Ted Dibiase Jr. Talks Leaving WWE And If He'd Return, His New Documentary, Part Timers At 'Mania

I recently spoke with Ted Dibiase Jr. In part two of the interview below, we discussed how hard it is to get a spot on the WrestleMania card, part-timers getting top spots at WrestleMania, why he decided to leave WWE, the upcoming The Price of Fame documentary and much more.

Click here for part one of the interview, where Dibiase discussed his time with WWE, if he was pushed too quickly, his legendary father, Daniel Bryan's success and more.

You can follow Diabiase on Twitter @TedDiBiase. Also, you can help support The Price of Fame, which features both Ted Dibiase Jr. and Sr., on Kickstarter by clicking here. The film takes a look at Ted DiBiase Jr.'s journey to learn his father's road to redemption, while spotlighting Ted Dibiase Sr.'s life and wrestling career. The goal is to raise $30,000 by April 25th to fund the project.

Wrestling INC: You were in a high-profile match at WrestleMania 26 [against Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes]. You were then part of the battle royal at WrestleMania 27. It seems like every year it's getting harder and harder for talent to get on the card even though it's longer than it used to be with the four hours for the event and then the pre-show. Is it frustrating with how hard it seems to be to get a spot on the card?

Dibiase: Yeah, it is frustrating. It's frustrating coming from our perspective. But at the same time, you've got to understand and realize that Vince McMahon is running a business. Like I said before, it's publicly traded. You can say what you want about the guy, but as far as a businessman, I don't think that there is many that are much smarter than he. And, he's always going to do what draws numbers. He owes that to his stockholders. It's hard because we put in the grind and the midcard guys and the lower-tiered guys, there at all the house shows, all the European tours. And you got guys coming back now and getting in those main event spots and getting that big payday, and that's where we want to be. But, on the flipside of that, those guys put in that grind at one time or another and made a big enough name for themselves that they can come back and draw those numbers.

So, you've got to respect that and if it doesn't, let it inspire you or motivate you to do something else. I mean, look at [Daniel] Bryan. If he would've given up, he wouldn't be where he is this year. So, it's just one of those things man. It's how bad you want it. So, I don't know, I've got mixed emotions.

Wrestling INC: When you finally made your decision to leave WWE, how long had you been considering it?

Dibiase: Honestly, it was probably around seven or eight months to be honest with you. It's just something my wife and I just start praying about and I really just felt like the Lord was just drawing me away. Again, it was not an easy decision. It wasn't that great for me in the WWE at the time. They were trying to find stuff for me and I was pitching ideas, and nothing was really happening. And I told Vince, "Man I don't play for second place. I don't sit on the sidelines. I want to be a part of the team and contribute." I was willing to learn and try anything.

I think the decision to put the Million Dollar belt on me was terrible. I wasn't crazy about that idea. And there was really no story or direction or goal going forward with that. It just didn't work. But, that wasn't me. It seems natural because of my dad, but that's not who I am. The best characters are extension of ourselves. If you figure out who you are and amplify that. So, that's why I started doing that DiBiase Posse thing. I was trying things. Even tailgating with the fans before the show, because that's who I am. I live in Mississippi. I love SEC football and I'm big into hunting and fishing. I'm a good ol' boy when it comes down to it. So I was really trying to find myself. I felt like I was really starting to figure some stuff out and that just weren't really getting behind it. So, it's probably not their fault. They've got a million things going on.

For me, it was just tough. It's hard because I couldn't give them what they wanted. So, I started really started questioning, is it over? Or, should I just take a break? It became where it wasn't worth it for me to be on the road away from my family that long and be unhappy while I'm on the road. So I was miserable on the road because I wasn't participating and I felt like I wasn't contributing. I was doing house shows and was helping other guys, which is fine. I'm a team player. But I wasn't part of the show. I wasn't on TV at all. It was tough going from working with Shawn and Triple H and the deal with Legacy, which I thought was super successful. And then it was like, nothing. Then that started to eat at me and that's when the questions started to really arise and I started praying, "God do you want me here?" I felt like I needed to do something else because I'm kinda wasting my time.

Again, that door is not closed. I do love wrestling, and I love the fans and it's a part of our legacy. So, if it's just a break, or it may present itself again. But until then, I'm gonna pursue other things and give it my all. It's hard. I tell people a lot, it's hard when somebody has got the power of the pen and can really determine how successful you can be. And that really bugs me because I was working hard, going above and beyond and somebody with a pen and is writing the script is really determining how successful I'm going to be. I don't really like that. So now I'm doing things that I'm being rewarded for based on how hard I'm working, and that's rewarding for me. And I'm at home with my son at the same time. Unless that can change, I'm pretty happy where I'm at.

Wrestling INC: You talked about the ideas you pitched. They have the full-time writers. It seems like that's their job to come up with stuff or take your ideas and extend it or do something with it. It's just always interesting to hear where you see a lot of talented guys and a lot of talent not being given anything or not being used to their potential, and there's really nowhere else to go.

Dibiase: No, there's not. It's the only show. It's definitely the only show. It is the only place you wanna be unless you're one or two of the other guys at the other show that have good contracts, but it is what it is.

Wrestling INC: I believe we first saw the trailer for The Price of Fame this past November, right?

Dibiase: Yeah. My buddy Pete [Ferriero] put the trailer up on his Facebook page. It wasn't even me. I didn't even send it out right at first, it was just him and it generated quite a bit of buzz. I think we had like 60 or 70 thousand views in two days. And, that was just off of his Facebook. I had tweeted it out that we got a call from a film festival in Maine and Free Mantle media who does American Idol and America's Got Talent. They had seen it and they called and we had a couple conversations with them. They were asking about if we were interested in doing a reality show. I was like, "I don't know." None of those things are out of the question. Yeah, it generated buzz and we kept working on this thing. It does cost money. There is a lot of traveling and there is a lot of license fees and you got to build websites and do editing and sound. A lot goes into it. A lot more that you don't realize. That's why we started the kickstarter campaign.

Wrestling INC: When you started in November, about how complete was the movie? Or had it just started?

Dibiase: We had really just started on it. And, I was amazed, I really got excited when I saw how well Pete did putting that trailer together. I flew up to Wilcox, Arizona. I've never been there with my dad, although I'd always heard stories. We filmed some stuff for a few days and then by the time I landed in Jackson, Mississippi the next day, he'd already put together that trailer. I was like, "Pete, this is really good!" And he said, "You think I should post it?" I said, "Yeah man, definitely. Let's see what kind of feedback we get." And it was all really positive. We've got a few more things we need to film as well. Some more interviews. We've got a couple other things that we need to put into this so it's going to take a little more time but we're close to the finish line on this.

Wrestling INC: And so fans can go to kickstarter and support the project. With the money, what is it going to be used for? Is it going to be used to do more interviews and things like that, or just overall production?

Dibiase: Yeah, the overall production, the editing is a lot of time. A lot of time goes in the editing, a lot of studio hours, license fees, lawyer fees. Just to get trademarks and looking at a lot of travel. We wanna go to some cool places. We went to Caesars Palace, we're trying to book Madison Square Garden, take my dad back there where he wrestled Hulk Hogan. We really want to make this a real intimate film. Not only for the fans as much as it is for people that are watching this film that had struggles.

If you know the story, if you've heard my dad speak, you know that he gets extremely long-winded so I apologize on his behalf. You know, my family was almost torn apart by the decisions my dad made outside the ring. I've never had these conversations with my dad about his infidelity, nor have I talked to my mom about it. So, it is an opportunity for me to have those first-time conversations. And they're tough. They're really tough conversations. So it's very real, and people can relate. So, the fans are going to love it, people that go through struggles and trials and tribulations, they're going to relate with what the DiBiases went through. I mean, we're real people. So I'm really excited to tell this story.

Wrestling INC: You're spending a lot of time going back and looking at some of the places where your father had some of his legendary matches and angles. What were some of your favorite angles that he was a part of?

Dibiase: Well, of course, when he was working with Andre, and the one with Hogan we used on the kickstarter video. I used to love watching my dad fight the Junkyard Dog. Those were very early memories, probably some of my earliest memories. Like, riding with him and watching my dad wrestle JYD. Man, the crowd just was in love with JYD and hated my dad. I used to be terrified walking out of the building because they really wanted to beat up my dad. I thought somebody was gonna kidnap me because they were pissed off at my dad because he was cheating JYD out of victories left and right. That was a lot of fun. He and Jake the Snake, I swear they had some of the best matches ever. I loved them all. When he wrestled Bret Hart for a while, those guys had some really good matches. I've actually talked to Bret about it. He said my dad was one of his favorite opponents. When they got in the ring it was just the night off. He said that's when he really enjoyed what he did, when he was working with my dad. So it was very cool.

Wrestling INC: Starting this documentary, has it changed your opinion on things from his career. Now looking back on it with his insight, does it change any of the stuff that he did back in the day?

Dibiase: Honestly, I respect my dad even more than I did and I didn't think that would be possible. A lot of that is due to my own personal experience being able to be on the road and experience that life myself and then understanding what he came from. Coming from absolutely nothing, not having his father there because his father died at age 15. His mother became an alcoholic and she died later. He had nobody. My dad didn't have a lot of friends. He had wrestling. That was his life. And to see how he turned out and the man he become even through all those trials, he made the right choice. He chose his family in the end.

Talking to George "The Animal" Steele and talking to Harley about it even more in depth, these guys are some tough guys. I knew my dad was tough, but I realized he's a giant teddy bear but I tell you what, he's a man's man. He's worked every single day of his life. That's why I have a personal vendetta just to make this story who he really is, what he really went through and I just want to do it justice. And I think a lot of people are really going to be inspired, encouraged, and really enjoy what they see.

Click here for part one of the interview, where Dibiase discussed his time with WWE, if he was pushed too quickly, his legendary father, Daniel Bryan's success and more.

You can follow Diabiase on Twitter @TedDiBiase. Also, you can help support The Price of Fame, which features both Ted Dibiase Jr. and Sr., on Kickstarter by clicking here. The film takes a look at Ted DiBiase Jr.'s journey to learn his father's road to redemption, while spotlighting Ted Dibiase Sr.'s life and wrestling career. The goal is to raise $30,000 by April 25th to fund the project.

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