WWE Legends Biography Ted DiBiase Live 7/28/24 July 28th 2024
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00:00For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered
00:15away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
00:29He's got a price for the million dollar man, including you.
00:33Let's take a review of how Ted DiBiase has developed into one of today's top stars.
00:41When Vince met with Ted, he says, I've got an idea, I think you'd be the perfect guy
00:46for it.
00:47I'm rich, you're poor, and that makes me better than each and every one of you.
00:54He said, I think you'd be one of the hottest deals I've ever had.
00:57It was so well done, it just fit him perfectly.
01:01He was actually giving away $100 bills everywhere, I was like, yes, this is going to work.
01:07You're all a bunch of suckers.
01:09Everything that he did was horrible.
01:11Let's hear a big bulldog bark.
01:14And people ate it up.
01:17Ted was just the consummate deal.
01:20One of the greatest characters left of all time.
01:30Is that enough?
01:32I always likened it to selling your soul to the devil.
01:36Temptations were endless.
01:38And I got caught up in the lifestyle.
01:40Ted ran hard.
01:42I mean, partied and ran hard.
01:44I think he got himself in trouble.
01:47I'm going to share him with the rest of the world.
01:49We want that.
01:50We want that.
01:51We want him.
01:52How do you make that transition to go from superstar to Hulk?
02:07Well, this is my office.
02:09Well, all of these things have a special meaning to me.
02:12If you throw them all together, it's a history of my life in professional wrestling.
02:17This is the first action figure of me.
02:20And I can still remember the first time I walked into whatever store it was.
02:25And I was like, wow.
02:27A little piggy bank.
02:28A million-dollar-a-day piggy bank.
02:29There we go.
02:32And this picture right here is my mother.
02:35Now, there's a lot of my peers who, like myself, are second- and third-generation wrestlers.
02:40Who could say, well, my dad was a wrestler, too.
02:43But there aren't too many that could say, my mom and dad were wrestlers.
02:50I was born Theodore Marvin Wills.
02:53My biological father was a professional singer.
02:56Had a beautiful, deep bass voice.
02:59Sang with guys like Tennessee Ernie Ford.
03:02Now, I have a very deep bass voice, but I couldn't carry a tune if it had handles on it.
03:08My mother and he divorced when I was two.
03:11My mother was an entertainer.
03:14She did what you call stage show dancing.
03:17And I'm not sure how she transitioned into being a lady wrestler, but she did.
03:24When I was really little, the deal was, she says, whatever you do,
03:28you sit right where I put you, and you don't get out of that chair.
03:33She goes out and has this match, and she's getting beat up really bad.
03:37And, you know, that's my mama up there, you know.
03:40I went running up to the ring right when she caught me, if looks could kill.
03:45And all it took was that look on her face, and I literally turned and ran.
03:51Well, I tell you, I never got out of my seat again, that's for sure.
03:55And when I was five, my mother married Mike DiBiase.
03:59Mike DiBiase's wrestling name was Iron Mike.
04:02Introducing Iron Mike.
04:05He was not only a professional wrestler, but 1946,
04:09he was the AAU National Heavyweight Amateur Wrestling Champion.
04:14I wanted to emulate him in life.
04:18And, of course, the one thing that he didn't want me to be
04:23was a professional wrestler.
04:26And it wasn't about the wrestling.
04:28It was about the lifestyle of wrestling.
04:31Wrestlers put miles and miles and miles on their vehicles,
04:34having to stay in hotels.
04:36Of course, none of that was covered.
04:38You know, everything was paid out of their own pocket.
04:41He would take me with him every now and then,
04:43and I had probably some of the greatest conversations
04:48of my life with my dad on those trips.
04:55You know, this is the guy that, in the most formative years of my life,
04:58from the age of five to 15, was the inspiration of my life.
05:02And when I say 15, that's when I lost him.
05:06July 2, 1969, in Lubbock, Texas.
05:10Some people came to the house.
05:13I know they were wrestlers and people we knew.
05:17But it was late at night.
05:19I immediately knew something was wrong.
05:22One of those great relationships in his wrestling career
05:26was with the Funk family.
05:29There's not a bigger name in Texas than the Funks.
05:33Everybody came through West Texas and that territory up there in Avarillo
05:37because of Dory Sr.
05:40Terry Funk's mother took me out in the hall
05:44and looked me straight in the eye and said,
05:46Teddy, your dad had a heart attack tonight
05:50and died on the way to the hospital.
05:53And that's how I found out that he was gone.
05:56I remember the shriek that went out
06:01when they told my mother,
06:04she just lost it.
06:07Terry Funk showed up and he had my dad's wrestling bag.
06:12And I remember opening that bag
06:15and my dad's wrestling tights
06:24were still wet with his sweat.
06:28And I buried my face in that.
06:31I could smell my dad.
06:33It's funny the things you do in situations like that.
06:37It was just one of those moments in my life that I'll never forget.
06:42Teddy became the father of the family.
06:46And Teddy would do everything.
06:50And that was a tragic, tragic time.
06:53And they moved to Arizona then.
06:57As a young man, I didn't go to the church that much.
07:01But I prayed a lot for my mother.
07:03She started drinking heavily.
07:06And so I stayed there in Wilcox, Arizona with my grandmother.
07:13Football meant the world to me at that time.
07:17I played offensive, guard, and tackle.
07:22My driving force was to be good enough
07:25to earn that scholarship to play college football.
07:30I graduated in 1972 from Wilcox High School.
07:36I had initially signed a letter of intent
07:39to football at the University of Arizona.
07:42I'm watching TV one afternoon.
07:46And wrestling comes on.
07:49And it's the wrestling out of Amarillo, Texas, the Funks.
07:53And they're promoting that they're going to bring a show to Tucson.
07:57And I hadn't seen any wrestling for three years since my father died.
08:02So I went to Tucson to see the Funks.
08:06And that visit turned into a visit to West Texas State University.
08:12In the back of my mind as a kid growing up,
08:15I always wanted to be a wrestler.
08:17I always wanted to be my dad.
08:19So going to West Texas State served two purposes.
08:23Number one, I was there on a football scholarship.
08:26And number two, it would be the lead-in to my professional wrestling career
08:31and my family's relationship with the Funk family.
08:34You know, I'd basically known them all of my life.
08:37And I knew that they would help train me to get into wrestling.
08:41I knew he was going to be in the business.
08:43I wanted him to be in the business, of course.
08:46I just wanted him to not go in as early as he did.
08:51I heard Mom and him talking about a career path in wrestling.
08:56And it was always, no, that's not what's going to happen.
09:011974 in Lubbock, Texas,
09:05I had my first match in the ring where my father had his last.
09:12And I didn't even think about it until after it was over.
09:19Ted DiBiase, like many others,
09:22became honed and skilled wrestler in Mid-South.
09:27It was a big territory.
09:29Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi.
09:32I was exposed to so much great talent.
09:35Ted DiBiase, who was just a teenager,
09:37dedicated himself to someday honoring his father's memory.
09:41It's DiBiase after fire!
09:44Great work ethic, really good performance.
09:47He was trained and hung around the two of the best ever, Terry Andore.
09:52Dropkick by DiBiase!
09:54I had one year of college left, and I didn't go back.
09:57People were telling me,
09:59Ted, you got it, and you're going places.
10:02And it's funny because he never really had a gimmick.
10:06No ring wear or anything like that.
10:10You know, he was a wrestler.
10:12He was a tough, 6'4", 265-pound wrestler.
10:17DiBiase gets teed off!
10:20And one day I got this call from Tev.
10:23He says, well, I got a call from Vince.
10:27Do you think I should stay here in Oklahoma or go to New York?
10:32I said, get your ass up to New York, is what I told him.
10:38Watch next day on the A&E app.
10:44The first time I wrestled Ted DiBiase was in Madison Square Garden.
10:48The incredible Hulk Hogan!
10:52His opponent, Ted DiBiase!
10:58Ted DiBiase had made quite a name for himself
11:02and was considered a great technical wrestler.
11:05And that was the type of wrestler that Vince and James McMahon wanted.
11:11During the territory era, a wrestler would come into a wrestling promotion,
11:16work for a few months, and then usually lose
11:19to whoever the next top good guy might be on his way out.
11:24I remember Vince Sr. coming to me and saying,
11:28hey, we got a lot of high hopes for this guy.
11:31Nervous wreck. Ted made me look great.
11:36Now he has him in a bear hug, and it could be over.
11:40It's over.
11:42You know, I was wrestling that night in the garden,
11:44and then I was going back to Texas.
11:49Jerry Funk called me and he said, you need to get to Georgia
11:52because there's three names in the hat for who possibly
11:56might be the next NWA world champion.
12:00And the three names are Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, and Ted DiBiase.
12:05To be number one in professional wrestling,
12:07you've got to be a winner and you've got to go
12:09where the action is and where the best is.
12:12For all the regional territories that existed,
12:15no championship meant more at that time
12:18than the National Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Championship.
12:22Ted DiBiase had the skills to be an NWA champion.
12:28When I went to Georgia, that was when Melanie and I met in Atlanta
12:33on April the 26th, 1981.
12:38We actually met at a swimming pool,
12:41and the guy that I was friends with said to Ted,
12:46this girl over here wants your autograph.
12:48And I said, OK, what's your name?
12:49She goes, Melanie, but everybody calls me Mel.
12:51So I put Tamel, the best looking girl at the pool, for sure.
12:55And I said, I don't even know you, and I'm going to sign this love.
12:58And I did love Ted DiBiase for 2681.
13:04I looked at him and I was like, well, what number are you?
13:08What number am I?
13:10You've got to be a football player.
13:11She says, so you play for the Falcons, don't you?
13:17I said, I'm a professional wrestler.
13:22You mean like the stuff on TV?
13:26She wasn't too impressed with that.
13:28I don't have to stand here and give you my credentials.
13:30Everybody knows what I can do.
13:32He did ask me after that if we could go out on a date.
13:38And I said, absolutely not, because how am I going to defend myself?
13:43I don't know this guy.
13:44He's huge.
13:45So I said, let's just meet at the pool.
13:48I needed to know who he was before I was alone in a car with him somewhere.
13:54And we ended up just having a really close connection right from the start.
14:02That was the beginning of it.
14:04And so New Year's Eve, 1981, with J.Y.D. as my best man, Mel and I got married.
14:13Three months after we got married, I found out I was pregnant.
14:19There was a lot of talk of Ted DiBiase becoming the next N.W.A. World's Heavyweight Champion.
14:25But he was passed by.
14:27And so Ted DiBiase looked at his options and he left the Georgia territory.
14:32He spent time with his family.
14:35But he was always looking for that next big thing.
14:40Look at this!
14:41He slammed the giant!
14:43I don't believe it!
14:44He slammed the giant!
14:45I don't believe it!
14:46Hook drop into Big Lake!
14:48Over for the cover!
14:50It's over!
14:51I opened the hotel room door and I pick up this paper.
14:54And the front page says, World Endurance Tennis Record.
14:5893,000 people at the Pontiac Silverdome for WrestleMania III.
15:03I mean, my mouth dropped open.
15:05I was like, oh my gosh.
15:08All I remember thinking is that I'm going to have to ultimately be working for that company.
15:15Ted DiBiase and I had been together in Mid-South Wrestling.
15:18And I had made the move.
15:20I was coming to New York to work for WWE.
15:23While I did that, Ted was on a tour in Japan.
15:27So I get this call from Bruce.
15:29And Bruce says, Vince McMahon is extremely interested in you.
15:34I had just had a baby.
15:36I was a full-time mom.
15:39I could see it on his face.
15:41This was a really important conversation he was about to have.
15:46That could possibly change his life and mine.
15:51When Vince met with Ted, he says, I've got an idea.
15:55I think you'd be the perfect guy for it.
15:58Ted had the look.
15:59And Ted had a bit of the swagger.
16:01He says, if you want to come up here, I can guarantee you
16:04that you'll make more money than you ever dreamed of.
16:06We'll have more fun than you could possibly imagine having in this business.
16:11Then he laid it out for me.
16:12The one thing everybody hates is someone by virtue of their wealth.
16:17They bully people.
16:18That's the essence of this character.
16:21And Vince, I think he'd be one of the hottest deals I've ever had.
16:25Off the cuff, I said, well, he sounds like a million-dollar man to me.
16:42For all you people out there who aren't familiar with me, let me introduce myself.
16:48I'm Ted DiBiase.
16:49I'm the million-dollar man.
16:51Money can and does buy you anything or anybody.
16:57100% Vince McMahon's vision.
16:59Don't you wish you had money to throw away?
17:04To create this character that exploits the fact that everybody has a price.
17:11Everybody's got a price.
17:13For the million-dollar man, what a great gift to be given to you.
17:17You're basically playing Vince McMahon.
17:21In the 1980s, American pop culture was all about greed and excess
17:25and how much money you could actually make.
17:29One of the biggest movies in theaters was Wall Street.
17:32One of the biggest television shows in the world was Dynasty.
17:36The million-dollar man, Ted DiBiase, embodied that in the WWE.
17:42What would it take to make this a private pool right now?
17:45I'm afraid I can't do that.
17:47It was just a fun ride. He was having so much fun. He loved it.
17:51I pay more taxes in a month than these people make in a year.
17:54Virgil?
17:55He was actually giving away $100 bills everywhere.
17:58I was like, yes, this is gonna work.
18:01This is brilliant, Virgil.
18:13As a million-dollar man, you're not gonna do things yourself.
18:17So you have to have a man that is going to do the dirty work
18:20that you don't feel comfortable doing.
18:25Virgil was a key to this, I think.
18:28Virgil takes care of all of life's little problems
18:31that I don't have time to take care of anymore.
18:33A million-dollar man would snap his fingers.
18:35Hey, Virgil, get this. Virgil was right there with him.
18:37I'm rich, you're poor,
18:40and that makes me better than each and every one of you.
18:45Ted would use his money to make people do things
18:49that they might not ordinarily do.
18:52But for the right price, maybe they would.
18:55Let's hear a big Bulldog bark.
18:58The vignettes were great.
19:00The vignettes.
19:01Now get down there and give me 10 push-ups.
19:09Doing your best just ain't good enough for the million-dollar man.
19:13You're all a bunch of suckers.
19:18All those things that we did, all those people got the money.
19:22Everything that he did was horrible, how he treated people.
19:27How dare he? And people ate it up.
19:30If you can dribble this basketball 15 times,
19:34look at here, I'm going to give you $500.
19:37And realize the heat is you offer somebody money to do something,
19:42they just about get there, and then you take it away from them.
19:47That child learned a hard lesson that day.
19:50And if you don't do the job...
19:52You don't get paid.
19:56The laugh was diabolical.
20:01The laugh made it.
20:03The tagging, every vignette with that laugh was like,
20:05what you going to do?
20:06And many runs while he used the laugh,
20:08and I was like, I'm not going to do that.
20:10I'm not going to do that.
20:11I'm not going to do that.
20:13The tagging, every vignette with that laugh was like,
20:15what you going to do?
20:16And many runs while he used the laugh was the same thing.
20:20That's an exaggeration of my regular laugh.
20:22Vince just happened to be walking by.
20:25And he heard it, and he goes, that's the million-dollar man.
20:28I want to hear that laugh at the end of every interview.
20:33And I tell people that now all the time.
20:34I said, you know, I had almost a 20-year career,
20:37but what have I remembered for?
20:43Who wouldn't want to be the million-dollar man?
20:45Who wouldn't want to live that way?
20:47And Ted, he lived that character.
20:51You know, you've done a lot of things.
20:53What's the nicest thing you've done?
20:58Gee, that's a $100 bill.
21:00You want that $100 bill, kid?
21:02Well, the flash cash is Vince's idea.
21:05We're going to try to make the public believe you're really this guy.
21:08So I says, if you go in and buy a cup of coffee,
21:11throw down a $100 bill.
21:13Ted also was able to live the gimmick in real life.
21:18Had stretch limousines pick him up at the airport,
21:21to and from the arena.
21:23Stayed at the finest hotels,
21:25paid for by the company to protect the gimmick.
21:27He also has to fly first class.
21:30Everybody else in the back.
21:32But not Ted, he's the million-dollar man.
21:34Got to live the gimmick.
21:36Oh, it was a blast.
21:37Oh, there it is, the million-dollar dream.
21:39He swapped it on.
21:41You know, I would beat my opponent,
21:43and I'd take a $100 bill,
21:45shove the $100 in their mouth.
21:47You know, when they got back to the dressing room,
21:49I'd say, cough it up.
21:53It was like a fairy tale at the beginning.
21:55I mean, I go from working like every wrestler used to work.
21:58You're putting the miles on your car,
22:00and, you know, none of that's paid for.
22:03I go from that to Learjets and limousines.
22:07And while all the wrestlers are out there
22:09beating each other to pieces,
22:11I'm sitting back, relaxing, contemplating my next move.
22:14He didn't need the competition.
22:16He didn't need the sportsmanship.
22:18He didn't even need to win.
22:20He was willing to use his money
22:22to get the WWE Championship.
22:26Everybody has a price for the million-dollar man.
22:28I'm going to prove it to you
22:30in the biggest way I know how.
22:32I'm going to buy
22:34the World Wrestling Federation
22:36Heavyweight Championship!
22:38Got so much heat because people were like,
22:40he could buy the belt?
22:42He could buy a championship?
22:44There's no integrity in the WWE?
22:46It immediately elevated him.
22:48That's right, baby!
22:50It's gonna be mine!
22:52Lock, stock, and barrel!
22:58The million-dollar man
23:00always gets what he wants.
23:02I went out and I fought Andre the Giant.
23:04This man will beat Hulk Hogan
23:06and the heavyweight title
23:08will be mine!
23:16The million-dollar man, Ted DiBiase,
23:18purchased Andre the Giant
23:20with the intention
23:22of Andre winning
23:24the WWE Championship
23:26so he could hand it over
23:28to DiBiase.
23:30And it was also the first time
23:32that wrestling
23:34had been on
23:36primetime network television
23:38in many years.
23:42I saw something the other day.
23:44It's still the largest viewed audience
23:46for that time slot.
23:48That was a smart move by Andre!
23:50The championship is on the line
23:52and the unthinkable happens.
23:54Suplex right on top of him!
23:56We got two!
23:58We got him! He got him!
24:00He got him!
24:02No, he didn't!
24:04A fast count that doesn't even acknowledge
24:06that Hogan's shoulders were up.
24:08Ted DiBiase has not just
24:10paid off Andre the Giant.
24:12Come on in the ring!
24:14Took the money! It had to be!
24:16It has to be!
24:18Ted DiBiase bought him off.
24:20Some guy named the million-dollar man
24:22helped the Giant
24:24just a little.
24:26The loophole there was once Andre won the championship,
24:28he surrendered
24:30the championship
24:32to the million-dollar man, Ted DiBiase.
24:42There was a big fuss about that.
24:48Because of the
24:50circumstances surrounding the title switch,
24:52a decision was made by WWE.
24:54Ted DiBiase
24:56is also not
24:58the World Wrestling Federation
25:00champion. I now declare
25:02the title vacant.
25:04And there was going to be a tournament
25:06at WrestleMania 4 to determine
25:08a new champion.
25:10WrestleMania 4!
25:12A very short list of people
25:14who have gone on last
25:16at WrestleMania.
25:18There's a reason Ted DiBiase
25:20found himself in that spot.
25:24It was because Ted
25:26DiBiase was the
25:28best villainous
25:30wrestler on the WWE
25:32roster.
25:36WrestleMania 4, the idea
25:38was I would somehow
25:40become the champion.
25:44But now,
25:46Vince is marketing
25:48toys and games
25:50to children.
25:52It's about making
25:54that money. You know, if you're the
25:56champion and you're a heel,
25:58you're not going to be a champion long.
26:02Because
26:04all those kids want to see the championship
26:06belt around their hero.
26:18Ted DiBiase
26:20should have been a five-time world champion.
26:22Easily
26:24two or three. Easily.
26:26But he didn't need it.
26:28He could draw money.
26:30He was believable as hell.
26:32His work was off
26:34the charts.
26:36It's the Million Dollar Man!
26:38So I said,
26:40I don't need your stinking belt.
26:42I'll create my own title.
26:44I'm the Million Dollar Man.
26:46You're a designer of fine jewelry, are you not?
26:48Oh wait, of course you are. I wouldn't have come to you.
26:50The Million Dollar Man
26:52would have
26:54just a regular championship.
26:56I want gold, I want diamonds
26:58and Sparado expense.
27:00And Terry Betteridge
27:02in Greenwich, Connecticut
27:04was a jeweler that Vince knew that created
27:06this championship
27:08belt for us. It's mine!
27:10It's mine!
27:12Oh my gosh, it was amazing.
27:14I give you, brother love,
27:16the Million Dollar
27:18Championship Belt!
27:20There's 700
27:22stones in the face of the belt.
27:24Well, those are all cubic zirconium.
27:26I asked my wife, what's a cubic zirconium?
27:28She said, it's almost a diamond.
27:30I said, okay, it's almost
27:32a diamond, so it's worth something.
27:34The real joke is that in the back
27:36of the belt, there's three real diamonds.
27:38I said, why?
27:40Well, if anybody asks you, are the diamonds real?
27:42You can say yes, and you won't be lying.
27:44Nothing makes more to me than money.
27:46So nothing makes more to me
27:48than this championship belt.
27:50Back then,
27:52if you were a main
27:54player in WWE,
27:56that meant you were a character
27:58very familiar to the mainstream.
28:00And I would say every person in Western
28:02society at that time
28:04had heard of and probably seen
28:06the Million Dollar Man.
28:08It seems to me that I should have been
28:10out here about 30 minutes ago,
28:12and since I wasn't, I think
28:14you owe me a little money.
28:16It moved
28:18so quickly into
28:20that.
28:22Limousines and room service
28:24and suites and
28:26private jets
28:28and I'm at home with three boys.
28:30You're just rolling
28:32along and trying to
28:34survive all the bumps
28:36that come along with it.
28:38We as kids, we had to share
28:40with the rest of the world.
28:42And so our time actually together was
28:44very, very, very minimal.
28:46Really at the end of the day,
28:48we wanted Dad. We wanted Dad.
28:50We wanted him.
28:54I was putting the future
28:56and the stability of my own children
28:58at risk.
29:00I was out three straight
29:02weeks, 21 days,
29:0421 cities.
29:06I'm really only off
29:08six days in a month.
29:10Fun,
29:12but at the same time, you know,
29:14we miss Dad a lot too.
29:16Part of my life growing up, I would see Dad
29:18maybe a couple of times
29:20a year. It was just a
29:22fantasy out there that
29:24I needed
29:26reality. I was raising three
29:28boys. I could not live
29:30in that.
29:33The Million Dollar Man lived
29:35that character
29:37in and out of the ring. And I'm sure
29:39the other boys didn't like it
29:41because, you know, they're sharing
29:43rental cars and
29:45he's traveling around in limousines because he's
29:47the Million Dollar Man.
29:49Separate dressing room,
29:51coming in a little later than normal.
29:53And it just felt a little different
29:55sometimes. Staying out
29:57a little late sometimes at some
29:59of the bars and partying and having a good time,
30:01but before, the old Ted DeBasse really didn't
30:03do it, you know? And so I think
30:05Dad really had a change in his home life and
30:07his life, and I think it affected everything.
30:09Ted ran hard.
30:11I mean,
30:13partied and ran hard.
30:15Maybe we partied
30:17a little too much sometimes,
30:19you know? I think he
30:21probably had a problem with that too,
30:23and I think he got himself
30:25in trouble.
30:27I always kind of likened it to selling
30:29soul to the devil, because
30:31you're gonna make a lot of money, you're gonna be
30:33more famous than you could have ever imagined.
30:35There's no
30:37really relationship. I don't know how you keep a relationship
30:39going, not only with your spouse, but your children.
30:41The temptations
30:43were endless.
30:45And I got
30:47caught up in the life, the lifestyle
30:49to a degree.
30:51I did everything at the house.
30:53Took care of the home,
30:55took care of the kids, and
30:57I was paying the bills one time, and I noticed
30:59some charges that were
31:01a little suspicious to me.
31:03And so, followed up with that
31:05and just
31:07found out
31:09that Ted had been
31:11unfaithful in our marriage.
31:13And she confronted me
31:15with what she found.
31:19And I said, I don't want to
31:21talk about this on the phone. I'll be on the next
31:23plane home. I said, no you won't.
31:25You don't live here anymore.
31:27Click.
31:33That was the worst day of my life.
31:41I was unfaithful.
31:45When my wife found out
31:47and confronted me with it,
31:49it was immediate remorse for me.
31:51How
31:53could you be so stupid?
31:55How could you put
31:57something so precious
31:59at risk like that?
32:01And quite frankly,
32:03I didn't deserve her.
32:05So you have to make a decision.
32:07I'm going to keep this. I'm going to
32:09go bitter. I'm going to
32:11divorce. I'm going to make my children's
32:13lives hell.
32:15And
32:17be gone with him.
32:19Or
32:21you can do
32:23what a Christian would do.
32:25And that's work through the pain.
32:27I had accepted that I was
32:29going to lose the best
32:31thing that ever happened to me.
32:33That I was a fool. That I was an idiot.
32:35The whole nine yards.
32:37And that's when my
32:39journey, I call it,
32:41back to God really began.
32:43During that time, we were
32:45counseled by one of my best friends,
32:47Pastor Hal Santos.
32:51One night, Ted calls me.
32:53He's going through a tough time. And he said,
32:55I need your help.
32:57I said, let's make a plan
32:59how we can get you all here.
33:01Ted and Mel came. And then
33:03the boys came.
33:05We joined him and went with all
33:07his kids from his church to this
33:09thing up in Chicago.
33:11There's Ted DiBiase. There's the Million Dollar Man.
33:13What's he doing here? Good question.
33:17I went to my knees. I put my nose
33:19in the carpet. I laid there and cried
33:21like a baby. Didn't care what a soul in that room
33:23thought. And all I
33:25could think of was, Melanie,
33:27God loves Ted
33:29as much as he loves you.
33:31He still does.
33:33And I looked at Mel that day and I said,
33:35if you'll give me this chance,
33:37I'll become the man
33:39you thought you'd marry. And God
33:41willing, one day, I'll regain
33:43your respect
33:45and trust.
33:47That was in March of
33:4992.
33:51We were stronger because
33:53of it. We probably had a healthier
33:55respect for each other than
33:57we did before because you kind of take for granted
33:59your partner.
34:01But you shouldn't.
34:03You should treasure it. His whole life
34:05was going to end for what he knew it.
34:07And to him, that was too
34:09huge a price. And it snapped
34:11him back into reality.
34:13The change was
34:17immediate. He waited
34:19until it got to a tough place.
34:21But then he found God's grace
34:23and kept his marriage together.
34:25Raised his kids.
34:39How do you make that transition to go from superstar
34:41to home?
34:43Where you're expected to just be
34:45dad.
34:47He was really good
34:49with them in that
34:51the first few hours, that
34:53first day that he would be home,
34:55he did nothing but play
34:57with them.
34:59And then the next
35:01day, he and I would have
35:03kind of a date. That would be our time.
35:05And then the next day, he was back on the road.
35:07If your dad is
35:09playing a character
35:11that flashy and fun,
35:13I would try to imitate
35:15the laugh. I would catch them
35:17playing with each other
35:19in their rooms when they didn't
35:21think I was listening.
35:23They loved it.
35:25That's everything to you. Everything.
35:27And
35:29you want to be just like him.
35:35Even to this day, I'm 45 years old, and I still
35:37it chokes me up because
35:43I love my dad.
35:49When you work the type of competitive style
35:51that Ted DiBiase had been working
35:53his entire career,
35:55those injuries are going to pile up.
35:57And by 1993,
35:59Ted DiBiase had
36:01accumulated so many neck
36:03and back injuries that
36:05really, he made the choice at 39
36:07years old that he'd be better
36:09off retiring.
36:11My dad, Mike DiBiase, was
36:1345 years old. He had a heart attack
36:15at the ring and died.
36:17I remember I made a promise to myself
36:19that I wasn't going to stay too
36:21long. And I remember telling
36:23Bill, I said, I'm done.
36:31He was a commentator. He was a manager.
36:33But in the meantime,
36:35he wasn't taxing his body the way he
36:37had throughout his in-ring career.
36:39And that allowed him time to
36:41be with his family and do the other
36:43things he enjoyed doing.
36:45I was starting to
36:47do some of the ministry work then.
36:49Because every time I see an invitation
36:51and every time I see the offer full,
36:53it takes me back to that moment
36:55in my life. That was life changing.
36:57The man,
36:59you know, changed so much
37:01I think it saved his life.
37:11Ted has two
37:13legacies, really,
37:15that overlap.
37:17Not many people get to say that.
37:19But he had a career
37:21in wrestling that is
37:23legend worthy.
37:25The second half of his
37:27life, he's left a legacy
37:29To me, it's much more powerful
37:31than being a legend in a wrestling ring.
37:41He really believes
37:43what he's saying. And he does
37:45walk the talk.
37:47He's not going to shove it down your throat.
37:49But if you want to talk about it, he will.
37:51There's a lot of haters out there. I don't believe the hype.
37:53I judge people by their actions.
37:55So I judge Ted on
37:57who he is and how he treats people.
37:59And I think he's
38:01a great man.
38:03Lord, I pray that you would touch those lives tonight
38:05and that you would give them freedom.
38:07So many other
38:09guys that I've worked with,
38:11their lives didn't end up so well.
38:13And so many of them are gone now.
38:15And, you know, thank God
38:17that Ted
38:19found that path.
38:21Ups and downs, whether, you know,
38:23good or bad, the main thing that sticks out
38:25to me in Dad's legacy is that
38:27Dad has always, always been consistent.
38:31Whether he's wrestling or speaking,
38:33Dad comes from the heart.
38:35The Million Dollar Man,
38:37Ted DiBiase!
38:43Dad was excited to get
38:45that recognition to be inducted
38:47into the Hall of Fame. He had a great
38:49career. He worked hard. It meant
38:51everything to him in his
38:53work life. That was
38:55his passion.
38:57I mean, he
38:59gave literally blood, sweat, and
39:01tears to that business.
39:03I guess as the Million Dollar Man,
39:05I hate to admit
39:07that there are some moments in
39:09time and some things in life
39:11that just really can't
39:13put a price tag on.
39:15And for Ted DiBiase,
39:17tonight is
39:19that priceless night.
39:21I feel so fortunate to have been chosen
39:23to be this guy.
39:25I think that Ted will
39:27forever be known as the Million Dollar
39:29Man.
39:31He was a great gimmick, and I think Ted wore it well.
39:33I think one of the greatest characters
39:35of all time.
39:39People know who the Million Dollar
39:41Man is, you know,
39:43and it goes from the laugh
39:47to the theatrics
39:49to just being
39:51the guy, Ted DiBiase.
39:53People ask me
39:55even now, they go, are there times when you
39:57miss it?
39:59I love the business. I thank the fans
40:01all the time.
40:03I'm satisfied.
40:05I'm satisfied with
40:07where I am.
40:09I certainly have
40:11to thank my wife.
40:13You put up with a lot of garbage you didn't have to put up
40:15with it. You forgave me
40:17for a lot, and you gave me a second
40:19chance, and I'll never forget
40:21you for it. You're my rock.
40:23What you doing? Oh, okay.
40:25You're gonna go to
40:27honeymoon, aren't you?
40:29He is the best grandfather
40:31ever. We literally
40:33do not miss an
40:35opportunity to be with them.
40:37I don't want to be remembered
40:39as being a great wrestler,
40:41but a man who
40:43truly loved and
40:45deserved his family. And you know what?
40:47What? You cannot escape
40:49that tickle monster.
40:57This is one of those moments in my life
40:59when I wish
41:01my dad were here,
41:03and I think that he would
41:05pat me on the back, and he would say,
41:07job well done. I'm proud of
41:09you, son. There's nothing more
41:11that I ever wanted.
41:15Before I go,
41:17just in case
41:19there's any doubt
41:21left in your mind
41:23that what I have said
41:25for so many years
41:27is true.
41:31Because you see,
41:33everybody's got a price
41:35for the million dollar man,
41:37including you.
41:40Yeah!
41:44Probably the richest wrestler that ever lived.
41:46Ted DiBiase, the million dollar man.
41:48I don't know why Winston called him the billion dollar man.