Harley Race

[Matt D]

vs. Ron Miller (12/77)

 

This appears to be from Jim Barnett's Australian WCW. Interesting little segment beforehand as Race's scheduled opponent, Kevin Martin, is injured giving him the default win, but Ron Miller says that he's ready to take on the champion. Race objects. "This is absolutely ridiculous ... I'm not wrestling this man on television, it's an embarrassment." Race thinks that Miller is a "ringer".

 

The bell rings and nonetheless, Race gets in the ring. It's surreal watching this, the Aussie commentator is so stereotypical that the whole thing feels like a spoof.

 

Suplex by race. Action goes to the outside. Race hits a flying crossbody from the top rope and the momentum takes him over for Miller to get the pin for 1, 2, 3!

 

Miller pinned Race!!! So is it NEW World Champions Ron Miller?

 

Guess it was a non-title match. But wow, the crowd is happy for Miller. From this evidence, I don't think Miller is a lost worker or anything.

 

Awesome slightly psycho promo by Race afterward with a massive cut on his head. "Well I bloody well pinned ya didn't I", goads Miller. Race is going fucking crazy here. AWESOME promo.

Everyone needs to see the promo, btw. The match is on youtube.

[ohtani's jacket]

Race talking into the camera like that was hilarious and the commentator's reaction looked like something out of the old Aussie comedy Frontline.

[JerryvonKramer]

[JerryvonKramer]

Need this one isolated as a general reaction.

 

Can't wait to use it in response to a typical Matt D post!

 

[Jimmy Redman]

"Well I bloody well pinned ya didn't I??" is the most Aussie thing I've ever heard. That was a fun little segment.

[JerryvonKramer]

Harley Race vs. Andre the Giant (1/7/79)

 

Courtesy of the new NWA Classics and so a backwards time travel for us from the Summer of 1982 where we left off to the Summer of 1979 when Race still had the belt. Commentary is by Bruce Tharpe and his buddy recorded in 2015.

 

This was worked very logically and the first two falls could be divided into shine - transition (finish of first fall) - heat - finish (finish of second fall). Andre for his part worked a lot of holds on Harley's arm and he used his weight to good advantage during all of that. This is a little bit different from a lot of the Harley I've seen because Andre keeps him grounded. If I had to imagine this match before watching it, I'd have thought we'd have seen Harley bumping around for the Giant, but they work a more mat-based affair. Finish to the first fall sees Harley nail Andre with a chair in the gut before bodyslamming him on the concrete -- this must be the bodyslam they were still hyping in Dallas in the 1982 stuff I've been watching recently. So cool to hear about it and then see it like that. The spot with Harley hurting his own head with the falling headbutt was pretty cool and not a standard Race spot at all.

 

Second fall had a long-ish bearhug by Harley and I'd have preferred to have seen him drop a few more knees and variety of offense. But the butterfly suplex by Andre looked great and the big splash for the finish like it might have killed a man.

 

Third fall and the match sort of peters out, but the finish is one I've not seen before and I've seen a hell of a lot of BS finishes watching Harley, Brisco and The Sheik this past year.

 

All-in-all, this was very enjoyable and in the context of Harley defenses from the period, one of the better ones I've seen because it wasn't worked with the Giant getting 95% of all the offense, unlike the bouts against Backlund and Steamboat. They were able to tell a good story.

 

****

[JerryvonKramer]

Dates for remaining Harley matches from new uploads (for my own reference):

Harley Race vs. Dick Murdoch (2/12/81)
Harley Race and Stan Hansen vs. Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta (4/21/82)
Harley Race and Dick Slater vs. Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta (12/13/82)
Harley Race and Nick Bockwinkel vs. Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody (11/23/84)

[JerryvonKramer]

Harley Race vs. Dick Murdoch (2/12/81)

 

Girls with flowers, cheesy 70s keyboards, this can only mean one thing! It's AJPW. Race has his moustache and is in a cool robe. Murdoch is in a red AJ tracksuit like a young boy. Race is NWA champ here, obviously.

 

Hip toss. Headlock takeover and into a headlock. Murdoch on offense. Gorilla press slam by Murdoch. Back to the headlock. Couple of punches and another gorilla press slam. Back to the headlock. I'm honestly not trolling on Will but I do find Murdoch boring at times. Doesn't connect with me as a worker, at least not when he's working in this 70s technical mould.

 

Action goes outside and several weird chair shots now where it is clearly Race who his hitting himself with the chair and Murdoch barely helping. Weird. Some of the worst chair shots I've ever seen, and I've watched WWF in 1979.

 

Race goes for a suplex but it gets reversed. Comes back with headbutts. Dumps him. Back in and Murdoch nails a piledriver. Sleeper. Race goes for a piledriver ... Reversed. Of course this is NWA champ Harley so he can't hit a single move of offense. Yawn.

 

Atomic drop outside the ring by Murdoch. Race comes back and they brawl into the crowd. Double count out.

 

Man, this was crap. How disappointing. Harley on NWA title defense autopilot and Murdoch brought very little to this heatless affair. Easily the worst match I've seen from the new uploads.

 

**

[Matt D]

Race and Bockwinkel vs Hansen and Brody was a pretty lame match, completely due to Hansen and Brody not giving Race and Bock anything at all. I think combined, over 15 exchanges, there was one minute out of ten, usually just for seconds at a time, where Brody or Hansen were selling or at any risk at all. This is the Hansen I really don't like at all.

 

The post match brawl, on the other hand, makes this whole thing worth watching.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Great stuff, Parv!

 

Harley is not someone I am generally too fond of. I know it has been parroted before, but I see him as a bomb thrower with no psychology. The match with Martel in the AWA is a great example of this. Though, I have watched Harley Race matches that I really do enjoy.

 

Harley does not seem to have that classic, iconic match that everyone points to as his best. So what do people think is the best Harley Race match?

 

I ask because I just watched the Texas Death match with Hogan in 87 in fucking loved it. I also rated the Baba 10/31/79 match very highly. I agree with Parv that two matches with the Von Erich boys are standouts. What else is there?

[Childs]

The Funk match from the NWA Houston footage is genuinely great.

[NintendoLogic]

I thought Harley looked great in the Funk and Andre matches (I'd personally give the nod to the latter). He's the guy whose stock rose the most in my eyes from the Houston footage.

[NickH]

Great reaction, also same guy below would you believe. Would give Harley a run for his money.

 

[JerryvonKramer]

Harley Race vs Ted DiBiase (11/10/83)

 

Just stumbled on this on YouTube. It has fan commentary and is from Central States. No DQ. Kansas crowd are hot for Harley. Ted completely dominates early but then there are some commercials from 1983 and when we come back Harley has taken over. Good intensity and action went outside a lot so they played into the stip. Ted has a pre-match promo about beating Race in his own back yard. I don’t think there was much of a story behind this, Ted was back from a Japan tour and going into a Georgia stint and dropped in for this one date in Central States. The hopeless TV footage was already promoting shows with Flair as champ by the way. 

[JerryvonKramer]

Harley Race vs Ted DiBiase (10/31/83)

This came up in the side bar after the last match and it was uploaded by someone called Matt D, whoever that is. Never seen this either: from the aforementioned All Japan tour. Ted has an “Italian Stallion” robe. He’s rocking the black glove. Race is in full Starrcade 83 look here with the mutton chops and tache. A lot of bombs early doors here, Race hits a piledriver. Ted hits a double underarm suplex which I don’t recall him ever doing and his own piledriver. Pretty hot action to be honest. Race working stronger than he usually does, maybe for the Japanese crowd. Sleeper by Ted, action goes outside, quite a good nearfall when Ted breaks the duplex in for a pin attempt. He manages to get the figure four on but Race makes the ropes.  Ted works the leg now with some nicely focused attacks and goes for the spinning toehold. Catches Race from the top, goes for it again. And then again. Hits that sweet scoop powerslam but Race manages to steal a pin with a cradle. Pretty good match!!