"Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase On How Far WWE Went For His Gimmick, His First Survivor Series
WWE Hall of Famer "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase was interviewed by Sports Illustrated for their "Week In Wrestling" feature. Below are a couple of highlights:
Wrestling at the 1989 Survivor Series teaming with Zeus and the Powers of Pain to face Hulk Hogan, Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Demolition:
"That was the first Survivor Series I was ever in and there was a lot of star power. Tt was obviously a big match and a big moment. When you wrestle as often as we did, you don't remember every match, but I do remember that. I am not taking anything away from the other guys in the match, but I knew Zeus was there for his look. He was a monster, and Warlord and Barbarian were good, but I also knew that, in the truest sense of the word, I was going to have to carry the match for my team. I did that a lot. When I tagged with Andre, and I loved tagging with Andre, but Andre started having some physical issues, so I did all the bouncing around in the ring, and I did it joyfully."
Being given "The Million Dollar Man" gimmick by Vince McMahon:
"He flew my wife and I first class to New York, and he laid out the whole idea behind the 'Million Dollar Man.' He said that the one thing everybody hates is the man who, by virtue of his wealth, thinks he can buy anyone or anything. Then Vince said, 'In order to make the public believe you're really rich, we're going to fly you first class, you'll have limousine service every day, and every time the public sees you, they'll see the appearance of wealth. He even went so far to give me 'lash cash.' I'd pick my spots and go into a restaurant, announce myself, and tell everyone it was their lucky day because the 'Million Dollar Man' had arrived. Virgil would pick up everyone's check, I'd slap down the hundred bills, and the WWE office would replenish me after I gave them the receipt."
Dibiase also discussed working with Roberts and Jim Duggan, his trademark laugh and more. You can read the full interview by clicking here.
Source: Sports Illustrated