by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Two of my favorites from the 1970s meet in the ring in Brantford, ONT, Canada in the early 1980s. Former 6-time NWA World Champion Harley Race battles Johnny Weaver as Race makes his move to establish himself as the number one contender for the Canadian Heavyweight championship at that time.
Norm Kimber was a great ring announcer in general, but I love his call at the end which is very reminiscent of his call of the match when Race defeated Terry Funk in 1977 in Toronto for the NWA world title. I think Kimber just loved saying Race's name.
The video isn't the best quality but the memories are top notch.
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Late Edit (2/14):
Andrew at MapleLeafWrestling.com sent us the following information:
Always cool to see some Toronto flavor on the site. That [Race vs. Weaver] bout is from Nov. 16, 1981, the day after the big 50th Anniversary show here.
Amazing that [Race] put in 4 bouts after a wild bout with Flair the night before, both covered in blood and fighting up and down the ramp with suplexes and headbutts. Regards, Andrew
81/11/16 Brantford, Ontario (TV TAPING)
Johnny Weaver beat Doug Vines
Harley Race beat Tim Horner
Johnny Weaver & Ron Bass beat Charlie Fulton & Doug Vines
Harley Race beat Mike Miller
Ron Bass beat Charlie Fulton
Harley Race beat Mike Davis
Tony Parisi beat Mike Miller
Harley Race beat Johnny Weaver
Mike Miller & Charlie Fulton beat Mike Davis & Tim Horner
