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Ex-WWE star Trevor Murdoch reveals Harley Race’s amazing reaction to first time he hit Canadian Destroyer

Posted: May 5th 2021 By: Alastair McGeorge

NWA wrestler Trevor Murdoch has revealed Harley Race’s hilarious reaction when he first hit a Canadian Destroyer.

The former WWE superstar – who held the world tag team titles three times alongside the late Lance Cade – was trained by the wrestling legend, and he explained how he first started using the athletic move.

Speaking exclusively to Metro.co.uk, after giving credit to Petey Williams for the move itself, he said: ‘I was like – “Wow, it’s a sunset flip!” That’s all that is, a sunset flip! “I wonder if I could do that without the swing?”

‘I went to Harley’s school and I grabbed a couple of students, I explained the situation. [laughs] I apologised if it was gonna hurt, because I didn’t know what was gonna happen.

‘The first guy I hooked up, instead of putting the guy’s head between my legs, I put my legs under his armpits, so when I jumped into it I was hooking his arms and slinging him back into a pinning predicament.’

It was at this moment that Harley – who was watching them train – stepped in to offer his thoughts.

‘He stops,’ Trevor recalled. ‘He goes, “What the f**k was that?!” And I said, “I think it’s a snap sunset flip!” And he goes, “You need to use that as a finisher, holy s**t!” ‘

Trevor’s use of the move stood out for a man of his size, and he was delighted add it to his arsenal.

Meanwhile, Harley’s positive reaction might be surprising to some people who misrepresent his attitude to the rapidly changing world of professional wrestling.

‘Harley always knew that you had to change with the times. But he always felt like the core of who you were, though, was a wrestler. You didn’t really divert from that, you just added to it,’ he explained.

‘Lots of guys try to do things that are so far out of the realm of pro wrestling sometimes that it’s just not believable, fans aren’t gonna buy it.

‘Harley usually got – “Oh he’s old school, doesn’t like high spots, blah, blah, blah”. He didn’t mind if it made f***ing sense!’

Trevor explained how Harley would simply encourage his trainees to find a way to make things ‘make sense’, rather than just pushing on with something that took legitimacy away from the artform.

‘A lot of guys, instead of making it make sense, it was easier for them to bitch and complain and do the same thing they were doing and blame Harley,’ he added. ‘He’s not saying “don’t do it”‘, he’s putting the challenge in front of you to make it make sense.’

Now, Murdoch is keen to honour his late mentor’s legacy by capturing the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship – currently held by Nick Aldis – which Harley was no stranger to.

‘That’s where my sights are,’ he smiled. ‘Not only for myself, I wanna do it for Harley. I feel like it would be a full circle scenario.’

However, his run in the NWA means more than gold around his waist, as Trevor is thriving as a key part of Powerrr in a pure brand of pro wrestling and wants to keep telling honest stories. Former WWE superstar Trevor Murdoch with late wrestler Lance Cade Trevor held tag team gold with the late Lance Cade

‘I understand what it’s like to struggle and pay bills at times. The fans deal with that. I know what it’s like to work hard for something and have someone tell you to f**k off,’ he said.

‘I’m sure that you will see it throughout my whole run. Certainly, there’s times I’m gonna be mad.

‘There’s times I’m gonna be happy, there are times that I’m gonna be emotionally invested and people are gonna see it because I’m not gonna hold back.’

When it comes down to people tuning into the National Wrestling Alliance’s product, Trevor was keen to point out what makes the company stand out above the likes of AEW, WWE and IMPACT Wrestling.