Mid 20th Century
130-744: Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler , promoter , and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE ), and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He was a nine-time world champion, having won the WWA World Heavyweight Championship once and
260-446: A " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to the platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of
390-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over
520-536: A car accident, another car accident in January 1995 forced Race out of the wrestling business altogether. Race required hip replacement surgery, which, along with injuries accumulated after years in the ring, prevented him from even being a manager. Race would make a few independent appearances against Flair, but his inability to work was just too great. Race would make one last return to WCW television in October 1999 as
650-532: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so
780-519: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to
910-505: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from
1040-448: A championship division was instituted for these teams, but the concept failed to become widely popular; outside Mexico , multi-man tag matches are seen as a special attraction. Typically, a tag team championship is awarded to and defended by a team of two. However, during the 1970s and 1980s, a dominant trio in the NWA known as The Fabulous Freebirds won several regional tag team championships and were allowed to employ any combination of
1170-459: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . Tag team Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Tag team wrestling
1300-415: A farm in his native Missouri. While in high school, an altercation with a classmate led to the principal kneeing Race in the back of the head as he tried to break up the fight. Enraged, Race attacked him, resulting in his expulsion. Already 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) and 225 lb (102 kg), Race decided to get his start in professional wrestling. Race then became the driver of Happy Humphrey who
1430-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers
SECTION 10
#17327810276951560-414: A genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has a more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for
1690-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have
1820-744: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
1950-558: A match at WrestleMania III at the Pontiac Silverdome , in which Race cleanly pinned JYD after a belly-to-belly suplex . JYD was required to bow to Race as the winner, but after he bowed and Race got up, JYD attacked Race before leaving with The King's cape to a standing ovation. Race would spend 1987 feuding with Hulk Hogan and Jim Duggan , who during a televised confrontation took Race's crown and robe, though Race later attacked Duggan and took them back. His feud with Duggan
2080-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to
2210-449: A single opponent). All other members of the team wait outside the ropes (on the ring apron or the floor) in the team's specified corner. Only an active/legal wrestler is allowed to score a fall or have a fall scored against him/her. But any wrestler, legal or outside, may face disqualification for himself or his team for violating rules. Once a tag is made, the wrestler tagging out has a grace period (typically five to ten seconds) to leave
2340-623: A singles career in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Race returned to the AWA in 1984 to wrestle Curt Hennig . The confrontation was fueled by Larry Hennig confronting his former tag team partner at the end of the match. Race also wrestled former AWA World Heavyweight Champion Rick Martel as part of WrestleRock in April 1986. Toward the end of his in-ring career, he returned to the AWA, most notably cast against Larry Zbyszko for an AWA World Heavyweight Championship match in August 1990, which
2470-465: A tag team and moved to the American Wrestling Association (AWA). In the AWA, Race and Hennig branded themselves as "Handsome" Harley Race (which was actually a moniker given to him by fans in Japan) and "Pretty Boy" Larry Hennig, portraying a cocky heel (villain) tag team with a penchant for breaking the rules to win matches. They quickly became top contenders, and in January 1965, they defeated Dick
2600-431: A tag. The tension builds as the legal man is unable to tag out until something happens (a second wind, miscommunication between the opponents or another stroke of luck) that allows the first team to tag and reverse the momentum of the match in their favor. When done well, this results in a large audience reaction, and was the typical climax of tag matches for decades. WWE employs this tactic in nearly every tag team match to
2730-564: A time when the WWF did not recognize the existence of other promotions and the accomplishments a wrestler made there, WWF officials came up with a solution to recognize his wrestling pedigree by having him win the King of the Ring tournament on July 14, 1986. After this Race had a "coronation ceremony", as he then had referred to himself as "King" Harley Race, coming to the ring in a royal crown and cape, to
SECTION 20
#17327810276952860-503: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in
2990-586: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point
3120-759: A worldwide superstar and perennial championship contender. Race was determined to eventually regain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, often moving between territories and collecting several regional titles, including eight Central States Heavyweight Championships, seven Missouri Heavyweight Championships, the Georgia Heavyweight Championship, the Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship in Canada,
3250-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted
3380-405: Is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name and identity. In most team matches, only one competitor per team is allowed in the ring at a time. This status as
3510-478: Is credited with training Trevor Murdoch who was then known as Trevor Rhodes, and NOAH veterans Ace Steel , Superstar Steve, Brian Breaker, Jon Webb, Tommaso Ciampa , and Jack Gamble. In 2014, Race and World League Wrestling relocated to Troy, Missouri. Along with relocating his wrestling academy and promotion, Race also built the Race Wrestling Arena - where events are put on once a month. Race
3640-539: The 1991 The Great American Bash to become the adviser/manager to Luger. Excelling as a manager as he had as a wrestler, he immediately led Luger to the WCW World Heavyweight Championship . He managed Luger throughout his title run, as well as acquiring the contract for Mr. Hughes from Alexandra York . In 1992, Race began to add other wrestlers to a stable that would include Big Van Vader , Super Invader and Vinnie Vegas . The stable
3770-522: The Four Horsemen by Ric Flair and Arn Anderson . On the August 8, 2008, episode of Monday Night Raw , Race sat in the front row and was acknowledged by commentators Michael Cole and Jerry "The King" Lawler . Before the show, Race accompanied then- GHC Heavyweight Champion Takeshi Morishima to the ring for a dark match against Charlie Haas . Race also made an appearance at Total Nonstop Action Wrestling 's Lockdown pay-per-view in 2007 as
3900-840: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship eight times and was the first NWA United States Heavyweight Champion (now WWE United States Championship ). Race is one of six men to have been inducted into each of the WWE Hall of Fame , the NWA Hall of Fame , the WCW Hall of Fame , the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame . He is widely considered as one of
4030-624: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In
Harley Race - Misplaced Pages Continue
4160-898: The Royal Rumble match and cheered both Haku and the former king. Haku was victorious, and Harley Race departed from the WWF. After leaving the WWF, Race continued to wrestle until the spring of 1991, most notably with World Wrestling Council (WWC) in Puerto Rico, Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, Alberta, the NWA, All Japan and the AWA. He defeated Miguel Perez Jr. for the WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship on January 6, 1990, in Puerto Rico making it his last title reign until dropping it to José González on March 4. After his appearance in AWA he briefly retired from wrestling. Race made his return to
4290-776: The United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including a distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by
4420-520: The ring name of Jack Long , forming a tag team with storyline brother John Long. The duo quickly captured the Southern Tag Team Championship. Race was seen as a rising star in the business until a car accident put him out of action, with his leg nearly being amputated. His pregnant wife, Vivian Louise Jones, died instantly; they had been married just over a month. Karras heard about his employee's condition, went rushing into
4550-584: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in
4680-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in
4810-460: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
4940-411: The 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance the spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from
5070-552: The 2007 film Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy . The career of Harley Race, became the subject of Vice TV 's fifth season of the Dark Side of the Ring . Professional wrestler 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling ) is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with
5200-653: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike
5330-696: The Bruiser and the Crusher in the sold-out Minneapolis Auditorium to win the AWA World Tag Team Championship . Clips from the match aired on WCCO TV . Two weeks after winning the titles, Race was involved in an altercation at The Chestnut Tree, a restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After Race confronted a man who was harassing a woman in the restaurant, knocking him unconscious, the man's friend, John Morton, stabbed Race in
Harley Race - Misplaced Pages Continue
5460-517: The Funk brothers at a WWF event in Kansas City. Race lost over $ 500,000 as an owner of the Kansas City territory, and despite his championship years being at an end and wishing to retire from active competition, was forced to rely on continuing to wrestle to make a living. He continued to travel in the United States and abroad, and signed with McMahon's WWF in 1986. Race spent several years away from
5590-560: The Great Mortimer in 1963. He returned to the ring in 1964, wrestling for Dory Funk 's Amarillo, Texas , territory. This time, he wrestled as Harley Race , after his father told him that he should not work to make anyone else's name famous. Race never again used a different ring name. In Amarillo, Race met fellow up-and-coming wrestler Larry Hennig (later Larry "the Axe" Hennig and father of "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig ). The two formed
5720-788: The Japan-based NWA United National Heavyweight and PWF World Heavyweight Championships , and becoming the first holder of the Mid-Atlantic United States Heavyweight Championship, still defended today as the WWE United States Championship . This kept Race in contention for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and Race vowed that he would only need one chance against the champion to regain it. Race finally got his wish in 1977, facing familiar rival Terry Funk, who had become
5850-712: The Junkyard Dog in two matches on the WCW house show circuit and finished the year facing Michael Wallstreet . During a house show match in St. Joseph, Missouri on December 7, 1990, Race sustained a shoulder injury and would ultimately retire from active competition. Race made his first subsequent appearance six months later as a guest referee during a house show on June 14, 1991, in St. Louis, Missouri . One year after making his initial return on The Great American Bash in 1990, Race returned at
5980-561: The Kansas City-based Central States Wrestling . In 1973, Race took the nickname "Mad Dog" and faced NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dory Funk Jr. in Kansas City. Race emerged from the battle as the new world champion in what was perceived by fans as a stunning upset. Behind the scenes, Funk had pulled out of losing the title to Jack Brisco , citing injuries in a truck accident; in truth, Amarillo promoter Dory Funk Sr. did not want his son losing
6110-472: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship for a two-day reign in New Zealand in 1984; after many years, it is now a recognized title change with Harley as an eight-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion. However, his loss to Flair at Starcade was largely seen as the torch-passing from Race to Flair. Flair would go on to credit Race for igniting his career. Later, Race left the NWA because NWA president Sam Muchnick
6240-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from
6370-408: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into
6500-604: The NWA. Bob Orton Jr. and Dick Slater attacked Flair, inflicting what appeared to be a career-ending neck injury, and collecting the bounty from Race after Flair announced his retirement. Flair's retirement was a ruse, however, and he eventually returned to action, much to Race's surprise. NWA officials set up a championship rematch, to be titled "Starrcade: A Flare for the Gold". The match was to be held in Flair's hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina , which enraged Race. Shortly before
6630-538: The active or legal wrestler may be transferred by physical contact, most commonly a palm-to-palm tag which resembles a high five . The team-based match has been a mainstay of professional wrestling since the mid-twentieth century, and most promotions have sanctioned a championship division for tag teams. The first "World" tag team championship was promoted in San Francisco in the early 1950s. Tag matches with three-man teams were developed, and in some territories,
SECTION 50
#17327810276956760-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight
6890-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that
7020-561: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As
7150-404: The back. Race was hospitalized and Morton was arrested. Race and Hennig were designated to feud with the Bruiser and Crusher and other top teams for the next several years, and were given three title reigns. Verne Gagne , in particular, was promoted as a hated rival of the team, partnering with several other wrestlers in matches, against Race and Hennig during their AWA run. In October 1967, Gagne
7280-722: The basic tag team match is referred to as Lucha de Parejas (Doubles Fight), a six-man match as a Lucha de Trios , and an eight-man match as a Lucha Atómica (Atomic Fight). A "bookend" tag team is a (sometimes derogatory) term for a tag team where the members look and/or dress alike (e.g., The Killer Bees , the British Bulldogs , Los Conquistadores , the Hart Foundation , etc.). Bookends are common in North America , Europe and Mexico , but not in Japan as
7410-412: The broader public. In the United States, wrestling is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as
7540-596: The business, working briefly as a process server before retiring with his wife in small-town Missouri. In 1999, he started World League Wrestling (originally called World Legion Wrestling, but the name was changed a year later), an independent promotion which runs shows near Race's hometown of Eldon, Missouri , and other cities in Missouri including Kansas City. A year later, he started Harley Race's Wrestling Academy , which seeks to train up-and-coming wrestlers who could benefit from Race's unique experience and perspective on
7670-604: The businesses to Troy. Many of his trainees were sent to the NOAH promotion in Japan for extra experience. Over the years he needed surgery to his neck, hip replacements, knee replacements and had five vertebra in his back fused together due to the years of taking hard bumps. In May 2017, he broke both legs in a fall at his home, one in several places. He needed four blood transfusions during surgery. Race would continue to promote WLW until his death whilst in rehab. On March 1, 2019, Race's close friend Ric Flair announced that Race
7800-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who
7930-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards
SECTION 60
#17327810276958060-493: The ceremonial accompaniment of the tenth movement (known as "Great Gate of Kiev") of Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky . After winning a match, Race would make his defeated opponent "bow and kneel" before him. Usually Heenan would assist the defeated opponent to "bow and kneel" by grabbing their hair and forcing them to bow before Race. He participated in a notable feud with the Junkyard Dog , culminating in
8190-586: The champion since their previous encounters, in Toronto . Race won the title by submission with the Indian death lock, a rarely used submission move but one that put great pressure on Funk's injured leg. The NWA World Heavyweight Champion once again, Race this time established his dominance, defending the title up to six times a week and holding it for almost five years (excluding extremely short reigns by Tommy Rich, Dusty Rhodes, and Giant Baba). Race feuded with many of
8320-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling
8450-512: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
8580-468: The competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on the independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in
8710-542: The country and the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and many stints in Japan, where he was already well known from his visits with Larry Hennig. On October 13, 1978, Race body slammed André the Giant . Race would repeat the feat on January 7, 1979, though it was outside the ring during the match. Race, after many victories over Dusty Rhodes and other great wrestlers, lost the title to Rhodes in 1981. Rhodes lost
8840-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine
8970-641: The early 1990s after over 30 years of marriage. Together they had a son, Justin, who was an amateur wrestler but never participated in professional wrestling. His fourth wife, Beverly (B.J.) was vice president of the Commerce Bank of Kansas City . They married in late 1995, shortly after Race's career-ending car crash. She often traveled with Race until she died of pneumonia. Race had five grandchildren. Race continued running World League Wrestling (WLW) and his wrestling camp in Eldon, Missouri . He later moved
9100-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and
9230-501: The event's battle royal. Following this incident and during his recovery, the WWF ran an angle where they acknowledged his injury, and his manager Heenan vowed to crown a new king. Race was absent for six months, finally returning on October 15 to defeat B. Brian Blair in Milan, Italy. He rejoined The Heenan Family, participating with Bobby Heenan's team at Survivor Series . On Dec 3, 1988, on WWF Superstars he defeated Jim Gorman ; after
9360-406: The event, rival WWF promotor Vince McMahon offered Race $ 250,000 to no-show the event. After considering the offer to sabotage the event, Race declined and the match went ahead. Race lost the title to Flair in the bloody and memorable Starcade steel cage match (with Gene Kiniski as the special referee.) Flair jumped on top of Race from the top rope and pinned him to become champion. Race regained
9490-603: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to
9620-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In
9750-468: The floor, are employed to maintain order for this type of match. In independent discussion and analysis of matches, certain terms are used to describe specific scenarios involving tag team matches. These are planned and timed to inject drama into a match. One spot common to many tag team match is the hot tag . One member of one team is in the ring, too weakened to move or otherwise impaired, while his partner watches helplessly, struggling to reach him for
9880-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as
10010-460: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself
10140-548: The greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Race was born in Quitman, Missouri , on April 11, 1943. Race was an early fan of professional wrestling, watching programming from the nearby Chicago territory on the DuMont Television Network . After overcoming polio as a child, he began training as a professional wrestler as a teen under former world champions Stanislaus and Wladek Zbyszko , who operated
10270-485: The group's members in their title defenses. In kayfabe , this made it difficult for challengers to prepare for their upcoming title fights since the challengers did not know exactly whom they were facing. This was an effective gimmick and is still utilized by other wrestling companies. The stipulation has become traditionally known as the "Freebird Rule". A common storyline is former tag team partners turning on each other with one member usually turning heel or babyface in
10400-458: The hospital, and blocked the planned amputation, declaring it "over my dead body". In doing so, he saved Race's leg. Although he recovered, doctors told Race that he might never walk again, and his wrestling career was over. Undaunted, Race endured grueling physical therapy for several months and made a full recovery. Race next went on to work for Jack Pfefer and Tony Santos in the Boston territory as
10530-473: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with
10660-492: The individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in a professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
10790-480: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore
10920-496: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by
11050-550: The inner workings of the business. Race's autobiography, King of the Ring: the Harley Race Story ( ISBN 1-58261-818-6 ), was released on November 19, 2004. Along with Ricky Steamboat and Les Thatcher , Race is author of The Professional Wrestler's Workout and Instructional Guide . Race played himself as the distinguished ring announcer for a tag team match involving Mil Mascaras and El Hijo del Santo in
11180-579: The last wrestling matches of his career. After losing the title at Starrcade in December 1993, Vader quickly became Race's sole stable member again. Race continued to manage Vader in the following months in rematches against Flair, and on May 22, 1994, he was inducted into the WCW Hall of Fame during the Slamboree PPV. He continued to appear at Vader's side through the rest of the year. As his early wrestling career had been nearly derailed due to
11310-587: The legends of the NWA including Dory Funk, Dusty Rhodes, Dick the Bruiser, Pat Patterson and Angelo Poffo. In 1978, he had a series of violent matches throughout the Midwest with the Sheik, culminating in a bloody "2x4 with a nail in it" match in front of 12,313 at Cobo Hall. The NWA, AWA and WWF were on good terms, and Race engaged in title versus title matches with WWF Heavyweight champions Superstar Billy Graham and Bob Backlund , as well as AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel. Race toured extensively all over
11440-579: The main event on an episode of the promotion's eponymous Stampede Wrestling program (where Race successfully defended his title), resurfaced during the 21st century as part of the WWE Video Library . Most of his televised matches of this era were squash matches held in television studios. Though Race held the title for only a few months, losing it to Brisco in Houston, Texas , in July, he became
11570-447: The match Race declared that he desired to regain the crown from Haku and complained that Bobby Heenan never visited him in the hospital. On December 17, 1988, at Philadelphia he defeated Danny Davis . After the victory he got onto the microphone and challenged Heenan to bring out Haku to face him. As the month drew to a close Race began to face King Haku on the house show circuit. Despite Race's anger at his manager, Bobby Heenan came to
11700-407: The match, a referee may overlook any of these at his discretion, and during the frenzied action, often will be more lenient with them. In some multi-man tag matches in lucha libre , a wrestler can make himself the team's legal man simply by setting foot in the ring, and his partner then leaves. This allows for action to become nearly continuous. Two referees, one stationed inside the ring and one on
11830-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in
11960-422: The ownership side of wrestling, buying a portion of the Kansas City and later St. Louis territories known as Heart of America Sports Attractions . St. Louis was a stronghold of the NWA, and around this time in 1984, WWF owner Vince McMahon began his invasion of NWA territories, including St. Louis, in his ambition to build a truly national wrestling promotion. Race was enraged, famously confronting Hulk Hogan and
12090-406: The point that they fired a referee in 2008 after a botched finish that, while the match produced the intended finish, did not feature a hot tag . A common variation on the hot tag sees both wrestlers from the heel team attacking a face, while his partner protests to the referee about this bending of the rules (and therefore, unintentionally "distracting" the referee away from the heels). Eventually
12220-512: The premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain
12350-456: The process, which will invariably ignite a feud . This can be used when one member is being called on to develop a new gimmick . The basic tag team match has two teams of two wrestlers facing off against each other. All standard rules for singles wrestling apply to a team match. However, only one wrestler from each team, called the "legal man" is allowed in the ring at a time (although heels will often flout this rule in an attempt to gang up on
12480-601: The promotion at The Great American Bash on July 7, 1990, when he defeated former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Tommy Rich . He began making appearances on house shows and immediately would fill in for Ric Flair in several tag team matches, pairing up with Barry Windham against Lex Luger and Sting . Race would continue a program with Rich through the rest of the summer, as well as facing Brian Pillman and Wendell Cooley . In September, he received several United States Heavyweight Championship title shots against then champion Lex Luger . In October, Race renewed his rivalry with
12610-717: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During
12740-439: The purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise a bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether
12870-480: The ring announcer for the Bret Hart vs. Chris Benoit tribute to Owen Hart match in his hometown of Kansas City. Race returned to WWE television in 2004 shortly after being inducted into their Hall of Fame. On an episode of Raw , Randy Orton confronted Race and spat in his face, to go with Orton's "Legend Killer" persona. Race returned again for Raw ' s WWE Homecoming episode in October 2005, marking
13000-409: The ring before risking disqualification. Offensive cooperation from a team member is allowed during this time window; thus it is rather commonplace for both members of a team, especially heel teams, to milk this grace period and have two men in the ring simultaneously with only one member of an opposing team The following are standard requisites for making a legal tag: As the ultimate authority over
13130-517: The show's return to the USA Network . In 2004, Race was recruited to be a part of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a member of their NWA Championship Committee. Despite reportedly being an authority figure as a member of the committee, he never made any official decisions and only made the occasional on-screen appearance for the company. At the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2007 ceremony on March 31, 2007, Race and Dusty Rhodes were "inducted" into
13260-811: The special guest gatekeeper for the main event. Race made a special guest appearance at the second night of Ring of Honor 's Glory by Honor VI: Night Two at the Manhattan Center on November 3, 2007, in New York City . On January 4, 2014, Race took part in New Japan Pro-Wrestling 's Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome event, participating in the title presentation before a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and punching out defending champion Rob Conway 's manager Bruce Tharpe. Earlier in his career, Race became involved in
13390-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For
13520-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,
13650-488: The title to a fellow babyface (a fan favorite). Race, a known tough street fighter, was under orders from the NWA not to let Funk leave the ring as champion that night. The ending was a "work" with Funk dropping the title in a third fall as planned and TV announcer Bill Kersten dropping the "Mad Dog" nickname during the match. A televised title defense from this first reign, held in Calgary against Klondike Bill , aired as
13780-410: The title to up-and-coming star Ric Flair , though Race was able to defeat Flair in St. Louis in 1983 for his seventh reign as champion, breaking the record previously held by Lou Thesz . What followed was one of the classic angles of the 1980s, which led to the first NWA Starrcade event. Determined not to lose the title again, Race offered a $ 25,000 bounty to anyone who could eliminate Flair from
13910-519: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by
14040-399: The true legal man, often from behind. A tag team match involving more than two wrestlers per team is often referred to by the total number of people involved (e.g. a six-man tag team match involves two teams of three), while a tag team match involving more than two teams is referred to by normal qualifiers (e.g. a triple threat tag team match involves three teams of two). In lucha libre ,
14170-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it
14300-405: The venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as a performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in
14430-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of
14560-407: The weakened face wrestler does make the tag to his partner, who comes in as the fresh man and is able to take on both opponents quite easily. A blind tag is a legal tag made without the legal opponent's knowledge, usually while his back is turned. This allows the team who uses it an opportunity to confuse the legal opponent, who turns to face what he assumes to be his opponent only to be attacked by
14690-784: The worldwide spotlight, until 1973. In Kansas City , he did very well teaming with Roger "Nature Boy" Kirby. As a singles wrestler, he held the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship as well as the Mid-Atlantic version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship . He also started what would be many tours to Japan in All Japan Pro Wrestling where he faced Giant Baba . He worked with All Japan from 1973 to 1989. He frequently wrestled for
14820-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked
14950-409: The wrestling business. Race's events are family-oriented, and usually raise funds for local charities. As well as featuring his students, legends like Mick Foley , Terry Funk , Bret Hart , and even Mitsuharu Misawa have made guest appearances. WLW had a working agreement with Misawa's Japanese promotion, Pro Wrestling NOAH and had NOAH star Takeshi Morishima as a former heavyweight champion. He
15080-487: The years presented Gagne with some of his greatest matches. Together, Race and Haggerty often were cast against Gagne and "Cowboy" Bill Watts . In March 1968, after Hennig's return to the ring, he and Race were back together, though the two never again won the AWA World Tag Team Championship. Despite his tag team success, Race left the AWA after several years at the top of the division to pursue
15210-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling
15340-610: Was "losing his capabilities". In May 1986, Race entered the WWF managed by longtime friend Bobby "the Brain" Heenan , bleaching his hair blond and billing himself again as "Handsome" Harley Race. He made his debut on May 31, 1986, at Superstars of Wrestling taping in Toronto, Canada, defeating SD Jones. Race was undefeated that summer in competition against George Wells , Lanny Poffo , Tony Garea , Cousin Luke , and Tony Atlas . During
15470-455: Was born to sharecroppers Jay Allen Race and Mary Race in 1943. Race married his first wife, Vivian Jones, in 1960. She died five weeks after their wedding in the same car crash in which Race nearly lost a leg. Shortly after Vivian's death, Race married Sandra Jones, who he briefly mentioned in his 2004 autobiography King of the Ring . This second marriage produced a daughter, Candice Marie, and ended in divorce. His third wife, Evon, divorced him in
15600-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in
15730-531: Was credited with "breaking" one of Hennig's legs, thus giving him some much needed time off from the ring. Race (as the storyline went) was allowed to choose a new partner and retain the AWA World Tag Team Championship. Race's choice was Chris Markoff, but the duo was defeated in their first title defense match against the team of Pat O'Connor and Wilbur Snyder in November 1967. For the next several months, Race teamed with Hard Boiled Haggerty (Don Stansauk) who over
15860-560: Was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer . On August 1, 2019, it was revealed by long time friend Dustin Rhodes that Race had died from lung cancer at the age of 76. He was buried next to his parents and one brother at Quitman Cemetery along Highway 113 in Quitman, Missouri. Race participated in the 1998 NBC special, Exposed! Pro Wrestling's Greatest Secrets . His face was covered to conceal his identity as he broke kayfabe and discussed
15990-455: Was featured as the main event of an AWA broadcast on ESPN making it the final AWA television taping. The match ended in a double countout. AWA folded after the match. Race jumped between National Wrestling Alliance territories in the early 1970s, renewing his rivalry with Funk in Amarillo, Texas and winning a regional title. He was seen as a gifted territorial wrestler, not quite ready for
16120-475: Was highlighted by an extended brawl at the 1987 Slammy Awards . In early 1988, he suffered an abdominal injury in a match against Hogan in which he tried to hit Hogan, prone on a table at ringside, with a swan dive headbutt. Hogan moved out of the way and Race impacted the table inwards. The metal edge forced its way up into Race's abdomen giving him a hernia . Race continued to work with the injury through WrestleMania IV on March 27, 1988, where he participated in
16250-982: Was popular among the young WCW talent, and developed close friendships with Mick Foley and Steve Austin , among others. On June 9, 1993, at a TV taping in Lake Charles, Louisiana , Race began managing The Colossal Kongs , and on July 7 at the WorldWide tapings in Orlando, Florida , Yoshi Kwan joined the stable. Race returned to the ring a final time on a trio of Florida house shows (November 26, 1993, in Davie, Florida, November 27 in Orlando, Florida and November 28 in Jacksonville, Florida), when he substituted for an injured Vader to face Flair. His former rival would come out victorious on each occasion. These would be
16380-650: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
16510-508: Was short-lived, and after Vader defeated Sting for the world championship on July 12, 1992, he became Race's primary charge. During his management of Vader, Race met with racial controversy when Vader was feuding with WCW wrestler Ron Simmons when saying during a promo , "When I was world champion, I had a boy like you to carry my bags!". This was actually part of the booking strategy of then-WCW head Bill Watts to build support for Simmons, whom he would eventually make champion. The wily veteran
16640-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted
16770-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
16900-413: Was too large to drive at the time. Race was recruited by St. Joseph wrestling promoter Gust Karras who hired Race to do odd jobs for his promotion, including chauffeuring the 800 lb (360 kg) Happy Humphrey. Eventually, Race started wrestling on some of his shows and some of Karras' veteran wrestlers helped further Race's training. At the age of 18, he moved to Nashville and began wrestling under
#694305