WWE: Former King of the Ring winner Harley Race has died

As the WWE heads toward Summerslam, them and the wrestling community got some bad news. Various outlets reported Thursday afternoon that former King of the Ring winner, Harley Race, has died at the age of 76. Dustin Rhodes was the one who broke the news.

Harley Race had runs in the original NWA, AWA, WWF, and WCW. Throughout his thirty one years in the business, he would win the world title a total of nine times. He also won the WWA and NWA World titles. In addition, he became the inaugural NWA US Champion. He is also one of six men to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, NWA Hall of Fame, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. While he worked for several promotions, he is more known for his work in the NWA. He had feuds with guys like Billy Graham, Bob Backlund, and Andre the Giant. However, the feud that put him on the map was when he feuded with his best friend Ric Flair.

One of the matches he had with Ric Flair went down as match of the year in 1983, according to the Wrestling Observer. At Starrcade 1983, Flair would end up pinning Race to become the new world champion. He would end up leaving the NWA to join the WWF in 1986. Right off the back, they would have him win the King of the Ring touranment in 1986. Harley Race would end up defeating Pedro Morales. This would lead him to begin his King gimmick. He would later head off to the WCW in the early 1990’s.

After his in-ring career was done, Harley Race would transition into a promoter. In 1999, he would start the World League Wrestling. A promotion he would oversee until his death on August 1st. He is credited with training many stars. The biggest name is former NXT champion, Tommaso Ciampa.

We at Cavemen Radio Show send out condolences to the family of Harley Race. Tune into the next episode of the Comeback Wrestling Show as the guys talk about the life and impact that Harley Race had.