Trivia / Ted DiBiase

• Creator Backlash:
  • WWE brought Ted back to give Steve Austin a rub, just has he previously had with Hulk Hogan. But Ted is an old pro who thinks heels should stick to being reviled, and faces set a good example, and as such he did not mesh well with the Stone Cold character. That aside, he was happy to launch Steve Austin.
    • Stone Cold talks about this in a recent podcast (#99). Steve, too, has no heat with DiBiase and understands where he's coming from. The show at that time wasn't aimed at guys like Ted, but he postulates that the 29 year old Ted may have enjoyed it more.
  • He hated the time he spent in WCW, as the role as the nWo's mouthpiece was slowly reduced after a few months as Eric Bischoff started to replace him, leaving Ted to spend his further appearances just awkwardly holding a belt in the background of segments. Ted would spend the last year of his contract at home, as he felt it was a waste to show up anymore.
  • DiBiase played no small role in smearing Ultimate Warrior's reputation in the 2000s. He is on record as regretting not attempting to bury the hatchet with him before his death.
• Real Life Writes the Plot:
  • A combination of that and Fatal Method Acting was the genesis of his gimmick. Ted DiBiase's real-life father died of a heart attack while in the ring and in Kayfabe, the insurance settlement was what started Ted's fortune.
  • Inverted, in that The Gimmick Writes Real Life: when Ted started working as the Million Dollar Man, the WWE needed him to play the role to the hilt to protect kayfabe, so it gave him a bankroll many guys probably would have killed to have just so he could do things like travel by private jet, ride around in limos, and stay in high-class hotels.
  "What happened was, Vince sat down with me and said We're going to put you up in four-star hotels, you'll fly private between each city, and you'll be chauferred from the hotel to the venue, but you're going to be the most hated man in the business. I looked him right in the eye and said I am your man.
• What Could Have Been:
  • DiBiase was actually scheduled to win the tournament and the title at WrestleMania IV. During the buildup to the show, Randy Savage was scheduled to win the Intercontinental Title from the Honky Tonk Man, but Honky pulled a power play threatening to leave WWE as champion. WWE caved to Honky's demands and gave Savage the world title at WrestleMania as one hell of a consolation prize. DiBiase never did become a world champion.
  • He was actually billed as WWE champion at a couple of house shows after Andre "sold" the WWF Championship to him. He even defended the belt against Bam Bam Bigelow. For whatever reason, this was scrapped, and the title was announced as vacant.
• On August 8th, 1987, on an episode of "WWF Wrestling Challenge", a young fan named Rob Szatowski was brought into the ring to take part in yet another of DiBiase's skits where he would pay people to do tasks for monetary compensation, said task often demeaning. This particular instance saw "The Million Dollar Man" offer the 16-year old the princely sum of $100 to kiss DiBiase's foot, with the added bonus of Virgil removing his employer's boot and sock and it being right after a match. The fan fulfilled his part of the bargain, to the groans of an appalled audience in attendance. That fan would enter professional wrestling himself about three years later, eventually becoming known worldwide as... ROB VAN DAM.

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