Role Analysis: Ted DiBiase

[ABMorales787]

A member of the Raw brand since his 2008 TV debut, Ted Dibiase is a 3rd generation wrestler. Sort of. Son of Hall of Famer, "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and grandson of (Ted Sr. was adopted by) "Iron" Mike DiBiase.

As we know Ted is currently a singles wrestler with Maryse as his valet. Earlier in the year, he held his father's trademark "Million Dollar" Championship and had Virgil as his manager. This was an attempt to recreate his father's gimmick by having Ted wave his "trust fund" to do whatever he wanted. Needless to say, it pretty much backfired. As a member of The Legacy, Ted worked closely with Cody Rhodes, but Randy was the one doing all the mic work. Now alone, it would seem that he doesn't have that "it" factor people originally thought he did. He just got off a very short and simple feud with U.S. Champion, Daniel Bryan and has been on a losing streak as noted by TV commentary.

To me, Ted won't be offering much of anything any time soon. He seems very uncomfortable on the mic and WWE has made him look like a spoiled little kid. The feud with Goldust seemed like something that would bring interest into his character but in the end it turned into an angle to further NXT's season 3 comedy route. As of right now, this guys credibility is on the floor and I don't see it going up in the foreseeable future. If there's any glimpse of salvation for this guy, it's in the form of his younger brother as a possible tag team. But then again, just how far do tag teams go in WWE? To me, he's currently a total bust. Agree or disagree?
​

 

[LitasRevenge79]

I gotta say, I still do have high hopes for Ted being a member of a prominent family of wrestling. I do admit, I never really gave him a shot when he first came out of the gate with the cryptic taunting of Cody and Hardcore Holly. Then when Legacy was formed, I started liking him more and more with the thought of a dominant 2nd and 3rd generation stable. I thought “This makes sense. If this is handled right, it could really go places.” Alas, I may have spoken too soon, then he was kicked in the head and out for a month or so, filming “The Marine 2.” He came back and fought a 5 star fight against RKO, at least in my opinion, and then the charade was up, Legacy was back, and Manu was out. I do say, I’m still a believer in him. I don’t quite like this gold-digger thing he has with Maryse on his arm, I’m glad there is some tension brewing, I know his dad had that thing, and I think if he wants to be taken seriously as a wrestler, he would want to steer away from this typical ‘rich-man, gold-digging blond’ stereotype persona. I do say, that the more recent desire he’s had lately which causes the fights between him and Maryse has piqued my interest to see what is in store for the future, I know he can go for it, and he’s no slouch in the ring if he were to be put up against real people instead of comedy guys like Santino and Kozlov. He’s had great matches against Randy Orton, and DX. I would say that if creative would’ve kept up with his brother, Brett Dibiase following that Summerslam stint and done ‘The Fortunate Sons’ type stable, that would be a very amazing thing to see.

 

[JGlass]

Remember when everyone was all high on Ted DiBiase after the Legacy angle was wrapping up? I had no idea what everyone saw about him.

He's not a good wrestler, and I've never seen him do anything that's really impressed me. As bad as he is in the ring, he's even worse on the mic. He sounds flat out bored when he speaks, and if he is trying it's not like he's saying anything interesting.

So what's Ted DiBiase's role in the future? Helping establish unestablished superstars. When Daniel Bryan started participating on RAW on a weekly basis, they fed Ted to him over and over. Perhaps this season's winner of NXT will beat him down on a weekly basis, or maybe he'll next be victim to DH Smith. Either way, they have to get Maryse out of there because she's ten times more valuable than DiBiase.

 

[WWE.IS.AWESOME]

As of now, I feel like Ted Dibiase is a failed attempt of a superstar.

I hate when people use other peoples' gimmicks. When Ted carried around the Million Dollar Belt and had Virgil by his side, I was so bored with him. We already someone do the exact same thing and we don't need to see it again.

When he lost the belt, ditched Virgil, and brought Maryse to his side, I started to get interested in him again. I personally liked his fued with Goldust/Aksana. It was different, at least. But with Goldust injured, I think we've seen the last of that fued.

Now WWE is hinting at a breakup between Maryse and Dibiase. Now Ted is losing to Daniel Bryan on a weekly basis. Now I think I have completely lost interest in Ted Dibiase. I think the WWE could find some way of bouncing him back up but they better do it soon or he could end up like Zach Ryder .

 

[TheFuture]

As much as I hate to say it because I held such high hopes for DiBiase, he has become a complete bust since the break-up of Legacy. During Legacy I believed that he would be the one to break out after the eventual break up, but by the looks of things these days the roles seem to have been switched as we have Rhodes slowly gaining steam with his Dashing gimmick.

While I have not given up all hope for DiBiase I do believe they need to find some way to get him out from the shadow of his father, but until then I unfortunately see him being stuck in the same position he currently is.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Ted had praise heaped upon him when he debuted and he was tipped to be the next big thing. His debut and the promos he cut following it lead many (including myself) to believe that this guy had the 'it' factor that's talked about so much. Then came Legacy. In Legacy, DiBiase was left in the background as Randy Orton lead the group, in fact he was the main focal point of the stable; always.

As signs of a break-up began, DiBiase was again being talked up as the next big thing. He was given a strong push into the midcard, holding the Million Dollar Championship and defeating guys like Christian & MVP, however he never managed to sway the crowd. DiBiase had come out of Legacy, not all guns blazing, but as a boring third wheel as Orton turned himself into the biggest face on Raw and Cody Rhodes revealed a ton of hidden potential. DiBiase's push has failed, not from a lack of trying, but from a lack of talent. I don't think 2011 will be any different for Ted.

 

[ZLT-truth316]

I thought he had something going with bringing back the million dollar belt with Virgil by his side but then it looked like they dropped it and changed his theme song which I thought was one of the best theme songs I've heard in a while to crap pretty much and then they stuck Maryse by his side and I don't even remember the last time he has actually won a match does anyone know how far back he actually has?
I think the WWE is doing something along the lines when MVP was in a losing streak for a number of months then after the streak ended he turned face.....

 

[Long Island Iced WXYZ]

To me, he's currently a total bust. Agree or disagree?

Agree, how irrelevant is he right now? They put the Million Dollar Belt on him, Maryse and he feuded with a crowd favorite (Golddust) and it didn't do anything for him.

I mean, there's nothing to get behind, he doesn't offer anything to anyone.

To think a year ago, this guy had a movie out and Cody was put on Smackdown while Dibiase stayed on the A Show.

Now, Cody is doing a great job with his new "Dashing" gimmick. And Dibiase is just plain boring.

He can't wrestle, he can't talk (Cody is very good on the mic), he can't do anything.

Everyone thought he'd be a bigger star than Cody, he's got more muscles after all, turns out Codys' star is rising and Dibiases' is all fizzled out.

 

[Brahma Bull]

This isnt a told you so post, but when everyone was saying how big dibiase was and how cody rhodes would be a bust, i was one of a few (more than just a few, but we were the minority) who saw it the other way. cody has great mic skills, can wrestle really well, and seems like he is the character. i was disappointed when they didnt run with the above average son of the average man. people loved dusty, so if they had him say how he hates that his dad is so average, etc. i think it would have been great. instead they gave him the dashing gimmick, which i thought was awful, yet he has pulled it off, and is definately towards the top of the midcard. ted on the otherhand was given everything. match with orton in ec last year, the top heel single diva in maryse. (i say single since laycool is doing a better job), the million dollar belt, goldust, just everything. but he cant pull it off. it just doesnt work with him. he seems more like a lakey than anything. the only thing i think can possibly save him is a face run. he is sucking right now, maybe he'll do better as a face. maybe they can do the exact opposite of what they started doing with cody. have him turn away from the money and become more of the average man. not another dusty, but just show that he wants to earn what he gets and get out of his fathers shadow. maybe have his dad try to force the belt back on him or something. idk, but if he and the wwe dont figure it out, i see him getting future endevored by 2012.

 

[#1HEEL]

I think Ted still has a bright future but he needs to grow over on smackdown. For me, its as much booking as it is Ted. He is booked to look weak, when he was in legacy and shortly after he was booked to look strong. That is no longer the case.

I think that Dibiase needs to have a group with him to build his character, and build his status. I would love to see McGillicutty, Brett and Ted Dibiase.

Build them up as a midcard stable holding tag belts and IC title. Smackdown needs talent, and they could pad up the midcard allowing the likes of Ziggler and maybe McIntyre to move towards the main event picture.

 

[Dean Winchester]

Maybe Dibiease Jr works better as a babyface then a heel. Would not be a problem changing him since he got nothing to lose at all in doing so. Might be better on the mic and in the ring too.

 

[Loveless]

Anyone with his look and wrestling ability has a chance.
The position he has found himself in is not his fault at all, it's the WWE's fault for royally fucking up the Legacy breakup. Go back a year and you'll find the crowd screaming for him to strike back against Orton but instead of pulling the trigger on it, the WWE held out until the Elimination Chamber when everyone was sick of the entire thing.

 

[roethlisberger78]

Honestly IMO from begining until now I see total bust, but for a short while I saw cody rhodes as a bust also. As we all know Cody has found his calling and has gotten alot better hell I even like the guy and feel he could go far. With that being said I'm not totally counting Ted out either. Giving the right roll and character he could draw from the crowd and do some good things. I do see some wrestling abiltiy just far from being good on the Mic. I think IMO he needs to totally drop this million dollar thing its been done and used, gosh and I know I'll be killed for this but I think Ted DiBiase the MDM was bland himself, loved him as a wretler though. I could see his son taking up a roll where he says you know I know longer want my money he gives the shit away to fans (kayfabe) kinda sorta a face turn have him start teaming or working with golddust because he was with goldies brother to start out with, and then from there you know just tweek who he is as he goes to what fits.. I know its a long shot but i think it could be done. Oh and he has to drop Maryse (and i'll pick up his scraps) hahaha my bad.

 

[ReezWarrior]

Definitely like to see Rhodes doing well for himself on smackdown. As much as Rhodes seems to play the role he was given very well i think alot of his success is due to the fact he is on smackdown where there is an actual mid card scene which he is shining in. The fact he actually starting to feud with a main eventer in big show is a testament to his success with this dashing role. If he wasnt doing well he would not have been given mic time at the last ppv. I mean if Rhodes was on raw which im thankful hes not because he would not get the time of day with raw since its so stacked with main eventers and a very poor mid card scene.

I think Ted just needs a change of scenery and get rid of maryse its not like that made him more interesting than what he was. Hes made her look boring and she was the top divas heel on raw for quite sometime.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

DiBiase will be fine. He just needs a better angle to get him over and I thought they were going to do that with the return of Vincent but I guess not. Even though Rhodes has his "Dashing" gimmick, it's not like he's captivating the world with it yet. Problem is there's not a Big Show on RAW to help DiBiase. We've already seen him feud with Orton and Cena and Morrison are the only other main event or upper midcard faces. I bet by this summer, DiBiase will be in a much better position. It takes time.

 

[LSN80]

I see several problems with Ted DiBiase that do indeed make him a total bust.

First, Ted has absolutely no signs of a moveset. Its much of the same poroblem that I see with Drew McIntyre. While a superstar should be looking to end every match as soon as they can, they should be attempting to do so in any way possible. In the ring, DiBiase looks like the only thing he cares about is trying to lock in dream street. The last match I saw him win in a single's capacity he got no offense in whatsoever other then hitting Dream Street. As a result, he doesn't stand out whatsoever in the ring. The superstars who are most prominent have a defined moveset that they use in a varied order in attempts to win the match. DiBiase has yet to establish that any type of moveset, so he looks like an ordinary jobber within the ring. It seems to me as if DiBiase simply doesn't have what's needed to become something special within the ring.

Another problem I have is the epic fail of a relationship between he and Maryse. The pairing has done nothing for either and it could easily be argued that DiBiase's stock has fallen further since being paired with Maryse. DiBiase interacts with Maryse as if he shows the slightest bit of chemistry with her, it will affect his real life marriage. You're playing a role dude, would interacting with her at all hurt you? Both has dragged the other down career wise and the sooner they split, the better. If you're going to take on a goldigger....I mean valet, take advantage of the pairing. So many superstars in the past have benefitted from having a valet, such as Morrison with Melina, HBK with Sherri, and HHH with Stephanie, among others. DiBiase, regardless of the reason, has failed to take advantage of this as this pairing has been a bust.

Couple these larger factors that Dibiase has failed to take advantage of with his below-average mic skills, and DiBiase has been an epic fail. He came in with such fanfare and quickly became a two time tag champion, but his time in Legacy seemed to hurt him more then it helped. Instead of being elevated by the stable, he was seen as Orton's lackey, and when the group split he was completely buried without direction. DiBiase simply hasnt shown he has what it takes to be successful as a single's wrestler and its shown through his inability to get over regardless of the opportunity thats been given to him. He has a great look, but thats the end of it. Based upon the once lofty expectations, it's hard to consider DiBiase anything but a bust.

 

[Undying777]

I really think Ted has just not come into his own yet. I don't think he has found a gimmick that has fit him yet. They tried his dads but that failed.

I remember a couple of raws ago Marise turned her back and walked away from Ted and he looked so pissed. I mean psychopath pissed!! I thought that creative was going to go down the psychotic x boyfriend path to add more depth to Ted's character.

It also dos not help his case every time he steps in the ring with Bryan he is destroyed. I think next time they book Ted to loose to Bryan, creative should have Ted loose clean. Afterwords, Ted should go ape sh** on Bryan and decimate him. Cousin a injury that will allow Ted to beat Bryan for the tittle without making Bryan look week.

I guess what im trying to say is.. I think Ted could play a good psychopath gimmick.

 

[The Eighties]

I'm not sure if he has enough to really make it, but the first thing he needs to do is find an identity of his own so he is not just the Million Dollar Man's son.

I think he really dropped the ball with Maryse, she has the personality to play off but other than staring at her ass now and then the interaction has been non-existent and is currently like a bickering married couple. I thought the rumoured feud of Ted and Maryse vs JoMo and Melina had potential but nothing came of it.

I could see them using this losing streak to lead to him walking away and becoming a character in need of some soul searching, which they could cover in vignettes, then when he finds his mojo (Whatever that may be) he comes back revitalized and hopefully the vignettes covering his journey of self discovery will have gotten people interested in him.

 

[Ferbian]

I wouldn't necessarily say he is a COMPLETE bust. Because there's definitely still potential in the guy, and there's stuff that could be done to make him work better on-screen again. I'm not necessarily sure what, but I guess you got a bit of a point in the whole addition of Brett DiBiase coming up to the RAW roster as some sort of addition to add to Ted DiBiase's importance.

I wouldn't necessarily say they should do some sort of tag team out of it. A co-existing manager position would do fairly well I'd say. In the way that Brett wrestles, Ted manages, and Ted wrestled, Brett manages. To work together as a coherent unit. Perhaps beating someone up here and there after wins / losses to build them off as a sort of 2 man faction, or something like Triple H / Shawn Michaels in D-Generation X back in the 90's when they would be in the ring and Chyna just being in the back really.

It's doable, I don't know if WWE could think of it. But I'd definitely say it could work for Ted, as well as build Brett a bit in the process.

 

[Isaac Kaye]

The worst thing WWE did was DiBiaise was not turning him face after the break up of Legacy. The teased a face turn a couple of months before when they had him go against Orton on RAW and he simply wouldn't fight back. Fans went crazy for this and it looked like they would have been ready to get behind him at this stage.

Sadly, they opted to repackage him with a horrible, tired gimmick which he hasn't been able to carry in the slightest. He's been booked dreadfully, given no decent feuds (only Goldust to mention here) and Maryse hasn't really done much to gain him the heat he needs.

It just made perfect sense to me to turn him babyface just before legacy dissolved in that episiode with Orton. I doubt very much that creative had an other ideas for him at this stage. They clearly just acted quickly to keep him relevant and it's been a total disaster. The guy has the look of a babyface, not a heel, let him express himself a little bit.

They're gonna have to do something to stop the rot though - he is a much better wrestler than people are giving him credit for and he has loads of time to make a name for himself. He's only 28 which is very young. The guy just needs anther chance...

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Well as of now Dibiase is at the same place where he was before Legacy happened and that is just not a good place to be. But be rest assured that WWE will do their best to push this guy given their hard on for second or third generation wrestlers.

Also I do not know if there are problems with Dibiase or not. He never has any PPV matches and his matches on Raw are those two minute specials that the Raw booking team so specializes in. How can anyone judge from that if he is good in the ring or not? As for mic skills, yes this gimmick is certainly not working. But then again a lot of times it's just a question of finding the right gimmick. Look at Cody Rhodes. Before this dashing gimmick he was generic as fuck and not to mention the fact that he looked like those create a wrestler models of a wrestling game. But look at him now. A few 15 minute plus matches have proved that he could go in the ring and his gimmick has also connected with the fans. A year ago if you would have said that Cody Rhodes was charismatic the whole IWC would have thought that you are ******ed but that statement does not seem wrong now.

So is Dibiase a bust? I would say its too early to say that but he is certainly baack to square one. In three years he has not made any advances in his career. Maybe he needs a fresh start. The best way to do so would be to send him over to Smackdown, maybe turn him face and certainly change his gimmick. Maybe he could do a gimmick where he turns his back on his luxurious lifestyle stating that it has done nothing for him and he is tired to being reffered to as The Million Dollar Man's son. Give him some time as far as matches are concerned and make him a midcard staple. If he still doesn't get over then I would say that he is a bust but as of now, I am not sure.

 

[MizFit Brocko]

Remember when everyone was all high on Ted DiBiase after the Legacy angle was wrapping up? I had no idea what everyone saw about him.

He's not a good wrestler, and I've never seen him do anything that's really impressed me. As bad as he is in the ring, he's even worse on the mic. He sounds flat out bored when he speaks, and if he is trying it's not like he's saying anything interesting.

So what's Ted DiBiase's role in the future? Helping establish unestablished superstars. When Daniel Bryan started participating on RAW on a weekly basis, they fed Ted to him over and over. Perhaps this season's winner of NXT will beat him down on a weekly basis, or maybe he'll next be victim to DH Smith. Either way, they have to get Maryse out of there because she's ten times more valuable than DiBiase.

I agree with everything you have said, especially the part about Maryse ditching Ted ASAP. Maryse is not only smoking hot, but is one of the only divas i actually enjoy watching. Imo she needs to be inline for a title shot with Natalya, but that seems to be going the way of Melina who is taking a heel turn.

Either way, Maryse has more going for her than Ted does, so the sooner these 2 'break up' the better.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

The whole Rhodes and Debiase comparison really shows how stubborn the WWE and creative can be sometimes. It's obvious from the get go they saw Debiase as a bigger star than Rhodes and gave him everything to get over.

As many have said he was given his father's gimmick, a diva, and more programes to work with. Yet isn't getting over. Yet Rhodes is doing really well for himself and it shows creative's lack of commitment for him since he's been given nothing but random matches on free TV.

As for Debiase I can't see anything special with him yet. His mic skills and in ring skill even with Legacy was never that good and even Rhodes was able to show a lot more than Debiase ever did when they were both Orton's Lackeys.

 

[Alastor]

I guess WWE didn't pull the trigger and turn him face during the Legacy run was due to the fear that he would end up like Orton during his first run after Evolution. Orton was red-hot for a month or so during his initial face run but the cheers died out without Evolution to feed off on. Dibiase would have faced the same situation and it is worse for him as Orton was starting to get cheers too and facing Rohdes is not going to get him over.

Personally I feel that the vain gimmick suits Dibiase more than Cody because Ted is just better looking. For now Dibiase is stuck with being talent enhancement for the mid and lower card faces similar to what Swagger/Kozlov/Chavo etc. were doing almost a year ago. This could be due to him failing to get over no matter what kind of push was given to him. When management has nothing to do with you as a heel, then you will be fed to build momentum for the faces lower down the card. I guess Ted is stuck to his current situation due to rotation of jobbing status. How well has he impressed management will decide how well he can recover from this run.