Andrew Lutzke
This took place during a Fan Festival in 2009. The fans were able to ask questions along with 2 hosts who helped with follow up questions.
Race on being NWA champion: traveling the world was a hassle. Planes were slower and less comfortable.
You had to prove yourself to be the best wrestler in the world nightly.
Flair met Race in 1973. Flair and Race met in a rough part of Minneapolis. Race got into a fight and was stabbed.
Race took rookie Flair and Ray Stevens in his car on a trip to wrestle in Denver. Race drove 100 miles per hour and all 3 drank hard liquor while blitzing through a snow storm.
Race went on to be NWA champion and set a high bar for others like Flair to live up to.
Flair was still very young in his career when the NWA board took notice of his complete package and earmarked him as a possible future champion.
After all their battles, Race can’t remember when they first clashed. Flair thinks it was in St. Louis and occurred when Dusty Rhodes was champion.
Harley liked to try and blow Flair up.
Flair claims Race invented the delayed suplex. He even vertical suplexed Andre the Giant.
The St. Louis match helped establish Flair as a real deal. Before that point Flair and Race were frequent travel partners and best friends in real life.
Race puts Flair over as the best worker ever. Flair tears up.
Reid Flair is brought onstage and he hugs Harley and all 3 men share in a photo op.
Reid learned the wrestling business at Harley’s school for 4 months.
Ric says being around Race will teach the kids more than thousands of reps in practice.
Flair tells a story from 1979 where Race and Flair were in Japan for a tour. Race was upset that Jumbo Tsuruta suplexed him and so Race stormed into Baba’s office and yelled at Baba and brought Jumbo in and slapped him.
Race acted as Flair’s bodyguard in Japan once Flair was champ.
At a Texas bar Race was looking for a fight and Flair was looking for a drink. Race challenged a couple of cowboys to a game a pool, they declined. Race responded by dumping their money off the pool table and declaring that he was playing the winner.
Starrcade ’83 should have been even bigger than it was. A big snowstorm hit the south and that kept many fans away.
Harley almost missed Starrcade as his plane was coming in from New York, where Vince McMahon had just offered Race a big money deal to no show Starrcade and join the WWF. Race had too much respect for Flair and the promoters to even consider the offer.
Race declines to go into how much money he was offered or if Vince attacked him for turning him down like the rumors state.
Harley was thrilled that Flair exceeded all expectations as a star once Starrcade finished.
Passing the torch was an honor for Race.
Race was physically falling apart in late 83 and he needed the break that losing the title would allow.
The guys got paid based on their placement on the cards, so a lot of guys were hungry to be World champ.
Gene Kiniski was scolded by Race for getting in the way several times during the main event of Starrcade. “You clumsy son of a bitch!”
Flair blames the fans having so many different channels to distract them for why TV matches have to be short now.
Ric puts HHH over for still traveling and putting on good matches despite not having to now that he has power in the WWE.
Flair wonders if today’s guys could drink all night and still be ready for Atlanta TV at 9 am and then do 2 house shows that afternoon/evening.
Starrcade was called on the fly- Flair and Race talked for only 2 minutes before going to the ring.
Flair defends Dusty’s booking and blames expanding too far as the reason JCP went bankrupt.
Race would insist on driving, even if the other guy owned the vehicle.
Harley and Ric were touring New Zealand after Starrcade and Race declared that he and Flair were going to switch the title back and forth in order to helped pop the promoter’s business there. Race agreed to take all the heat from the NWA board for the unauthorized title switches.
Race feels David Von Erich was the best of the Von Erich boys.
Flair says Fritz was in denial about his kid’s issues and there was little he or Harley could do.
Ric had 12 of his robes stolen over the years.
Baby Doll appears from the audience and Flair makes some “Space Mountain” references.
When asked what has been the biggest reason for the decline in pro wrestling, Race thinks wrestling is more hokey and the fans don’t buy into it. Flair says the perks are better today.
Vader was mad he was losing the title at Starrcade ’93 and Flair took a beating on his way to defeating Vader.
A kid asks what he should do to get involved in wrestling. Flair says wrestle in school and then find a reputable pro wrestling trainer to learn your craft.
Race missed much of JCP’s build up to Starrcade as Race was still traveling the world and thus wasn’t part of the weekly cards and angles.
Flair defends the modern kid friendly version of wrestling.
Ric debunks the rumor that Kerry Von Erich carved his initials in the leather of the title. Ric owns the title from that era now. Hogan owns the later 80’s NWA World title.
A fan asks about Race and Flair wrestling in 1993 with Race replacing an injured Vader. Flair denies this happened. Race can’t recall when he retired.
Terry Funk, Dick Murdoch, Harley Race were amazing party animals with Ric.
Flair still loves to watch 80’s wrestling.
Both men put over Dusty Rhodes and Ricky Steamboat.
Race declines to name who the worst worker he ever faced was.
Randy Orton apologized for his scripted “Legend Killer” promos he had to deliver during that gimmick.
Race thanks the fans for filling the arenas he headlined in for so many years.
Final Thoughts:
There was a lot of repetitive themes to this Q and A as both men put the other over constantly. This served as more of a celebration of Flair and Race and less of any sort of deep information digging. That being said – it was entertaining but ultimately not deeply informative.
