Interesting Facts about Ted Dibiase

Interesting Facts about Ted Dibiase

January 25, 2024
By Ryan Porzl

One thing that's certain is in the 1980s, wrestling had it's share of talented wrestlers and colorful characters. One of the men to check both boxes is Ted Dibiase. Dibiase was one of wrestling's best technicians during the 1970s to 1990s while also being one of the most memorable characters during the 80s wrestling boom period as the greedy and obnoxious Million Dollar Man. Few were as good as Dibiase at his best during his era. This past January 18th marked The Million Dollar Man's 70th Birthday so I'll celebrate with a look at some interesting facts regarding the man who believed everyone had a price.

Notes: I don't own any of the pictures, I found them on Google. Credit to WWE or whoever the owners are. I apologize for not knowing.

Iron Mike Dibiase

Helen Hild

Is a Second Generation Wrestler- Many wrestlers are from wrestling families and many have had parents or whoever enter the business before them. Some of wrestling's greatest talents are second generation wrestlers with the most notable examples include Bret and Owen Hart, Curt Hennig, Randy Savage, Barry Windham, Tully Blanchard, Dustin and Cody Rhodes, etc. Another all time great second generation wrestler is one people probably had no idea was a second generation wrestler and that was Ted Dibiase. Both of The Million Dollar Man's parents entered the squared circle as his stepfather/adopted father was "Iron" Mike Dibiase and his mother was Helen Hild. Originally an amateur wrestler, Mike Dibiase entered wrestling in 1950 and was very successful in many NWA territories during the 50s and 60s including Central States Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida, Southwest Sports Inc. (the future World Class), NWA Tri-State (the future Mid-South Wrestling/Universal Wrestling Federation where he son achieved legendary status), and Western States Wrestling. Outside the NWA, Dibiase also competed and enjoyed success in the AWA and Worldwide Wrestling Associates where he even won a world title which always eluded his legendary son. Sadly, Dibiase also became known for his sad end as he became one of several to die in a ring when he suffered a heart attack during a match on July 2, 1969 at the age of 45. Notably, future legend Harley Race was there that night and attempted CPR to save him and rode in the ambulance.

As for Dibiase's mother Helen Hild, she never captured a championship during her career but she had a long career competing from 1946 to 1971. Her career peaked during the 1940s and 1950s as she was a frequent challenger to Mildred Burke's NWA World Women's Championship and was a rival for The Fabulous Moolah. She made history with Moolah on August 9, 1957 when their match was the first women's match to be held in Seattle in twelve years. Following Mike Dibiase's death, she suffered from depression and turned to alcohol. She eventually passed away on March 4, 1984 at 58.

Mike Dibiase II

 

Ted Dibiase Jr.

Brett Dibiase

All Three of His Sons Became Professional Wrestlers- Whenever you have a wrestler achieve legendary status, it's usually not surprising to see their offspring attempt to follow them into the ring as Dibiase did that himself. However, he wouldn't be the only one in his family to do it as all three of his sons would attempt to carve their own paths in wrestling. Unfortunately, despite varying degrees of success, Dibiase's sons would be unable to achieve the success that made their father a legend. 

Dibiase's oldest son Mike Dibiase II was born on September 10, 1977 and turned pro in 2006. Mike was the only one of Dibiase's sons not to make it to the WWE or be under a developmental contract. Despite this and a short career of three years, Mike did enjoy minor success working NWA territories and Harley Race's World League Wrestling promotion. During his career, he held several prestigious NWA titles including the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship and the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship. He also was a former WLW Tag Team Champion. He eventually retired in 2009 after only three years. Since his retirement, he's largely faded into obscurity though he had at least one run in with the law as he was arrested in 2014 after a twelve hour standoff involving police and a SWAT team after he violated probation.

Dibiase's middle son Ted Jr. was the most successful and most well known. Born November 8, 1982, Ted Jr. entered the business in 2006 at the same time as Mike. After working in WLW and Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan, Ted Jr. would sign with the WWE in 2007 and did time in their Florida Championship Wrestling developmental where he held the FCW Southern Heavyweight Championship once. He then made it to the main roster in 2008 where he peaked early as a two time tag team champion with Cody Rhodes and was a member of Randy Orton's Legacy stable. Later in his run, he attempted to recreate his father's Million Dollar Man gimmick complete with Million Dollar Belt and having Virgil as his bodyguard. Ted Jr.'s run eventually sputtered and he eventually decided to leave in 2013. Since then, he worked the indie circuit until retiring in 2020. Like his older half brother, Ted Jr. has also had run ins with the law including a DUI charge in 2008 and then has been part of an investigation regarding the Mississippi Welfare Funds Scandal in 2020 and has had more charges brought upon him including money laundering in 2023 which could potentially see him sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Dibiase's youngest son Brett had a short and forgettable run. Born on March 16, 1988, Brett signed with the WWE in 2008 and spent his career in Florida Championship Wrestling where he held the tag team championship with Joe Hennig (Curtis Axel). However, Brett's career only lasted three years before various knee injuries and surgeries saw him retire. Like his brothers, Brett has also had run ins with the law as like Ted Jr., Brett was also involved in the Mississippi Welfare Funds Scandal which he originally pled guilty to one count of making a false statement in 2020 and was fined $48,000 before pleading guilty to further charges in 2023 regarding attempts to defraud the United States Government which could see him serve five years in jail.

Was the Inaugural WWF North American Heavyweight Champion- Over the decades, the WWE has had it's share of many titles, specifically secondary titles. Obviously, when you think of a secondary title, the first you think of is likely the Intercontinental Championship. Modern fans may also think of the United States Championship while long time fans may also think of the European Championship of the Hardcore Championship. During the first few decades, WWE also had an International Championship and another version of the United States Championship. 1979 would be a big year for the promotion as they transitioned from the WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation) to the WWF while also debuting the Intercontinental Title. However, the Intercontinental Title was not the first attempt that year for the promotion. When it comes to Dibiase, he had a good trophy case as he was a three time tag team champion, a 24/7 champion, a King of the Ring winner in 1988, and he got an unrecognized WWF Championship run (more on that later). However, to most fans, the 24/7 Title was the only singles gold Dibiase ever held in the WWE. Turns out, that's not the case. In early 1979, Dibiase made his debut for the WWWF/WWF as the promotion was creating a new title called the North American Heavyweight Title. Dibiase would actually be awarded the belt on February 13, 1979 and would proceed to hold it for four months as he successfully defended against big names like The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy, Johnny, and Jerry), Baron Mikel Scicluna, Bulldog Brower, Greg Valentine, Johnny Rodz, Nikolai Volkoff, and Hussein Arab (the future Iron Sheik) before losing it to Pat Patterson on June 19th. After Dibiase's title loss, Patterson would hold it until November before losing it to New Japan's Seiji Sakaguchi who held the belt until it was retired in 1981. It would be during Patterson's reign where the Intercontinental Title was created in September. According to Dibiase, the change from the NA to IC belts was out of respect for Mid-South Wrestling who's top title was the North American Heavyweight Title. Despite the NA title being short lived, it gave Dibiase a forgotten achievement in WWE history.

Was Hulk Hogan's Debut Opponent in Madison Square Garden- It's safe to say that most hardcore wrestling fans and historians are aware of the history between Ted Dibiase and Hulk Hogan. The two were among the biggest names in the WWF during the 80s/early 90s golden age and their paths crossed many times between 1987-1993 including Dibiase being responsible for ending Hogan's first WWF Championship reign to the two main eventing the inaugural Summerslam in 1988 to being on opposing teams in the 1988 and 1989 Survivor Series to being apart of a double main event at Wrestlemania IX. However, Dibiase's attempts at buying the championship from The Hulkster in 1987 wasn't the first time the two crossed paths. As mentioned, Dibiase would make his WWF debut in 1979 and Hogan would too. The two men's first encounter would be on December 17, 1979 at Madison Square Garden. The match would mark Hogan's MSG debut thus making Dibiase Hogan's first opponent in a building he's had some of his biggest moments. In the end, Hogan would win by referee decision at 11:12 after Hogan trapped Dibiase in a bearhug. Along with all this, the match would make more history as it marked Dibiase's last WWF appearance for eight years as he left following this show and wouldn't return until 1987 when he began his Million Dollar Man run.

One of Many Legends to Attend West Texas State University and Played Football For Them- West Texas State University or West Texas A&M as it is now is a college in Canyon, Texas. Despite not having anything to do with professional wrestling, it has links to the business as many wrestling legends from the Texas area went there with many playing on their football team the West Texas Buffaloes. Among the names to go there include the likes of Dusty Rhodes, Bruiser Brody, Dick Murdoch, Dory Funk Jr., Terry Funk, Stan Hansen, Tully Blanchard, and Tito Santana. Dibiase would be among the many wrestling legends who attended. Dibiase entered West Texas in the early 70s on a football scholarship and become a member of the Alpha Tau Ornega Fraternity. Apparently, Dibiase played on the Buffaloes with Blanchard and Santana. Ultimately, Dibiase wouldn't graduate as he dropped out during his senior year after suffering an injury and went on to begin training to be a professional wrestler.

Was The Youngest Mid-South North American Heavyweight Champion- One of wrestling's greatest promotions was Mid-South Wrestling. Originally beginning in the 1950s as NWA Tri-State, it was run by wrestling legend Leroy McGuirk before the promotion was taken over by another legend "Cowboy" Bill Watts in 1979. Watts would run it until 1987 during which time many consider the golden age of the territory. Dibiase would get his big break in the promotion and became one of the promotion's biggest stars. Perhaps as a sign of what a talent Dibiase was, it didn't take him long to reach the top of the mountain for NWA Tri-State. In December 1976, Dibiase defeated The Brute (Bugsy McGraw) to win the top championship: The North American Heavyweight Championship. With the win, Dibiase became the youngest champion in the history of the title at only 22 years old. He held the championship until February 1977 when he lost it to The Great Zimm (Waldo Von Erich). Dibiase would hold the record of youngest champion until the belt was retired in 1986.

Dibiase (left) and Stan Hansen (right)

Was The Longest PWF Tag Team Champion With Stan Hansen- Dibiase has built a Hall of Fame career that span nineteen years as far as in-ring goes and many promotions. One such promotion Dibiase built his legend in was All Japan Pro Wrestling. Formed in 1972, the promotion has been one of wrestling's greatest and biggest promotion for more than a half century. Since 1988, the top tag team championship is the World Tag Team Titles which were a unification of two tag belts: The NWA International Tag Team Championships and the PWF (Pacific Wrestling Federation) Tag Team Championships. The PWF Tag Belts debuted in 1984 with the legendary gaijin team of Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody being the inaugural champions. After Brody left for rival New Japan Pro Wrestling in March 1985, the belts would be vacant until July 30th when Dibiase was selected as Hansen's new partner. The Dibiase/Hansen team would hold the gold for almost two full years but only made three successful title defenses with all being against Jumbo Tsuruta and Genichiro Tenryu before losing the belts to Tsuruta and Tiger Mask II (Mitsuharu Misawa) on July 3, 1987. At 703 days, Dibiase and Hansen held the longest reign in the history of the belts.

Was Recognized As WWF Champion For A Week- Most long time wrestling fans know about the situation regarding Ted Dibiase and the WWF Championship. Shortly upon his return in 1987, Dibiase attempted to become WWF Champion through any means possible. After failing to win it from champion Hulk Hogan and after Hogan refused to sell the championship to him, Dibiase then bought the contract of Andre The Giant from Bobby Heenan with the plan being Andre would win it from Hogan and present it to him. On February 5, 1988, during the WWF's The Main Event special, Dibiase's plan seemed to work as Andre would defeat Hogan due to controversy as future WWF referee Earl Hebner posed as twin brother Dave Hebner and was paid off by Dibiase to count Hogan's shoulders down even after Hogan got one up. After the match, Andre would honor his end and surrender the title to Dibiase. As far as most go, many think that Dibiase would immediately be stripped of the title and the belt would be vacant until Wrestlemania IV in March. However, that's not the whole story. As it turned out, Dibiase's plan worked...for about a week. The following day, Dibiase did two shows for the WWF both teaming with Andre against Hogan and Bam Bam Bigelow. Since the shows were held at The Spectrum in Philadelphia and The Boston Garden in Boston, both shows were televised on local stations. Sure enough, at both shows, Dibiase would come out wearing the WWF Championship and be announced as the champion. Then on February 8th, Dibiase went one step further when he actually defended the title against Bigelow at a WWF House Show and ultimately retained. It wouldn't be until the February 13th edition of Superstars of Wrestling that Dibiase would be stripped of the title and be unrecognized as champion. To this day, Dibiase's "reign" is not recognized by the WWE but for one week in February 1988, Dibiase was considered the champion and wore the gold around his waist.

Was One of The First Major Names to Lose To Mitsuharu Misawa- If you talk to many hardcore wrestling fans and ask them who they think is the greatest wrestler of all time, many will tell you that it was Mitsuharu Misawa. A graduate of the All Japan dojo in 1981, Misawa spent most of the 1980s working on his craft before his career exploded in 1990 with his upset win over Jumbo Tsuruta. Following the win, Misawa would go on to serve as All Japan's top star for almost the entirety of the 1990s where he had one classic after another. Misawa would also become a successful promoter when he later founded Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2000 and ran it until his passing following a fatal injury suffered during a match in 2009. Prior to Misawa legendary run at the top, he spent most of the 1980s as the second incarnation of the popular masked character Tiger Mask. From 1984-1986, Misawa served as All Japan's top junior heavyweight before moving up to heavyweight. By the summer of 1987, he came into contact with Ted Dibiase as he and Tsuruta defeated Dibiase and Hansen for the PWF Tag Team Titles on July 3, 1987 before Dibiase and Hansen regained them on July 11th. Then on July 19, 1987, Misawa faced Dibiase in a one-on-one match. Ultimately, Misawa emerged victorious by pinning Dibiase in 9:18 with a german suplex hold. According to wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, the win was considered the biggest of Misawa's career up to that point. As mentioned, Misawa moved onward and upward following this as the win over Dibiase would be a big stepping stone to future greatness.

Called Pay-Per-Views With Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff- In the 1990s, the two most powerful men, at least in American wrestling, were Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff. McMahon, of course, was the long time owner of the WWF which was previously run by his father and grandfather while Bischoff was the head of WCW, which was owned by Ted Turner and Turner Broadcasting. McMahon took his family business and eventually made it into a global juggernaut and for four decades was largely on top of the wrestling world. Bischoff's success didn't last anywhere near as long but during the mid to late 90s, he led WCW to the top and would be the only promoter to knock Vince McMahon off his perch and have him on the ropes. Ted Dibiase would work for both men during his career and it was during his career where he got to directly work with them by calling major Pay-Per-Views. Dibiase would first call the 1994 Royal Rumble event with McMahon on January 22, 1994 and then three years later, would call the Souled Out 1997 event on January 25, 1997 with Bischoff. If I'm not mistaken, I believe this makes Dibiase the only man to announce a PPV with both men. Bobby Heenan comes close but he only worked with Bischoff at the 1995 World War 3 PPV and that was just one match which was the 60 man, three ring battle royal which featured six announcers.

 

Has The Longest Gap Between First Title Win and Last Title Win in WWE History- This one is a bit iffy as you can argue The Fabulous Moolah truly holds the record but that is debatable. According to WWE, Moolah's Women's Title reign began in 1956 while her last reign was 1999 given her a 43 year gap. However, Moolah was then the NWA Women's Champion and the belt didn't become a WWF belt until 1984. It should also be pointed out, WWE claims Moolah's women's title reign went 28 years but she actually lost the title several times between 1956 and 1984. Because of this controversy, you could argue Dibiase holds the record. As has been pointed out earlier, Dibiase's first title reign in the WWE was the short lived North American Heavyweight Championship in 1979. After winning the WWF Tag Titles three times during 1992-1993, Dibiase would eventually retire in late 1993. Fast forward to 2019, the WWE had their 24/7 Championship: a comedy belt that would be on the line 24 hours a day/7 days a week as long as a WWE official was around. Dibiase would be one of many to hold the belt. On July 19, 2019 during a special Monday Night RAW called "RAW Reunion", Dibiase would "win" the belt when he bought it from fellow WWE Hall of Famer Alundra Blayze just as she was planning to throw it in the garbage (a reference to what she did with the WWF Women's Title in 1995). Dibiase's reign wouldn't last he lost it to Drake Maverick after getting pinned inside a limo (the pin wasn't shown on camera). With the title win, Dibiase made history as his first and last title reigns marked a 40 year gap. Dibiase made another bit of history as this also marked the longest gap between title reigns as this marked Dibiase's first WWE title in 26 years with his last title reign, his third WWF Tag Team Title reign, occurring in 1993.