Ted DiBiase
Real Name - Theodore DiBiase
Aliases - none
Athletic background - Football, Wrestling
Teachers - n/a
Professional history - Amarillo(`74), WWWF(`78-`79), NWA(`79-`8?), Mid-South(`83-`87), All Japan(`84-`87), Georgia(`84), UWF, WWF(`87-`93), All Japan(`93), WWF(`94-`96), WCW(`96-`98)
Peak Years - `83-`90
Groups - Rat Pack, Hart Family, Million Dollar Corporation
Career Highlights -
- Wins the Mid-South North American title for the first of five times in 1976
- Defeats Dick Slater for the Missouri Heavyweight belt, often the springboard to the world title
- Gets his first NWA title shot against Harley Race in St. Louis in `81
- Enters the WWF as the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and "buys" their World title from Andre "The Giant"
- Makes it to the finals of the Wrestlemania IV World title tournament
Finisher(s) -
- Million Dollar Dream (Cobra Clutch)
- Million Dollar Buster (Cobra Clutch Legsweep)
Favorites -
- Spinning Toehold
- Powerslam
- Suplex
- Lariat
- Fistdrop
Ringwork Rating -
move set - 10
science - 6
aerial - 3
power - 8
strikes - 10
Intangible Rating -
entertainment - 10
selling - 10
bumping - 10
carrying - 10
heat - 8
legacy - 7
Serious Injuries - Broken Neck
Place in History - A lot of insiders consider Ted DiBiase the greatest wrestler never to win a world title. Man, he had the chances though. He was a regular contender for the NWA Championship in the early 80s and at one point he was going to be the third man in a Flair-Rhodes title battle, but was cut out eventually. He was going to become the savior champion of the struggling UWF, but while touring Japan the company closed shop. Finally, we all know about his WWF title reign and while he at least wore the belt, it's seldom considered a reign. DiBiase was simply one of the best of the 1980s and one of the few contenders of Ric Flair when it comes to consistantly looking great. He was a gifted babyface and was a lot like a Jack Brisco. He turned heel in `82 and with the exception of his final years in the UWF, remained that way. Ted DiBiase showed an incredible nack for brawling and would keep that a prominent part of his style. While his Mid-South days were where he showed his true in-ring greatness, the WWF allowed him to show off other aspects. As the always entertaining "Million Dollar Man," he cut top notch interviews, did some of the best vignettes in wrestling history and carried innumerable guys to good matches. While his lack of flair hurt him from being a top heel, he maintained a strong standing in the company for his five years as a wrestler. He continued to aid less charismatic stars in the WWF's dark years and later in WCW before calling it a career. DiBiase had found god and lost touch with the current trends and only does a few things every once and while. One of the best wrestlers to ever lace up a pair of boots, hopefully as time goes on people will remember him as such.