[Emperor Smeat]

According to this week's Observer Newsletter, Vince McMahon once tried to beat up Harley Race for turning down his idea to screw the NWA and their plans for Starrcade at the time.

Considering Race's rep as a tough guy wrestler at the time, Vince's idea to beat up Race ended up failing miserably.

Originally Posted by Observer Newsletter McMahon called for a meeting with Race in the days before the show. Such a thing wasn’t unusual as Race had worked WWF dates previously as NWA champion. And the idea of Race, if he was to drop the title, to come in for a round of matches with Bob Backlund, the WWF champion, made all the sense in the world. But McMahon proposed something different. He offered Race big money to no-show Starrcade, and to not lose the NWA title and bring it to him. The idea was that Hogan would win the WWF title, and then beat Race for the NWA title, and be viewed as the real and true world champion at a time when that meant a lot. It would have devastated the NWA to have Flair as champion, having never beaten Race. It would have killed the Starrcade closed-circuit concept for a long time to have not delivered the advertised main event. Race turned the deal down, telling McMahon that he wouldn’t be able to look at himself in the mirror by double-crossing the people who had given him the title so many times. It also should be noted that Race at the time was co-owner of both the Central States and St. Louis offices, and St. Louis had been one of the most successful wrestling cities in the country dating back to the 1920s. Race later said that many would think he was stupid for turning the deal down, but he never could have had any respect for himself if he had taken it. McMahon was furious and attempted to surprise double leg Race in the bathroom, but Race quickly reversed on McMahon, hooked him in a guillotine before letting him go. Months later, after the war had started and Crockett ran his first show at the Meadowlands, with Flair vs. Race as the main event, the WWF tried to get the New Jersey commission to not allow Race to perform, as at the time the state had a regulation nobody over the age of 55 could wrestle. The problem is that Race was only 41 at the time, but in those days, nobody knew anyone’s real age.