1 Harley Race's Money Demands
On July 7, 1979, the National Wrestling Federation started with a one night tournament to crown its first World Champion. Phillip Jackson, owner and promoter of the NWF, thought he was about to break ground on what would be one of the most talked about federations in the United States, especially since he had signed one of the biggest names in wrestling, Harley Race. Harley Race was just coming off a tour of Japan after leaving Global Championship Wrestling on bad terms. The plan had always been for Race to be crowned the first NWF World Champion and be the star to catapult the NWF into the mainstream. But what happened on that night shook the NWF to its core. After Harley Race won his first two matches of the night, he came to Jackson and told him that he had just received a much larger offer to go back to Japan, and he would leave right now if Jackson could not meet his demands. Jackson almost lost it as he yelled at Race for being everything people warned him about. Jeffrey Stanza, in charge of the talent, stepped in and broke things up before they could get any more heated. Billy Graham was given the right to go out and face Thunderbolt Patterson for the NWF World Title while Stanza continued to negotiate with Race. At the last minute, Race agreed to a raise that would bump his pay nearly 75% per show. Race quickly bladed backstage to make an appearance after Graham won the title. Graham and Race adlibbed a segment which led to their heated feud throughout 1979. Race and Jackson have had a disfunctional relationship ever since with Stanza constantly having to step in.
2 The Mighty Igor Has Left the Building
The Mighty Igor made his debut on October 15, 1980, and it was pretty clear from the beginning that there was going to be some problems. Igor was used to being the headliner in the promotions he competed for, but this was his first run in a national organization. He was not pleased when he was told he'd be going on third from the top. He insisted that it was beneath him but he was willing to take the slot if he was paid immediately. Despite his reservations, owner Phillip Jackson paid him in cash before he had even wrestled his first match for the NWF. Reflecting a bit on what had happened, on the next show on November 1, 1980, Jackson put Igor on as the curtain jerker. Igor was furious when he found out, but was still willing to take to the spot if paid up front. Jackson had enough at this point and decided that he was through with Igor. Jackson convinced Igor that he was going to give him a run in the main event in a feud with Crusher Blackwell, and was going to set up the feud by having him bodyslam Crusher after his opening match. Everything went as planned as Igor went over Buzz Sawyer in the opener, and he was then confronted by Crusher Blackwell and his manager, Skandor Akbar. Just as Igor was going to complete his slam of Crusher on the second attempt Skandor Akbar kicked the back of Igor's knee causing Crusher's full weight to crash on top of him. Akbar and Crusher were off script on Jackson's demand. Igor was in immense pain, apparently bruising a few ribs, but Crusher wasn't done as he delivered several Big Splashes to Igor's injured chest. Jackson saw that things were getting out of hand so he sent out Andre the Giant to end it. Several medics went out to check on Igor, but he was not going to be stretchered out as he no-sold the Big Splashes and stormed to the back. Andre the Giant was right behind him and when Igor threw a fit backstage, hurling furniture around, the rest of the NWF roster decided it was time for him to leave. Thunderbolt Patterson, Andre the Giant, and Billy Graham tossed the Mighty Igor from the arena, throwing his belongings out with him. The NWF was later sued by the Mighty Igor, but the judge ruled in the NWF's favor since there was no way of proving that it wasn't all part of the act.
3 Verne Gagne's Nepotism Gets in the Way
Many people were stunned that Verne Gagne would be making several appearances in the National Wrestling Federation, especially due to the fact that he was the owner of the American Wrestling Association (AWA, for short), a direct competitor to the NWF. Word came out that the NWF and the AWA came to agreement to have some sort of talent share amongst their rosters. It was a win-win situation as numerous wrestlers would be getting more paydays a month while the fans would get to see talent that had not yet appeared in their region. If the fans' interest is higher, the tickets can be offered at a higher price. Both the NWF and the AWA were likely to come out ahead on this deal, and possibly be able to compete on an even playing field with GCW.
As a sign of goodwill, Verne agreed to come to a few NWF shows to try and elevate the High Flyers to a main event level. It was not hard to convince him since his son, Greg Gagne, was one of the two men in the team. The High Flyers were about to come off a lengthy title reign, and there were questions on if they could be moved up to the main event in singles competition to fill a void. Things changed at the last moment and it was decided that Jim Brunzell, the other member of the High Flyers, would turn on Verne and lay him out causing an eventual breakup as Greg would want to defend his father's honor. Verne threw a fit as he saw this as giving his heat over to someone other than his son. Despite Philip Jackson's reassurance that there had been no decision made as to who would go over in the feud, Verne insisted that he put over Greg and not Brunzell. The move worked as Greg Gagne's heat with the fans was off the charts after he laid out his own father, but this made Gagne look like the star with Brunzell an afternote. Philip Jackson and Verne Gagne got into a huge argument after the August 22, 1981, show where Greg had dropped Verne with the Brain Buster on the concrete. Jackson told Verne he could forget about any sort of talent sharing agreement as it was obvious Verne could not work as a partner with anyone. They have not spoken since, but Verne and Jackson both insist that they were in the right.
