Championship Multiple Times

Feuded With Hulk Hogan At House Shows In 1987

• Race and Hogan headlined house shows in 1987
• Hogan was at his peak, coming off a WrestleMania 3 win over Andre the Giant
• Race would also challenge for the Tag Team Championship alongside King Kong Bundy

Ultimately, Harley Race’s WWE run saw him cast as a goofy midcard heel who never won any titles, a far cry from his accomplishments in the years prior. Despite that, he certainly had opportunities for gold in WWE, as he spent several months in 1987 feuding with WWE Champion Hulk Hogan on the house show circuit.

10 Backstage Stories About Harley Race We Can't Believe

In fact, nearly all of Harley Race’s title bouts in WWE were for the World Title, save one. In late November 1986, Race and Heenan Family stablemate King Kong Bundy teamed up to challenge The British Bulldogs for the World Tag Team Championship at a house show, albeit in a losing effort.

3 Got Injured In A Match With Hulk Hogan

Challenged Hogan On An Episode Of Saturday Night's Main Event

• Non-Title match, with the WWE Championship being vacated at the time
• Race suffered an abdominal hernia after going through a table
• Race was not booked into the WWE Championship tournament at WrestleMania 4

One match with Hulk Hogan would end up giving Harley Race a pretty serious injury — ironically, one that went down about a month after Hogan lost the WWE Championship. It was in early March 1988 that Race took on Hogan in a bout on the 15th episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event, a surprisingly chaotic brawl for the time that even included a table spot. Of course, it was Harley Race, not the Hulkster, who went through the table, and the edge of the table ended up giving Race an abdominal hernia.

2 Feuded With Haku Over The King Gimmick

Haku Defeated Race, And Took On The King Mantra

• Heenan placed the king mantra on Haku while Race healed from an injury
• Race and Haku faced off at the 1989 Royal Rumble for the king title
• Race left the WWE following the match

Following the hernia, Harley Race stuck around until WrestleMania 4 a few weeks later, and then took seven months off. During his absence, manager Bobby Heenan passed Race’s King gimmick onto one of his other clients, Haku, resulting in a feud once Race returned. Demanding his gimmick back, Race clashed with his own stablemate at several house shows in the lead up to a final televised showdown at the 1989 Royal Rumble pay-per-view. There, Haku defeated Race in a nine-minute bout that proved to be the former King’s last-ever match for WWE.

1 Had An Altercation With Randy Orton In 2004

Race Had Just Been Inducted Into The WWE Hall of Fame

• Orton was heavily invested into his 'Legend Killer' gimmick
• Orton spat in Race's face, as scripted and at Race's insistence
• Orton would win the World Heavyweight Championship the same year

In 1990, Harley Race retired from in-ring competition following a shoulder injury, and since then focused on being a manager, trainer, and promoter. In March 2004, WWE honored Race with an induction into its Hall of Fame in a class that included rival Junkyard Dog as well as Bobby Heenan, and was personally inducted by Ric Flair. A little more than a month later, Race appeared on Raw and did a segment with “Legend Killer” Randy Orton that involved Orton spitting in Race’s face, an act that Orton was reluctant to do, but Race was insistent on, as it would help the young star get over.