Ted Dibiase Jr.: Million Dollar Champion?

[Dagger Dias]

What do you guys think? Would this work? Would it suck? Why and why not?

I think it would be a cool idea because of nostalgia. Ted even said during a comment on the Saturday Night's main event DVD that he'd think it would be cool to bring back his dad's belt. It would have been PERFECT during the time when he and Rhodes were still "Team Priceless". It could possibly still work now because it was his father's belt and he can say that it's his legacy (intended pun) to bring the Million Dollar Championship back. He could issue challenges like his father did, beat them all, then maybe even feud with Rhodes for it. Bringing the Million Dollar belt back for Ted Dibiase Jr would be great because it would help him get over more and it would be nostalgic for older fans.

 

[the_migulator]

A friend and I have both been talking about this for months with utter surprise. We've all seen the heat for Legacy (and Priceless specifically) go ice cold over the past few months and what a great and refreshing idea it would be to see the Million Dollar Championship brought back.

But don't bring back a worthless belt like the Million Dollar Championship when you can barely book your second tier and tag belts correctly.

As I stated, why would you bring back an in active belt, when you have two perfectly good second tier belts (US, IC), with REAL credibility (although diminished in 2009) that you could put on TED that would elevate him. Will someone explain to me why the MDB would be better that the IC?

The belt was created by The Million Dollar Man because he couldn't win the WWF Championship. Now Ted only really ever defended that belt against Virgil (which he lost) but then eventually regained it before abandoning the belt when he won the Tag Team Championship with I.R.S.

Now this belt was 'unsanctioned' by WWF at the time - thus making it pretty much a moot title, right?

Wrong - the belt was used as a prop. Essentially Ted Dibiase Sr. could, as the Million Dollar Man, buy anything he wanted (remember, everybody has a price..) BUT the ONE thing he wanted more than anything was the WWF Championship. When he couldn't win it, he created his own championship.

Now, I think this practice could be used once again. Ted Sr. could just give the belt to Ted Jr. Ted Jr. could just show up with it, which could begin the slow demise of Legacy;
Imagine if Ted Sr. just gave the belt to Ted Jr. - said wear it with pride, you're the Million Dollar Champion and the future of this company.

So Ted Jr. starts getting more and more on the outside with Legacy, he talks about he's the Million Dollar Champ and people look up to him, they respect him , etc.

Randy Orton, frustrated with his inability to secure a championship match of his own, coupled with Ted Jr's new found attitude, finally snap with something to the effect of "Teddy! Your title isn't even sanctioned by the WWE! Your father made it because he COULDN'T GET TO THE TOP!" thus leading to a fued between Orton and Ted Jr., which could bring in the prospect of involving not just the Million Dollar Man but Brett Dibiase, Dusty, a whole list of players could take part in the angle and make it a fun, interesting change of pace.


Not saying that's the angle that would work, or even sell, but it is something, and it's something that if done correctly could be a cool, different take on a fued that eventually seems bound to happen.

 

[JoeDubb]

Randy Orton, frustrated with his inability to secure a championship match of his own, coupled with Ted Jr's new found attitude, finally snap with something to the effect of "Teddy! Your title isn't even sanctioned by the WWE! Your father made it because he COULDN'T GET TO THE TOP!" thus leading to a fued between Orton and Ted Jr., which could bring in the prospect of involving not just the Million Dollar Man but Brett Dibiase, Dusty, a whole list of players could take part in the angle and make it a fun, interesting change of pace.


Not saying that's the angle that would work, or even sell, but it is something, and it's something that if done correctly could be a cool, different take on a fued that eventually seems bound to happen.

I could see it working under that story line. My only fear would be Ted defending the belt as an actual chamionship, which I (perhaps wrongly) got the impression people wanted him to do. As long as the belt is only used as a prop, it could very well work; if anything to just get Ted out of Legacy.

 

[the_migulator]

I could see it working under that story line. My only fear would be Ted defending the belt as an actual chamionship, which I (perhaps wrongly) got the impression people wanted him to do. As long as the belt is only used as a prop, it could very well work; if anything to just get Ted out of Legacy.

No I agree there. I don't think the belt should necessarily be defended on a regular basis. Treat it as it is though, an 'unsanctioned' championship, mainly used to highlight the gimmick, or as another poster mentioned, the legacy of that championship.

Ted isn't holding it to defend against all comers, he's holding it to show the WWE universe his legacy, and the Million Dollar legacy is, essentially, the reason to hold the championship. (in addition to the possibility of letting Orton 'steal it', tying that into his current storyline of not being able to get a championship match with Cena)

I agree with you though, about not 'circulating' the title. The belt should be treated as it was 15 years ago. Easy out for WWE creative, too - as they basically don't have to worry about undermining their actual singles mid-card titles.

I could see something to the effect of MDM coming back sometime soon and offering Ted a chance to claim the belt, a passing of the torch, so to speak from father to son. Randy, trying for months to secure a WWE title shot gets wind of this and gets furious, steals/takes/recovers the MDC before a ceremony and anytime Ted tries talking to Randy about the belt, or why he would try and take it Randy shoots him down, changes the subject or laughs it off.
Ted gets increasingly angry over this and finally culminates by cutting a promo challenging Orton while selling the legacy of the Million Dollar Championship and what it means to him and his family.

Orton and Dibiase could go on to enjoy a pretty decent program in my opinion, and obviously could include (as I mentioned before) Dusty, Cody, Vince, Ted Sr., Brett Dibiase..the list goes on and on. The possibilities are definitely intriguing.

Bringing back the Million Dollar Championship and treating it like a mid-card belt would only be a disservice to the 'unsanctioned championship', as well as the whole point of the belt in the first place. But as for using the belt in a program for Orton/Cody/Ted Jr. could be very entertaining.

if anything to just get Ted out of Legacy.

That's the key to it right there, the little piece that makes this whole debate relevant. Getting Ted relevant again, and finally, out of Legacy. During the groups inception any somewhat informed fan clearly understood that Ted was the golden child in that whole formation. He was the one who was teased to turn originally, and I really believe it will eventually happen. Having said that, I'm wondering now if time is against them. Granted Ted is still young and should have a very good career ahead of him. But I cannot, for the life of me understand why they would hire Dibiase for the Marine 2 and then just bury him in the mid-card, have him off of TV entirely for 2 weeks, and then continue an abysmal heel-lackey run all while his DVD is out. How can WWE expect any return on an investment?

I know, this is the same company who fired Kennedy after one show and after they sold their collective left testicle to promote the hell out of his movie, too.

The whole key hinges on whether or not we can take Legacy seriously anymore. Their heat is GONE. They haven't fought for the tag team titles in over what? Three months? At the earliest? Randy Orton is fueding with Kofi Kingston (which is budding into a fantastic program, but obviously leaves Priceless to be nothing more than filler to advance the Kofi/Orton program)

I think the best option is the only option that seems to be left. Since Legacy's heat has gone cold over the past few months this is an excellent program to make them all relevant again in literally an instant. Imagine if the Million Dollar Championship was brought back right now. Lets say Monday on RAW Timbaland is hanging with Ted Sr. and the program hypothetically started. Now you've got Randy Orton/Kofi fued going on, on top of that Ted Jr. is basically being anointed the future, which in turn rubs Cody the wrong way and boom - the wheels are in motion.

That's just a possibility, but it's something that could work and it would also get people talking again, and more specifically, talking about Priceless. No other angle could add instant credibility and relevancy to the sinking ship that is Legacy at this point.

 

[JJYanks121]

Well, yeah. If his name were Ted Jones Jr he'd be Chuck Palumbo or Bob Holly or Chris Masters without dancing pecs. However......

So you've insinuated that he'd be a nobody without his name. Keep in mind plenty of guys have not had parents in the industry and done well for themselves. For every Chuck Palumbo, there is a Mark Calloway. For every Bob Holly, there is a Dave Batista. However, with this comment, you basically assumed that Ted Jr. lacks the talent his father had and would be a Palumbo or Holly as opposed to a Calloway or Batista. So we understand that as of this moment, he hasn't proven anything and that he is only revered because of who his father is and was.

So he has plenty of time to work with. Carrying around his father's old belt like it was the European or TV title for six months or a year won't stop him from becoming a huge star when he's 32. When Stone Cold was on top of the world, no one remembered the Ringmaster.

Being the Ringmaster and carrying that belt around also didn't help Austin at all. He was brought it at that time to be a solid worker who would put over up and coming talent. It wasn't really planned for him to become a megastar. What made him that megastar though was to relieve himself of the weight that was the Ringmaster gimmick and basically being an underhand of the manager Ted Dibiase Sr. Steve became a megastar by becoming his own character and own personality. He created the Stone Cold character and owned it and that is what rose him to prominence. I am arguing that for Ted to become a star, he needs to find his own character and his own personality that separates him from his family.

BTW, Steve Austin carrying the belt around didn't work, I think, because he was just Dibiase's hireling. No one else wanted the belt, and it probably wasn't too clear why Austin wanted the belt. Dibiase's son, on the other hand, is carrying on a legacy, a tradition, and that's something you can build a story around. That's something that Dibiase would legitimately wear with pride, and care about if someone came to take it from him.

I'm sure he would wear it with pride and I'm sure he is very proud of his dad and what he accomplished, but at the same time, you can't live your whole life in your parent's shadow. You have to become your own man. The Rock became a superstar by becoming the man of 1000 catchphrases, Randy Orton became the Viper (I use that because the Legend Killer wasn't what made him a permanent main eventer), but the point is, while you know that those men are sons of wrestlers, you don't keep thinking "man, Rock should start doing the Rocky shuffle like his dad" or "Randy should wear a Cowboy hat and a cast like his dad". The only person who gets that treatment is Ted, and my point is, IF he can find a character for himself and find his own success, maybe then we can stop thinking of him as just "the Million Dollar Man's son" and start seeing him as a superstar in his own right. It will take time, but his dad's belt will only increase that amount of time as it wont' allow him to become his own man.

 

[johnbragg]

For every Chuck Palumbo, there is a Mark Calloway. For every Bob Holly, there is a Dave Batista.

I'd say for every ten Bob Hollys, there is a Batista. And for every Bob Holly there are a dozen Luther Reignses.

Being the Ringmaster and carrying that belt around also didn't help Austin at all.

It didn't? I think that Austin learned something from his time as the Ringmaster and from his time as Stunning Steve Austin in the Hollywood Blondes. I think that the Rock learned something from his failed face run as Rocky Maivia.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think that a superstar wrestler like Austin or even a main event guy like Batista springs fully formed from developmental. I think it does take a guy years to develop the ring and promo skills to be a megastar.

On the other hand, Brock Lesnar and Goldberg did go straight to the top as rookies.

I don't think that Ted Dibiase Jr is ready for a Lesnar 2003-Angle 2000 type push. So, if he ever makes it to the top, it's going to take time. He has to do something in the meantime. The team with Cody Rhodes is a good project, as long as WWE is making a big deal out of the tag division. The Million Dollar Belt is another good project that would make Ted Jr stand out and let other guys use the US title to try to get themselves over.

 

[Tastycles]

It'd only work if his dad came to the ring with him regularly beforehand and bestowed it upon him. That's what happened to the ringmaster. Otherwise, all that you would see is someone walking around with a title that has been dormant for almost 15 years. It wouldn't really acheive anything to just give him a random title, any more than it would to just arbitarily give someone the European Title tomorrow. There's no point, except as a gimmick extension, and it doesn't lok like they're really going in that direction with him. Basically, the idea doesn't warrant being considered unless DiBiase evolves into a character similar to that of his father.

 

[mattg0728]

I think a cool idea would be for the Million Dollar Man to guest host Raw sometime in the future and declare that he is crowning a new Million Dollar Champion and bring the belt out. He brings out all of Legacy together, but instead of giving it to Jr. as most would assume, he gives it to Orton. And Orton and Rhodes ambush Jr. and it can push Ted Jr. into a feud with the remainder of Legacy as a face. Just an idea.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I think a cool idea would be for the Million Dollar Man to guest host Raw sometime in the future and declare that he is crowning a new Million Dollar Champion and bring the belt out.

They had the perfect opportunity to do that this summer, but the Million Dollar Man has already hosted a Raw now. They would have to have him just randomly show up instead now.

He brings out all of Legacy together, but instead of giving it to Jr. as most would assume, he gives it to Orton. And Orton and Rhodes ambush Jr. and it can push Ted Jr. into a feud with the remainder of Legacy as a face. Just an idea.

Sorry, but.... what? Orton? Why would they give it to Orton? He's a multi-time WWE Champion, what use could he have for a belt that has been gone for several years when he's a world title contender? I could understand possibly giving it to Rhodes as a swerve, it'd give an excuse for Legacy to split up as Ted and Cody feud over the Million Dollar Championship and Orton would go off and seek the WWE Championship again.

I do still think that having his dad give Ted the Million Dollar Championship would be a good way to start a big push for him, which I'm surprised he hasn't gotten yet. Or perhaps since he's heel he could say he's above that belt as a way of getting more heel heat.... I dunno. There are a lot of things they could do if the Million Dollar Man ever did bring that belt back, and I would be interested in that because it would have the potential for something entertaining with Legacy.