Harley Race

[10.0] "During the late 70s when Terry Funk left professional wrestling to focus on his marriage, the NWA gave the ball to Harley Race as the top guy for the organisation. Race was exactly the tough guy to represent the NWA, a wonderful worker who coulf also handle himself in the ring in case there was any shenanigans. Race was a successful top guy who then created big stars in Dusty and Flair to carry the NWA once his run was done."

[9.0] "Harley Race is one of the most influential pro wrestlers in history. He was the star of the NWA in the territory days. There was nothing Race was not able to do he could go in the ring, he could talk on the mic and he was one of the easiest wrestlers to boo (not sure of any runs as of face)."

[10.0] "Harley Race is easily one of the all time greats and one of my personal favorites to ever lace up a pair of boots. The man has had a legendary career in the 1970s and 1980s having rivalries and matches with legends from Dusty Rhodes, Terry Funk, Jumbo Tsuruta, Ric Flair, Giant Baba, and more. He was the man who passed the torch to Ric Flair, that alone should be enough of a reason to elevate Harley's status, but there's tons more. One of the most solid knee drops of all time, invented the diving head butt (despite regretting it later in his life), was the man in NWA, amazing talker, great heel, incredible wrestler, one of the best workers of all time, and one of the toughest men in professional wrestling (i.e. overcoming POLIO as a kid, surviving a car crash that killed his wife and broke his forearm, etc.) Overall, Harley Race is a legend in every sense of the world, deserves all the respect in the world. R.I.P. Harley Race"

[5.0] "Sehr behäbig, langsam und definitiv ein mittelmäßiger Wrestler von früher. Auch für damalige Verhältnisse habe ich nie verstanden warum er nun sehr beliebt ist. Es gab so viele bessere sogar in den anfänglichen 80ger Jahren. Auch in Japan hat er mir nicht wirklich gefallen. Und selbst so Dinge wie sein ikonisches Selling finde ich nicht so schön gemacht und von seinem Charisma kam bei mir zumindest auch nie etwas rüber. 5 Punkte sind für mich somit für einen sehr mittelmäßigen Wrestler angemessen."

[10.0] "He was awesome in the ring, and he was one of the greatest technicians of his era. His backflip rope selling is a favorite Harley move of mine. I also enjoyed King Harley Race in the WWF. Best match was against Hulk Hogan in my book."

[10.0] "I disagree with the 5 ratings, so once I get a week to wait because of the system change, I will be rating Race a 10. The man was an athlete, a gifted wrestler and ultimately a trailblazer who helped bring wrestling forward towards where it is today. He is easily one of the greatest professional wrestlers to ever walk the Earth and to say otherwise would be a lie. He has slammed André the Giant, he was an 8x NWA Champion and he was The King of the Ring, those achievements speak for themselves."

[5.0] "Aside from historical contributions, I never got Harley Race's style. Slow and plodding even by late 70's/early 80's standards. By the time he came to the WWF he had really slowed down and he worked fine as a filler member of the Heenan Family but never felt like a main event threat."

[5.0] "85 votes of 10? I have no doubts about how tough Harley Race was in real life, but to me, he was the epitome of boring. Slow and methodical to the point of absurdity. I find everything about him overrated. I can appreciate his role in late '80s WWF because of Bobby Heenan, but when I first watched his passing of the torch to Ric Flair at the first Starrcade, I was underwhelmed and continued to be until he retired."

[10.0] "Profoundly influential in a myriad of large and small ways, many "tippy top" names borrowed heavily/liberally from Harley (hell Stone Cold Steve Austin even does that "yah-hah" breathing thing he did! ). Phenomenal promos, one of the greatest talkers on god's green earth! The diving headbutt was awesome every time. the way he took some backwards bumps always leaves me gasping; talk about putting yourself in fate's hands! Everything he did looked real or was real, almost no one else took professional wrestling more seriously than Harley Race. Flaws? Sometimes you gotta wait a long while before he "turns it on" and if you don't care for his opponent you might struggle. The WWF run was, a thing. I certainly enjoyed his time in WCW as Vader's manager, perfect end to his on screen career."

[10.0] "A man who carried the NWA during the late 70s and early 80s, Harley Race was a great all-around talent, an amazing workhorse who carried himself like a true star, and commanded respect in the ring or on the mic. He was the face of American wrestling during that time for a reason."

[10.0] "One of the all time greatest in ring performers with memorable matches in NWA, AWA, Jim Crocket Promotions, Japan, and the WWF and one of the greatest and most remembered at the first Starcade in 1983 against the Nature Boy Ric Flair for the NWA world title. A world renound star and fan favorite and the childhood of many"

[10.0] "One of the greatest World Heavyweight Champions in pro wrestling history, one of the greatest overall champions in pro wrestling history. One of the greatest in-ring performers of all time. Could travel to any part of the world and have a great match with ANYBODY. The innovator of the Diving Headbutt. One of of the greatest workhorses in pro wrestling history. Influenced the entire bumping style of Ric Flair. His feuds with Ric Flair, The Funks, Dusty Rhodes, & Giant Baba are legendary. He and Larry "The Axe" Hennig were one of the greatest & most dominant tag teams of the 1960's before Race came into his prime. One of the best ring generals ever. Was a legit tough guy inside & outside the ring, and stories about him will always stand the test of time. Harley Race should never be rated below a "10" as that would be disrespectful to his legacy. He really did give the wrestling industry his heart, body, & soul, and his body ultimately paid the price for it throughout his career and after he retired. RIP to the legendary Harley Race."

[7.0] "From what I've seen of Harley Race, he was a consistently solid performer who did a good job carrying the NWA on his back, but doesn't overall blow me away on the level of, say, Ric Flair or Terry Funk. He also was quite a flop in the WWF afterwards as "King" Harley Race."

[10.0] "One of the best of the 70s. Believable tough guy with a slow and deliberate style. Was amazing until he reached the WWF but his reputation was to good from before to destroy."

[9.0] "King of the NWA, Race helped to legitimize Flair & his tough guy persona, he made the NWA a must watch product when he was on top. His WWE days left something to be desired, especially when he started to waver into the goofy side with his crown & purple cape. In ring skills were limited, but he's a good example of spotlighting the positives & hiding the negatives. Not everyone needs to be a master technician in the ring."

[10.0] "Harley Race is a legend of the business, and one of the greatest NWA champions of all time. He was a tremendous worker and a great talker."

[7.0] "Da Harley Race im Grunde vor meiner Fan-Zeit wrestlete ist eine Bewertung mit Vorsicht zu genießen. Er gehört zweifelsfrei zu den großen alten Legenden des Sports und die Matches die ich von ihm gesehen habe, weisen ihn als technisch nicht unbegabten Brawler aus. Seine Matches sind jedoch nicht immer attraktiv anzusehen, nicht einmal im Verhältnis der damaligen Zeit."

[7.0] "Outstanding wrestler in the NWA days and great in the first Starrcade. I really disliked his run in the WWF. I might be in the minority but they took a legit old school tough guy and turned him into a cartoon character and bleached his hair. It was a bad look for him and sadly that's my lasting impression of him."

[10.0] "Harley Race.... Is there any doubt at all about his rating? I'd give him an 11 if I could, but since the scale only goes up to 10, that's what he gets."

[10.0] "Harley Race is one of the toughest wrestlers I have ever heard of, and he has had great runs in the NWA, and aa decent run in the WWF."

[10.0] "One of my favorite of all time! He is one tough son of a gun. Even though he dropped out of school at 16 he did not need a textbook to learn wrestling. Very strong, tough, dexterous and one hell of a brawler. He was naturally strong not a steroid user like most wrestlers today. Fighting style is 100% excellent. He could play as heel pretty good and worked very hard at it. This why he won all the NWA heavyweight titles and other titles. The King of wrestling for sure. That's why he had the King gimmick in WWF."

[10.0] "Harley Race represented everything you would want in your world champion if you were a promoter in the 70s and early 80s. Harley was absolutely perfect for that era of wrestling, and he was one of the toughest people in the business at that time."

[9.0] "not flashy enough for the national tv era of wrestling but a text book territorial champ. this guy had credibility... but was a great bumper too which made him a good choice to be the travling champ... at least until tv went national and you needed better promo skill"

[10.0] "One of the all time greatest, Harley Race was an incredible globetrotting world champion. Everywhere he went he put on great matches, usually 60 minutes. One of the all time great bumpers and ring generals, he was and still it the greatest wrestler on gods green earth."

[9.0] "Er besaß einen knallharten Wrestlingstil, war aber auch technisch durchaus versiert. Race kam mit seinem gesamten Auftreten, in und außerhalb des Rings, sehr glaubwürdig und dominant rüber. Einer der ganz Großen dieses Sports!"

[10.0] "Dass Race kein Charisma haben soll, halte ich für unwahr. Ich glaube sogar, ein absoluter Großteil an heutigen Mainstreamwrestlern unabhängig ihres Card-Status usw würde sich die Finger danach lecken, eine ähnlich glaubwürdige und einschüchternde Ausstrahlung wie Race zu seinen besten Zeiten zu haben. Selbst als Manager von Vader hätte man ihn noch abkaufen können, Flair zum Frühstück zu verputzen. ;)"

[9.0] "Ein knallharter Wrestler und das wohl auch hinter den Kulissen. Einer der ganz Großen des Business."

[9.0] "Harley Race was a great wrestler back in the day. He ended his career in 1990."

[8.0] "Ohne Frage war Harley Race einer der größten NWA Champs aller Zeiten. Was Benoit in den 90ern zeigte und Davey Richards heute weiter fortführt, hat Race seinerzeit erfunden. Ein knüppelharter Brawler, technisch beschlagen, der zwar unattraktiv und unsympathisch ist, dafür aber umso authentischer. Man muss ihm aber einen gewissen Mangel an Ausstrahlungskraft zu Lasten legen."

[8.0] "A Living Legend! Harley Race hat ein sehr starkes Mic Work und war als Wrestler wirklich ein harter Brocken. Als Manager von Vader glänzte er als auch als Trainer von Scott Hall oder Ted DiBiase Jr. in einem besonderen Licht. Race hat sehr vieles für das Wrestling Business geleistet, weshalb man ihm auch Respekt zollen sollte."

[9.0] "Race war definitiv einer des Besten. Vielleicht nicht DER Beste, aber einer der. Knallhart, No-Nonsense, und das auf eine unglaublich unterhaltsame Art. Vor dem Mann kann man nur den Hut ziehen."

[10.0] "Der allererste große King des Sports. Was für ein Mann Harley Race doch ist. Ich mag ihn!"

[8.0] "Eine der ganz großen Legenden, ein Wrestler, wie man seinesgleichen heute nur schwer findet"

[8.0] "Ein Wrestling Veteran wie er im Buche steht, durch Leute wie er wurde das Wrestling nach vorne gebracht."

[8.0] "Lebende Legende im Wrestlingring und auch als Manager (u. a. Vader)"

[10.0] "Einer der besten und am meisten respektierten Veteranen dieses Business, der sich heute vorbildlich um den Nachwuchs kümmert."

[4.0] "Sorry - bin eher entertainment-orientiert und Race ist eher ausstrahlungsfrei. Legende und guter Worker hin oder her, aber ich fand ihn als Manager von Vader noch am erträglichsten."

[10.0] "Harley Race, Legende der NWA, der ganz nebenbei den Nature Boy auf eine neue Stufe gehoben hat. Auch außerhalb des Rings soll er ja ziemlich in Ordnung sein. In seinem WWF-Run wurde er allerdings schon etwas lächerlich gemacht."

[10.0] "Legendär durch seine Fehde mit Ric Flair? Race war schon eine Legende als Flair gerade anfing ein Star zu werden! Tougher Wrestlingstil, unglaublich guter Worker. Race konnte so ziemlich jeden Gegner zu einem guten Match ziehen. Wie Honky Tonk Man mal sagte: "Nur Harley Race könnte den Warrior zu einem guten Match ziehen". Und wenn er ihn dafür nach Strich und Faden hätte vermöbeln müssen... Der einzig wahre "King of Wrestling", vergesst den Primitivling aus Memphis."

[8.0] "Legendär durch die Fehde mit dem Nature Boy Ric Flair! War auch einer DER Männer der 80er Jahre! Grundsolider Wrestling-Stil und ein harter Fighter noch dazu!"

[10.0] "Einer der ganz großen im Wrestling Business! Harley Race ist Kult!"

[10.0] "Also Harley Race gehört auf jeden Fall zu den größten Legenden des Wrestling-Business"

[10.0] "Harley Race ist eine absolute Legende des Business. Er gehört für mich zu den, wenn-nicht-hier-10-Punkte, wem-dann-Workern. Das Gimmick wärend seiner WWF Zeit, hätte man ihm aber ersparen sollen."