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RIP Harley Race


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I will always think of Harley Race as the toughest SOB of all time. He's the living embodiment of a man who works out by bending rebar with his hands, hands that look like they were chiseled out of stone. 

This is a sad and shitty loss. Rest in power.

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I did hear a “one time I saw Harley Race with a girl on each arm at Dick Clark’s [a long gone American Bandstand themed restaurant that had locations in the KC area]” story from my dad in reaction to the news.

 

 

Edited by Cobra Commander
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I believe this match could work as documentation that Harley Race worked more as a babyface in the KC area than probably anywhere else. Not sure if the concept of "good guy/home town hero Harley Race" is really weird to the rest of the wrestling fan world.

Also, Facebook's algorithm is too good because one of the top posts on a news station post about Harley passing is somebody mentioning Harley, Bulldog Bob Brown, and Rufus R. Jones stopping in Osceola, IA on their road trips between KC and Des Moines. Those 3 are pretty much the triad of guys who'll get mentioned by somebody talking about "All Star Wrestling"

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1 hour ago, RIPPA said:

 

Technically, Team Andre & Bravo. 1988 was the year with co-captains. They're all in the big ring in the sky chanting "SURVIVE, SURVIVE, SURVIVE".

Edited by Nice Guy Eddie
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7 hours ago, Phantom Lord said:

I can only hope the man is at peace now. He lived a long hard life.

As with most things Memphis, I wish this was in better quality. But this blows away any promo I've seen probably in the last decade if not longer. I'd love to see the match that caused him to get this pissed off.

 

I don't think he blinked his eyes even once during that promo. That is fucking terrifying.

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7 hours ago, Technico Support said:

Just adding something: don't forget that Race turned down a quarter mil from Vince to no show Starrcade, then beat Vince's ass when Vince got pissed off at the rebuke and tried to legdive him.  An honorable man and a badass.

Not sure if it adds to Harley Race's honor, but to add to it:

Harley Race was a  silent partner and part-owner of the NWA, even while he was under WWF contract.

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It was St Louis Wrestling Club he was part owner in, bought his share when Sam Muchnick died.

Sad news to wake up to, but not unexpected. If anything I'm surprised he held on as long as he did, like Blackjack Mulligan he was just too tough to quit.

Harley was one of the few wrestlers I was a mark for, and in a world where the term 'legend' gets thrown around far too much he was the epitome of a legend and the standard bearer for professional wrestlers from the 70s into the 90s. He commanded and got respect everywhere he went.

It's hard to think he was only in his 40s when he passed the torch to Flair, dude looked the same age at every year of his life

10 hours ago, Ziggy said:

My other favorite story is about how he'd ask for his opponents wrist before a match, he'd check the wrist be going out to measure the bone density and determine how stiff he'd work that person in a match.

I love this haha.

Also:

 

Edited by CreativeControl
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He was also a great manager for Vader. Taking bumps he definitely didn't need to be taking at his age and in his condition, adding legitimacy to everything Vader did, cutting good promos and, as Foley told us, putting the fear of Harley into people that needed it.

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Equally as important as his onscreen role with Vader is how much he coached and mentored a lot of the up and comers in the back at the time too: Cactus, Steve Austin, Dustin Rhodes have all talked about how important he was to their careers.

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I don't know that I'll say anything here that anyone else hasn't already. Harley is easily in my top five personal favorite guys. He could sell, he could talk, his offensive set was huge, and he had that aura. He could work with anyone and as NWA champ, he did. A bloody war with Abdullah one night, then then a technical chess match with Rick Martel the next. He combined the the best parts of the Funks and Jack Brisco into the original "total package" worker. Rest In Peace, Champ.

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2 hours ago, Brian Fowler said:

He was also a great manager for Vader. Taking bumps he definitely didn't need to be taking at his age and in his condition, adding legitimacy to everything Vader did, cutting good promos and, as Foley told us, putting the fear of Harley into people that needed it.

I was thinking about the stories Mick Foley told about Harley Race in his first book: the barbecues, busting an eyebrow and Race ringing Foley after THAT powerbomb on the concrete floor that he's the next Harley Race.

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As an aside, we've got a match lined up for tonight/tomorrow on SC that we pulled from the Japanese Handhelds/TV footage that's new to the community. Does anyone know if a Dory vs Harley singles match exists in full on tape or will this be the first one? I know we have a few minutes from Florida and a clip of the title change, but I haven't seen any sign of a full match.

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