"He didn't realize" - WWE Hall of Famer pulled one over on Vince McMahon with huge deal, says son (Exclusive)

Vince McMahon was in charge of WWE for nearly four decades after taking full ownership of the promotion during the early half of 1980s. He bought the promotion from his father and proceeded to put his own spin on it, making it into the global juggernaut we see today.

During his time in charge, McMahon signed several wrestlers to the promotion, and one of the biggest coups that he pulled off was the signing of former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race. His son recently revealed how Harley managed to pull one over the former WWE Chairman.

Justin Race joined Bill Apter and Dr Chris Featherstone for a chat on the latest episode of UnSKripted on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, where he revealed Harley Race's demands before signing for WWE. Justin revealed how his father negotiated with Vince to become 'King Harley' in WWE.

"Vince has never been anything but nice to me, personally. He had a lot of respect for my father. I think he probably got that from his father, Vince Sr. Vince revolutionized or basically rewrote how wrestling was done. And, dad and he had a talk, and he said, You know, if I come up there, I don't want your belt. I don't want any belts, I have enough belts, I have enough championships or whatever, I'm gonna be the King, and so Vince said Fine, he thought that'd be a great gimmick. He pulled one over on Vince. Vince thought it was gonna be a gimmick. He didn't realize what my dad was doing was saying, "Okay, then I'm going to be the Arnold Palmer of wrestling." Justin Race said.

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Harley Race was one of the most respected and accomplished wrestlers in the professional wrestling business. He would be crowned the winner of the 1986 King of the Ring tournament, cementing his legacy within the promotion, and would eventually be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004.

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About the author

Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.

Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.

When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.

When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.

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Edited by Faiz Ahmed