I’m back to keep on rolling through the best feud series. Next up Ted Dibiase. The Million Dollar Man of course, not Ted Jr. Dibiase is one of the most respected performers of the late 80’s and early 90’s. He wrestled for six years as a top heel for the WWF and did it beautifully. He was the man you loved to hate. I think you’d be hard pressed to find many members of these forums that don’t respect Dibiase. While thinking of Dibiase I realized he didn’t seem to have one defining epic feud. He had a lot of good feuds, but nothing jumped off the page as #1. Is that good or is that bad? You could argue if none stand out then maybe he didn’t do a great job with his feuds. I’ll take the opposite argument. Dibiase was solid in all his feuds. None stand out as #1 because he worked well with everybody. This should result in some interesting debate. Here’s my list:
10. The Steiner Brothers
9. Razor Ramon
8. The Natural Disasters
7. The Big Bossman
6. Hercules
5. Randy Savage
4. Dusty Rhodes
3. Virgil
2. Hulk Hogan
1. Jake Roberts
As usual a few quick notes on the list before I cover #1. As you can see I put a couple tag teams on the list. While he’s remembered more for his singles work I wanted to acknowledge Dibiase’s time in Money Inc. You’ll notice Hogan is #2. This was Dibiase first feud in the WWF. For a new guy to come in and feud with Hogan right off the bat is pretty incredible. Usually you had to be a 400 pound monster to do that. He was getting title shots after only being in the company for a few months. He was instantly over as a heel. I liked the feud with Virgil as it was the only worthwhile thing Virgil ever did as a wrestler. The two were together for three and a half years before Virgil finally stood up to Dibiase. Nowadays a team like that would last six months, maybe a year, tops. Being together for as long as they were is what made this feud special. It’s also notable that his feuds with Virgil, Hercules, Bossman, Razor, and the Natural Disasters all turned those guys from heel to face. I don’t know what that says exactly, but it says something.
I decided on Jake as my #1 not to please my pal byrnside, but because these two were great rivals for each other. This feud lasted a full year beginning at WrestleMania V and ending at WrestleMania VI. Jake missed most of the summer of 1989 due to injury, but they worked that into the storyline nicely by having Dibiase “cause” the injury. The feud wasn’t forgotten in Jake’s absence. Dibiase would continually brag about putting Jake on the shelf. When Jake returned they picked up right where they left off. I remember these two meeting up in the Royal Rumble match in 1990. Dibiase drew #1 and threw out the next two opponents easily. Jake drew #4. When Jake’s music hit the crowd erupted. They didn’t fight for long, but simply watching Jake stare Dibiase down on his way to the ring and Dibiase’s reaction while the crowd was going crazy was awesome. Eventually Jake would steal the million dollar belt and keep it in his bag with Damien. They finally had their blow off at WrestleMania VI for the million dollar belt. Dibiase won in what was the second best match of the night in my opinion. Although the finish was a little anticlimactic as he won by count out. What made this a great feud was the mic work with these two. They were two of the best promo men in the company at the time. Of all time for that matter. They cut some good promos on each other and really talked you into wanting to see their matches.
I’m satisfied with my choice for #1, but I could possibly be convinced to change my mind. Did I get this one right? Let’s hear some feedback.
One more small thing. It's feud not fued. I see fued all the time and for some reason it bothers me. No big deal. Just a stupid pet peeve I suppose.
10. The Steiner Brothers
9. Razor Ramon
8. The Natural Disasters
7. The Big Bossman
6. Hercules
5. Randy Savage
4. Dusty Rhodes
3. Virgil
2. Hulk Hogan
1. Jake Roberts
As usual a few quick notes on the list before I cover #1. As you can see I put a couple tag teams on the list. While he’s remembered more for his singles work I wanted to acknowledge Dibiase’s time in Money Inc. You’ll notice Hogan is #2. This was Dibiase first feud in the WWF. For a new guy to come in and feud with Hogan right off the bat is pretty incredible. Usually you had to be a 400 pound monster to do that. He was getting title shots after only being in the company for a few months. He was instantly over as a heel. I liked the feud with Virgil as it was the only worthwhile thing Virgil ever did as a wrestler. The two were together for three and a half years before Virgil finally stood up to Dibiase. Nowadays a team like that would last six months, maybe a year, tops. Being together for as long as they were is what made this feud special. It’s also notable that his feuds with Virgil, Hercules, Bossman, Razor, and the Natural Disasters all turned those guys from heel to face. I don’t know what that says exactly, but it says something.
I decided on Jake as my #1 not to please my pal byrnside, but because these two were great rivals for each other. This feud lasted a full year beginning at WrestleMania V and ending at WrestleMania VI. Jake missed most of the summer of 1989 due to injury, but they worked that into the storyline nicely by having Dibiase “cause” the injury. The feud wasn’t forgotten in Jake’s absence. Dibiase would continually brag about putting Jake on the shelf. When Jake returned they picked up right where they left off. I remember these two meeting up in the Royal Rumble match in 1990. Dibiase drew #1 and threw out the next two opponents easily. Jake drew #4. When Jake’s music hit the crowd erupted. They didn’t fight for long, but simply watching Jake stare Dibiase down on his way to the ring and Dibiase’s reaction while the crowd was going crazy was awesome. Eventually Jake would steal the million dollar belt and keep it in his bag with Damien. They finally had their blow off at WrestleMania VI for the million dollar belt. Dibiase won in what was the second best match of the night in my opinion. Although the finish was a little anticlimactic as he won by count out. What made this a great feud was the mic work with these two. They were two of the best promo men in the company at the time. Of all time for that matter. They cut some good promos on each other and really talked you into wanting to see their matches.
I’m satisfied with my choice for #1, but I could possibly be convinced to change my mind. Did I get this one right? Let’s hear some feedback.
One more small thing. It's feud not fued. I see fued all the time and for some reason it bothers me. No big deal. Just a stupid pet peeve I suppose.
