Underutilized: Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase

[justtxyank]

Ted DiBiase (not Jr) is a WWE Hall of Famer and was a major part of the WWF during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is in my opinion, without a doubt, one of the 5 best heels in wrestling history. His ability to generate heel heat for himself was so great that he could even generate face heat for a guy like Virgil!

Working a program with DiBiase during his MDM years was a sure fire way to get face heat on a worker.

That said, I believe he was underutilized. Criminally. DiBiase made the decision to jump to the WWF in 1987 while being courted by JCP at the same time. While there is no doubt he was successful in the WWF, I believe his character would have worked a million times better in the NWA. In the WWF, DiBiase was hindered by the fact that Vince didn't really believe in heel champions. This kept DiBiase limited to chasing. He got 1 WM big time match against Savage and then basically spent the rest of his career being a major player, but never THE major player.

I can only imagine how a heel DiBiase could have played as the evil money bags champion feuding with Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, etc.

What are your thoughts? Note that this is not me knocking his WWF career as he was an obvious success and played a big part in storylines. But, do you believe DiBiase could have been even bigger if pushed as the top dog in a promotion, a heel world champion? I think he could have been as big as Ric Flair.

 

[relentless1]

no because ite million dollar man gimmick was vinces idea and i dont think jcp wouldve pushed him that way, for all intents and purposes that was flairs gimmick anyways and if you ever hear ted talk about it, vince spared no expense to make ted seem like the character, limos, lear jets etc, jcp was doing the exact same thing for flair, no way theyd do it for two guys on thier roster at the same time, besides the million dollar man gimmick was a tad bit cartoony for the nwa anyways.

 

[Lowdown]

JCP was doing a similar gimmick with Flair and the Horsemen before Vince came up with the Million Dollar Man gimmick. Granted DiBiase was an established star while he was still in NWA. When he went to WWF he was put on a grander stage and more fans took notice. Now its hard to say if he would've gotten the same kind of rub if he'd stayed with JCP. No doubt he was golden as a heel, so chances are he probably would've shined. But for me its hard to picture anything but the MDM when I think of Ted DiBiase.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Ted DiBiase (not Jr) is a WWE Hall of Famer and was a major part of the WWF during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is in my opinion, without a doubt, one of the 5 best heels in wrestling history. His ability to generate heel heat for himself was so great that he could even generate face heat for a guy like Virgil!

Working a program with DiBiase during his MDM years was a sure fire way to get face heat on a worker.

That said, I believe he was underutilized. Criminally. DiBiase made the decision to jump to the WWF in 1987 while being courted by JCP at the same time. While there is no doubt he was successful in the WWF, I believe his character would have worked a million times better in the NWA. In the WWF, DiBiase was hindered by the fact that Vince didn't really believe in heel champions. This kept DiBiase limited to chasing. He got 1 WM big time match against Savage and then basically spent the rest of his career being a major player, but never THE major player.

I can only imagine how a heel DiBiase could have played as the evil money bags champion feuding with Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, etc.

What are your thoughts? Note that this is not me knocking his WWF career as he was an obvious success and played a big part in storylines. But, do you believe DiBiase could have been even bigger if pushed as the top dog in a promotion, a heel world champion? I think he could have been as big as Ric Flair.

DiBiase should be considered for the HOF, in fact at some point I think very likely he will get in.

As for the assertion that he would have had more suucess in the NWA if he had jumped there in 87 instead of WWF, Flair was the top heel, and in fact there were no plans to change that as long as Dusty Rhodes and Jim Crockett Jr were in charge (Flair's face turn occurred in 89, after Rhodes was fired and Crockett sold out to Turner). DiBiase had played both a fan favorite and a heel in his Mid South days and was a very good in ring performer, he did not however have "The Look", the sculpted muscled up adonis type guy who fit the mold of what both Crockett & McMahon were looking for. He might have had a nice face run vs Flair in 88 but like Barry Whyndham it likley would have produced good house shows and great matches but no title change. Crocket & Rhodes were sold on Luger as the next star, at least until they realized the gem they got from the UWF named Sting. Dusty also did not do feuds with other stars not alligned with Flair & The Horsemen, he wanted to stay as close to the main events as possible, so unless DiBiase was in the H-Man they likely would not have crossed paths.

A feud with Steamboat would have been hard since he only wrestled from Feb to July in 89 - he basically came in for one reason, a hot shot fued with Flair, and then go home, which he did.

DiBiase had the talent to succeed wherever he went but if he had gone NWA as a heel he would have been no better than #2, a defacto #2 at that because Tully Blanchard left in fall in of 88 for the WWF. As a fan favorite without the muscled physique and youth appeal of Luger & Sting he would have been stuck behind them.

I would have loved to have seen DiBiase tear the house down vs Flair during that time, those matches would have been every bit as good if not better than the ones he did with Savage over the WWF Title in 88. However, going to WWF and taking ownership of the "Million DOllar Man" gimmick was probably the best thing DiBiase could have done for himself. He did prove that even in Vince's cartoon like muscle man era a guy with real talent could shine above just about everything else. He'll get his HOF due at some point.

 

[justtxyank]

I'm sorry, you guys misunderstood my point. I wasn't specifically meaning "would he have been more successful in JCP" because obviously without the MDM gimmick that wouldn't have happened. My point was, do you think an opportunity was missed by not pushing him as a major heel champion that faces were chasing? He ended up spending most of his career in the WWF in upper mid card feuds with guys sucking off his heel heat (Virgil, tag teams, etc.)

 

[dtroppe]

This was not a possibility. The best thing about Ted Dibiase was the million dollar man gimmick. The guy was ok, but somewhat unmemorable by himself. He had a lousy look and physique, however, he was decent on the mic and in the ring. Being a good ring worker does not count for getting someone over. Thats the truth-too many examples to prove that point. The MDM gimmick was awesome, the belt was awesome, the promos were awesome, but lets be honest, with guys like Hogan, Warrior, Sting, Macho Man the Road Warriors and Flair that had great charisma and a great look , Ted DiBiase the man, was just average. In my opinion, a booker had a lot of great options to choose from, and if Rick Rude and Mr Perfect were not booked in the top tier there was no chance Ted DiBiase ever would be.

 

[Mustang Sally]

My point was, do you think an opportunity was missed by not pushing him as a major heel champion that faces were chasing? He ended up spending most of his career in the WWF in upper mid card feuds with guys sucking off his heel heat (Virgil, tag teams, etc.)

Well, DiBiase had the misfortune of enjoying the prime of his Million Dollar career during the heyday of Hulk Hogan, when hardly anyone else got to be champion, whether faces or heels. Of course, the reign of Randy Savage also figured in there; surely another guy who would have been champion much longer had Hogan not been in the way. But DiBiase wasn't going to be the titleholder with those two guys in there.

But I agree with some of the others in this topic; while DiBiase was a great villain and skillful ring worker, he didn't really feature as championship material. He was a good foil; a man who others played off to step up their own reputations. At first, DiBiase would gain the upper hand on the good guy, who would make a heroic comeback in the end and send Million Dollar Man to the fate of all villains. That was Ted's greatest function and he filled it wonderfully.

I also agree with you; Vince McMahon didn't like his champions to be heels; it seemed to be something left over from his father, who would give heels runs of about a week as champion before turning the title back to guys like Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales, who would hold it seemingly forever.

I don't believe Ted DiBiase would have been utilized better in other wrestling federations. For all we know, they might have used him as a face, which is how he first came into WWE. DiBiase's best destiny was fulfilled in WWE.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

DiBiase was never really the right guy of that era to be a heel World Champion. If they were going to do it, Rick Rude was far more versatile and equipped to handle the role. WWF's handling of DiBiase in the Hogan era always struck me as "trying too hard" to create a credible heel challenger to Hogan who wasn't a Giant... Where as Rude was by beating the Warrior and Roberts becoming that very person. But Vince had a lot "invested" in the M$M gimmick, he famously told Ted "It's the gimmick I'd give myself"...

DiBiase was never underused, he was always at the top end of the card and headlined WM4 & 9 (Remember the Tag Match was a Main Event). Where it went a little wrong was the end of his career, he should really have been the guy to fight Bret for the belt in his first feud, rather than the Shawn/Razor matches we got... By the end he was jobbing out for Razor Ramon, rather than teaming with someone like Owen (imagine if DiBiase had "bought" Owen, how good would that have been!)

 

[FlairFan2003]

Lets also remember all things being equal what killed DiBiase's career was he got injured. Had he stayed healthy his career might have gone much better in the latter stages. That was just bad luck, had nothing to do with Vince or Crockett or Turner.

Rick Rude suffered a similair fate. WCW was seriously considering Rude as top guy in 94. They even teased a full fledged face turn for him in his feud vs Vader. Basically he, Sting, and Flair would have been the main stars going forward. His career ending injury and the signing of Hogan pretty much killed that. Hard to say if Rude stays healthy what happens when Hogan arrives but he was in position for a major run when untimely injuries ended his career.

 

[thebarber]

Pretty sure Ted DiBiASE is in the WWE Hall of Fame.

He had a fabled career, and people are forgetting how for the majority of his career he was a fan favourite in the 70s and early to mid 80s. Moving to WWE in 1987, he was hand picked by Vince to portray the gimmick that Vince himself wanted to portray if he ever became a wrestler. How anybody could say DiBiASE was underutilised in WWE is seriously fucking deluded. From his debut on tv, he was staright into a feud with trying to buy the WWE Championship. Within 6 months he had bought it and main evented Wrestlemania. He headlined every ppv in 1988 barring the Rumble, was last man ousted in the 1989 Rumble, had massive monet fueds with Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, made Andre worthwhile in the twilight of his career, helped guys like Virgil and Hercules go from being bit part and heel mid carders to faces that poeple cared about. He had a solid run with Dusty Rhodes and carried Ultimate Warrior to watchabkle matches in 1990 then as age and injuries stepped in he helped elevate the tag team titles in great matches with the Steiners, LOD. Ted DiBiase had the best possible run he could have hoped for a s aheel in the WWE, Im, just glad they didnt switch him face when he was on the way out and used to elevate too many guys. Fact remains, DiBiase, Hennig and Rude were great heels in WWE, and were NOT underutilised.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

I think people are pointing to the era Debiase was in the reason why he never became the World Champion. Yes Hogan and the faces dominated as the Champions in that time but I believe the reason why Debiase never got a run with the title was because of the Honky Tonk Man.

I recall Randy Savage in an article saying he was supposed to win the Intercontinental Title from the Honky Tonk Man at WMIV but Honky Tonk Man refused to drop it to Savage (for reasons I cannot remember). Thus plans for WMIV changed so that Savage would win the World Title, scrapping plans to Debiase winning it.

So Debiase's lack of a title reign was really attribute to a combination of bad luck, timing, and the Honky Tonk Man.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

For anyone saying that Dibiase wouldn't have been NWA champ... he was actually recommended to the board by Harley Race to become the champ. It wasn't over Flair though. In fact, he was recommended to win the belt the first time Dusty took the title, but Rhodes and the Florida office had enough influence that they were able to get the belt onto Dusty. Up until Dibiase left for the WWF, he was recommended by Race every time a short term championship reign came up (not a long one because Race agreed that Flair was the guy for that). Regardless though, if Dibiase had turned down the M$M gimmick and let that be known, that along with Harley Race's endorsement would have been enough to put him over the top and begin at least one run with the NWA title.

Dibiase was one of the greats of his era. He was a amazing heel, being able to play so many different layers from over the top cheesy to ultra serious. Like someone else said here, he could draw heat so well that he made the careers of others as babyfaces (no one knows who Virgil is if it wasn't for Dibiase). He was also a tremendous babyface (look at his mid-south/UWF work for an example there).

The politics of the time in the NWA, with JCP holding all the power, made it hard for NWA guys in other territories like Dibiase to break through the glass ceiling, but he was so close that a show of loyalty would have been all it took to get him his run... and once he had that, who knows where he could have gone?

In that regard the WWF of the time wasn't any better, although he was originally supposed to get the belt at WM4 instead of Savage (once again the Honkey Tonk Man has to screw things up for someone). Had he come along even a few years later, we'd likely be talking about a multi-time WWF champion right now. As it is, we still remember Dibiase as one of the greatest heels of his and any era... because that's exactly what he was.

The funny thing is, if you've ever listened to any interviews with him, it doesn't bother him at all that he never won either the NWA or WWF titles, even though there's no one in history that came as close behind the scenes to taking both and yet ending up with neither. This is a guy that's perfectly content with his career.

 

[DirtyD79]

I think he was used just fine. It ain't like he was beggin' through the palms for a spot on the card. The man got plenty of high profile feuds and was presented as a legit threat to the babyfaces in them which is what a heel is supposed to be. He got to live it up like a king on the boss' dime with the first class hotels, jets, and limos. Not everybody is gonna be the big dog and quite frankly not everybody should be. A fed needs solid talent all throughout the card.