Rate The Gimmick: Ted DiBiase Sr. - Millionaire

[Ferbian]

It's time for another installment in the series of Rate The Gimmick. The purpose of this thread is for me to choose a gimmick, and for you to rate it between 1 to 10. 1 obviously being awful and 10 being awesome.

This week we'll look into an old-school guy. Yet one of the greatest heels of all time if you ask me.

Just look at him. It's hard not to hate the guy. Ted DiBiase Sr. has been a consistent act back in WWF when he joined the company under this gimmick. He quickly rose the ranks to become one of the top heels of the company, as well as of all time.

Ted DiBiase Sr. had numerous feuds with many people in WWF, all from Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage to Jake The Snake Roberts. All top guys or very consistent guys when it came to producing great feuds.

And while Ted never accomplished winning the big one in WWF, or anywhere sadly. He still has himself quite the WWF legacy. From being a very consistent act that produces many many memorable moments like him buying Andre off with the championship belt. Or his numerous acts with interacting with the crowd. Oh and who can forget, the trademark laugh.

Like mentioned above, Ted certainly has quite a legacy in the wrestling world, and especially in WWF. A 3 times world tag team champion, 1 time North American Heavyweight champion and even a King of the Ring winner.

Ted DiBiase Sr. has accomplishes so much in the business, that he can only go down as one of the greats of this business when the time comes. He will always be remembered as one hell of a heel.

So, now it's time for you to rate this gimmick. Was it a 1? Or a 10?

 

[#1Peep]

I would rate the gimmick a 9 out of 10. He was just so easy to hate, just as you said, the mere sight of him could induce hate into someone. He was excellent on the stick and in the squared circle and I believe he certainly deserved to win the WWF Championship. A great gimmick and I would consider him a true legend in the wrestling industry. My favourite moment of his would be the time he offered $100 to the kid to bounce the basketball an x amount of times and kicked it out from under him at the last moment. The look on that kid's face was... priceless.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I'd rate his gimmick at 9 out of 10. As you mentioned he was easy to hate. Thats the most important thing for a heel. He had a great catchphrase (Everybody has a price) and great mannerisms( his laugh is legendary). In some ways he was a precursor to the evil power figure character that Vince Mcmahon played in some ways.

So why 9 and not 10? Well in my opinion he should have won a WWF title with a gimmick like that. But he was so good on the mic that often he was used to push other wrestlers and play a more manager-like role. Also there were times especially after Wrestlemania 4 when he was nothing more than a midcarder. With that gimmick I feel he should have been a main eventer for a longer time.

Hence I would give him 9.

 

[Tripleb2k1]

That was Mr Perfect. Not Ted Dibiase

it actually was Ted DiBase....He was talented on the mic as well as on the mat. A 2nd generation performer. The only performer in that era who had a body that wasn't bodybuilder like...Im giving him 9.5

 

[GideonGodsend]

10. maybe THE best gimmick of all time. the only reasin this guy never got a world title is because they could never find a way for him to lose it because his chaacter was too smart. although in person the guys an asshole cause he helped train me at a show one time, but his gimmick is unparallel

 

[Neiler187]

I'd give it a ten. For me it's one of the greatest gimmicks of all time only behind The Undertaker's.

 

[TheKarmaEffect]

Yes a HUGE FLASHING 10!! In my mind, this is & should be recognized as one of the WWE's if not all of wrestling's most outstanding gimmicks ever! And it wasn't just the gimmick. If it was his son could pull it off and so could countless others who've tried to be the rich prick (Tiger Ali Ssingh comes to mind). But the man behind the gimmick also made it a classic.

Ted Sr. used the "Million Dollar Gimmick" to propel himself to where if he wasn't IN the main events throughout the late 80's and early 90's then he was never far from it. He was such an iconic heel that when I grew up and made a little money myself that for Christmas one year I wanted & got a NICE replica of the Million $ Championship that I treasure and preen and have fun with to this day. One of my favorite pieces to my wrestling collection and will always be. Ted Sr. is a 10 in many areas including technical ability, promos, some of his matches (he even made guys like Brutus Beefcake and Koko B Ware look like near technical masters when they wrestled him) and all of that combined for such a sustained time make this man in this gimmick a complete 10.

 

[619toAA]

I havent seen much of the old WWF,but this man has made a lasting impression.The suits,the laugh,the whole gimmick of the rich guy making everyone else feel small...was simply great....I'd give it 9.5....maybe just because he never got the WWF championship.

 

[Genius_Deadman]

i'd say 9.5 it was genius. the guy had the money and would do anything to get what he wanted (the vignettes about paying the life guard to get everyone out of the pool, he got his own belt). not only that but he went as far as to pay Andre the Giant to give him the WWF belt? the guy had the power.

wrestling skills wise he was really good. he was a 2nd generation pro wrestler, he was a really good worker. this gimmick was a WWF title run worthy gimmick and he should've gotten a run. too bad there were other "monster" gimmicks Hogan had to deal with (Earthquake, Slaughter, Sid Justice, Undertaker, etc) or else i'm sure he would've gotten a run

 

[Rammsteinerteen]

I know I'm going easy, but I give the gimmick 10/10. This gimmick worked so perfectly in the WWF. Everybody hated him, I hated him. Though, he was a great wrestler, he was just the person you loved to hate. The Wrestling Observer gave him best gimmick of the year. Roddy Piper didn't even win best gimmick of the year. It must have been something special. I was a Hulkamaniac when I was younger, and I just hated Ted Dibiase everytime they feuded. I honestly wanted to punch Dibiase in the face. But nowadays, I despise Hulk Hogan for what he's doing (NOT IN TNA; OUTSIDE OF WRESTLING), and I realize how special Ted DIbiase was to me. He affected my love for wrestling a lot. I could care less for his son also. Thats why I give him 10/10.

 

[Syborgg]

I'll give it a 9/10. First I want to clear something up, it was only $100 to bounce the basketball or do the push-ups. Those segments drew massive heat and really added to his character. If you look at the height of the JBL character, you can definately see some similarities between JBL and The Million Dollar Man. I truly believe had it not been for Hulkamania running wild, Ted Sr. would have held the World title during his run as a top heel. The problem is, from the time Hogan won his first from the Iron Shiek, no heel legitimately won the title, which today is unheard-of.

These days though, they could have had Ted Sr. reprise that character and use it to help his son get over. He should have managed Ted Jr. from day one. I feel WWE maybe dropped the ball on that one.

 

[SpyderVash]

I was paid $1000 to give him a 10/10

He had a great laugh, he was dirty, underhanded and seemed to own everyone.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I rank Ted DiBiase Sr's Million Dollar Man gimmick at a 9 out of 10 because he was one of the best heels of not just his time but also of all time and it was a very memorable gimmick. He had his own belt that (kayfabe) cost millions and could still aford to make anyone (kayfabe) sell out to help him. They are trying something similar with his son and it could work if they make it a little more like the original. One of the best heel gimmicks ever and nearly perfect.

 

[Dyno Kid]

I'll give it a 5. I HATED this gimmick with a passion as a kid because I was a huge Dibiase fan and was sad to see him go to the cartoonish WWF in 1987. He was a kick ass face-heel in the Mid-South/UWF and now he was gonna work for Vince and do a silly gimmick and not be a serious wrestler.

I'll give Ted credit though because he was able to pull it off and make it work, I just wish that he would have gone to JCP in 1987 instead.

 

[Post]

I liked the gimmick and will give it a 9/10.

The gimmick fit perfectly into the times. The WWF had over the top, outlandish characters, and The Million Dollar Man is one of the best examples of that.

The gimmick allowed Ted Sr. to remain a heel for his WWF run. No one likes a rich person that throws their money in your face. The gimmick progressed each year and remained relevant. Let's be honest, as Dyno Kid said, the WWF was cartoonish. But I never really saw Ted Sr.'s character as a cartoonish heel. Papa Shango, Big Boss Man, Zeus, Akeem...cartoonish, yes. But I never saw Ted Sr. and a few others (Mr. Perfect, Rick Rude, Andre) in that light.

Ted Sr.'s gimmick worked, but he made it work. He was an accomplished wrestler and played the part to perfection. The fact that he is remembered and still talked about is you answer.

 

[Uncle Phatso]

I'll give it a 5. I HATED this gimmick with a passion as a kid because I was a huge Dibiase fan and was sad to see him go to the cartoonish WWF in 1987. He was a kick ass face-heel in the Mid-South/UWF and now he was gonna work for Vince and do a silly gimmick and not be a serious wrestler.

I'll give Ted credit though because he was able to pull it off and make it work, I just wish that he would have gone to JCP in 1987 instead.

LMFAO!!! What the hell are you talking about 5/10 Your crazy? Also work for vince? I would fucking work for vince. He's old dude, of course he's going to gimmick out. He has nothing left to prove.

I honestly think that if Rick Flair wasn't in the picture he would be the best heel of all time. Flair could play a great heel, no matter what. But Ted was right behind him

When you have two sons in the buisness sure. Set back kick it, drink a couple beers. You've paid your due, and I'm sure Vince is paying him handsomly.

When you have a third generation son in the same company you helped build up still living off of your gimmick thats a good thing. Ted son bret is comming up soon here to. He's created (pun not intended) A legacy thats rivaling all other generational stars. His sons might not be as big as the Rock, or Randy Orton. But really he's got two kids, that could have two sons that are most likely to be in the wwe or wrestling to.

Now on to his charicter. It was legendary, his catchfrase, mannerisms, his man servent. They all scream slimeball, wwe was catering mostly to mid to lower class viewers back then. They knew what they were doing. Putting a rich smug asshole on tv for the people to hate. He was great in the ring but his stick work was top tier. He helped boost irs' carrier into what it was in the 80's

When you can buy spots in the royal rumble, and own people as slaves sure thats going to piss people off. Thats what the Wwe wanted. He had his own fucking repo man for christs sakes. He had couple decade run that made him into the ultimate heel. Anything that he could do to piss people off he did. But thats what made his charicter so cool. Even if you didn't like him you wanted to be him.

Stone cold, the undertaker, Bam bam, king kong bundy, the 1-2-3 kid. All people that Ted helped push back into the spotlight. Or helped push their whole carier. His gimmick was flawless enough said. I could go on for hours. But The million dollar man gets a 10 out of 10 from me..... Now about my payoff Ted?

 

[The Brain]

This gimmick is easily a 10. Oftentimes it’s the simplest things that are the most brilliant. Let’s face it; we all want to be rich and most of us will never achieve the wealth we want. It’s easy to envy someone who has what you don’t, but when that individual flaunts his wealth in your face envy turns to hatred. Ted Dibiase played this character to perfection. He was supremely confident and you could really believe he was the Million Dollar Man.

He drew incredible heat with his vignettes. He was the most hated guy on the roster before he wrestled a single match. Within just a couple months he tried to buy the title off Hulk Hogan and when that didn’t work he recruited Andre The Giant to do his dirty work. Although he is not recognized with a world title reign he walked out of the arena during the highest rated wrestling show ever with the world title around his waste.

Over the years Dibiase would easily transition from the mid card to the main event. He was a consistent rival for Hogan at various points over the years. Regardless of his spot on the card Dibiase would always do something to make the fans hate him even more. He was the benefactor for the hated Brother Love. He tried to buy Hercules as a slave. He bought number 30 in the Royal Rumble. He created his own personal championship belt. He bought Sapphire away from Dusty Rhodes. He constantly abused Virgil. As a manager he humiliated a down on his luck Nikolia Volfoff and bought an imposter Undertaker when the real one went on hiatus. Dibiase was easily one of the greatest heels in WWF history. The gimmick was great but it was Dibiase’s dedication to the role that made it work so well.

 

[Dyno Kid]

LMFAO!!! What the hell are you talking about 5/10 Your crazy? Also work for vince? I would fucking work for vince. He's old dude, of course he's going to gimmick out. He has nothing left to prove.[/I]

I would have given it a 3/10 but like I said Ted pulled off the gimmick so well. At the time he went to work for Vince he wasn't old and he was still in his prime. I just wish he had gone to JCP and had some matches vs Flair, Arn, and Tully as well as maybe reforming his team with Steve Williams and maybe going against the Road Warriors. How cool would that have been ?

It's all just preference, and I hated Vince and the goofey cartoonish WWF but in the end Ted made the right decision for himself. I just hated it and liked the Dibiase pre-Million dollar man better.

 

[rb624]

I remember this as being the first time that I judged them as truly breaking kayfabe. I'll explain. The vignettes with DiBiase were made to seem as if they were off camera - yet we were seeing them. For instance, one incident had him going to a public pool and paying the lifeguard to kick all the families out so he could swim. The lifeguard looks around to make sure no one is looking and then takes Ted's money and kicks everybody out. I mean, how were we seeing that? They didn't say it was taped on hidden camera, and they didn't make the footage look like a hidden camera. There was no illusion that this was real. We were watching it like it was a movie, as they were on the other side of the "4th wall". It foreshadowed what wrestling became later and still is today.

 

[Disturbed]

I agree that it is a 10. If you can think of one better please tell me because I would really like to see it. He isn't my favorite of all time but his gimmick was. I have never seen WWE go that in depth with a gimmick to where they give him money to go out in public with. That was great. I have never seen a gimmick sold like that and probalbly never will.

 

[Tech N9ne]

I give him an 8. Even though it might be one of the best gimmicks ever, it was sort of limited to a lot of degrees. He was stuck always being a Heel. There never really called for a moment that it looked like he might turn and the fans would buy it.

It was basically the same story or feud with him, over and over. I think he did great at everything he did, but I think he loses a few points for never really going ALL the way to the top. AND also for not really being able to be totally fresh after time.

He always tried to buy someone off or buy something of theirs or something along those lines, that would start an angle with someone. Which was big in some instances (Trying to buy the World Title off of Hogan) and got old after time and became the same old shit.

So overall, I love the gimmick and it could be one of the top 10 gimmicks ever.

Once again, I give it an 8!!

 

[MMSoldier]

Rated as a heel, his gimmick was perfect. He was easily hated, could intice any type of reaction from the crowd, and anything he did brought it together. Rated 9.5-10/10.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

The gimmick would be nowhere near as entertaining if it was given to another man. Ted Dibiase made this gimmick his own, he made it work. He was great in the ring and on the mike. He should have won the heavyweight title. His reign could have ended the overly long Hogan reign and would've been more entertaining than the Warrior's. In my view he was a ten.

My favourite skit of his was the one with that kid dribbling the basketball and he kicks the ball away to make sure he doesn't have to give the money to him, it was so heartless, but he was so good at being evil, that you just despised him that much more.