10 Times WWE Bastardised Wrestling Royalty

9. Harley Race

Dusty Rhodes Wwe
WWE.com

Harley Race was wrestling royalty before he entered the WWF in 1986 - but the WWF refused to acknowledge his considerable achievements elsewhere, fearing that any indirect flattery of the promotions they were intent on destroying would compromise their monopoly of the North American wrestling landscape.

After briefly reviving his "Handsome" persona, Race was instead repackaged as the "King" of the WWF - in order to convey to those fans unaware of his reputation the towering extent of it.

It wasn't the first time Race was courted by the Federation. In 1983, Vince McMahon offered Race mega money to sign up to his nationalisation programme and twist the knife into Jim Crockett Promotions in doing so. Race refused, moving an incensed McMahon to attempt to take down the legendarily tough Race by the legs. Race, astonished, simply crossfaced the helpless promoter.

The King gimmick was actually Race's idea - and the easy, basic matches were a welcome departure from the punishing hour-long marathons with which he'd carved out his aura - but his midcard placement was a disservice.

He was broken down by the time of his arrival, but the WWF main events were hardly demanding in the mid-eighties.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!