Ted DiBiase (16 page)

The Iron Sheik and I used the crowd's energy to fuel our matches.

Andre and I had been friends since we met while I was in college. He always called me “boss” and we had a lot of great times together. Andre was one of those guys that either liked you or didn't. Fortunately, he took a liking to me. But Ivan Putski wasn't as lucky. Andre didn't like him.

One night in Providence, Rhode Island, Andre, Ivan Putski, and I were scheduled to be in a six-man tag against the three Valiant Brothers—Jimmy, Johnny, and Jerry. Before the match, Andre came up to me in the locker room. “Hey, boss. Tonight, you tag me. You tag nobody else!”

I said, “Okay.” Throughout the entire match, Andre made sure that I never tagged Putski. I'm sure Putski figured it out, but what could he do to the seven-four, four-hundred-and-fifty-pound giant?

After a match at the Boston Garden, Andre, Tito Santana, Arnold Skaaland, and I headed to the hotel bar after checking in. All four of us were sitting at the bar drinking. Andre decided to challenge me to a drinking game. “I tell you what, boss. You get five shot glasses and you can put whatever you want in them: beer, whiskey, water, milk, whatever. I will get five large glasses filled with beer. We'll line them up, five shots for you and five beers for me. I'll bet you I can drink all five of my beers before you can drink five shots. If I win, you buy everybody a round. If you win, I'll buy everybody a round.”

I looked at Arnold and Tito. I knew full well that I couldn't outdrink Andre. But I only had five small shot glasses to his five twenty-ounce beer glasses. I could certainly drink those faster than he could. “Okay, Andre, that's a bet.”

“Now, don't mess around. The only rule is that you don't touch my beer glasses and I don't touch your shot glasses.”

“Okay, that's fair. Let's do it.”

The bartender poured whiskey in my five shot glasses and Andre got his five beers. Arnold was the referee. As soon as he said go, Andre had inhaled one beer as I had finished my fourth shot. After he finished his first beer, he turned his glass upside down and placed it over my fifth shot glass! Since the rules stated we couldn't touch each other's glasses, there was no way I was going to get my fifth shot. I shook my head in disbelief and Andre casually finished his four beers. Then with a smirk he said, “Kid, buy a round for everyone.”

Another night after wrestling in Portland, Maine, Andre, Tito, and I went back to the hotel. We had a few drinks in the bar to wind down. We then headed up to Andre's room to drink some more and play his favorite card game, cribbage. Andre was good and he never lost. After a few hours of playing, we decided to head down to the nearby Denny's to get something to eat. I basically had to carry Tito, because by then he was three sheets to the wind.

We each ordered breakfast, and before our meals arrived, Tito just dozed off right there in the booth. The waitress finally brought the food and set our plates down. Andre and I finished, but Tito was still out and hadn't touched his plate. With a smirk on his face, Andre reached over and took Tito's plate. He put half of the food on his plate and the other on mine. Andre quickly put the plate back in front of Tito and we ate his food. Andre inserted a knife in one of Tito's hands and a fork in the other. Then he pushed Tito. “Wake up, it's time to go.” Half asleep, Tito looked down at his plate and hands. He then looked up at us and asked, “Was it good?”

I love New York City. When I first flew into New York from Amarillo, I was overwhelmed by the size of it all. To me, after having lived in Willcox, Omaha, Baton Rouge, Kansas City, and Amarillo, New York was a concrete jungle. But I loved the attractions, food, people, and entertainment. My only regret was that I never went to the top of the World Trade Center.

At a television taping in Pennsylvania, I was there when Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan) showed up for the first time. Hogan was bigger than life and was unbelievably ripped. It was the first time that Vince Sr. had laid eyes on him. Terry wasn't there to wrestle, but to meet and greet Vince Sr. The kid from Tampa had long blond hair, a deep tan, and an incredible body. You could see the dollar signs in Vince's eyes. Hogan came into the territory as a heel and he was assigned a manager, Freddie Blassie.

In December of 1979, I left. I only spent eight months in WWWF, but time had passed. They had given me the opportunity and let me have a run of it, and now it was time for me to go. I wasn't the physical specimen they wanted. In spite of my work, I didn't stand out. I didn't have a gimmick. Chief Jay Strongbow was a great guy and had a big influence in my life. He told me, “Kid, you have to have a gimmick.” I never had one. I was just Ted DiBiase.

I was scheduled to wrestle my last match in Madison Square Garden
against Hulk Hogan. At that point, Hogan wasn't a big star. It was actually his first WWWF match and his first at the Garden. I knew Vince Sr. wanted to make a star out of him. Before the match, I went up to Vince. “I know you really want to get Terry over. What would you like for me to do?”

Vince's response made me feel really good. “Teddy, you do it any way you want to, because I know you will do it right.” Vince's confidence in me assured me that he believed in me and knew I was up to the challenge.

Terry was a heel back then. Hogan and I had one heck of a match, and he earned his first victory at the Garden. After the match, he thanked me. A few years later when Terry came through the Mid-South promotion to wrestle a few shots for Bill Watts, we saw each other in the locker room. He walked up to me and we shook hands. Winking, Hogan said, “Brother, I owe you one.” He still remembered the night that we had the match at the Garden and what I had done to help him get over.

The next day, the family and I headed back to Amarillo for the Christmas season.

I contacted Bill Watts and returned to the Mid-South in January of 1980. I rented an apartment in Baton Rouge and once again began the grueling Mid-South road schedule. In late February, I defeated Mike George in Shreveport to capture the North American title. Mike was a mainstay with the NWA and worked in various territories. We had a great match that night. I would work on and off for Bill Watts over the next seven years.

With all the moving around, not to mention our immaturity,

That's me with Michael Hayes.

my marriage to Jaynet had deteriorated. We decided to get a divorce; it was amicable. Even though Michael lived full-time with her, I could see him any time I wanted. In February of 1980, I drove Jaynet and Michael to the airport, where they flew to Amarillo to stay with her parents. Saying good-bye to Michael was the hardest thing I had ever done. It about killed me.

For the next six months, I stayed in Mid-South wrestling and tried to get my personal life back in order. Terry Funk, Bob Geigel, and Harley Race all
advised me that I should leave the Mid-South and go to the Atlanta territory. Atlanta was the home of Georgia Championship Wrestling as well as the Superstation, TBS. I could get national television exposure. TBS was the only cable network that carried wrestling throughout the whole country. I was told that they were pushing for me to become the next NWA World Heavyweight Champion. I was overwhelmed by having such an honor bestowed upon me. It made me work even harder.

TERRY TAYLOR:

I first met Teddy while working the Georgia territory. I had only been in the business six months and was extremely green. Teddy was just so nice to let me ride with him and tried to help me with my work.

When we were together in the Mid-South territory, I remember Teddy was supposed to get a shot at Ric Flair for the NWA heavyweight title. But he was heading off to Japan, so an angle was crafted to open the door for me to wrestle Flair. During a match, Dick Murdoch attacked Teddy beforehand. Dick gave him a Brain Buster on the concrete floor. Teddy proceeded to bleed over everything. It was the bloodiest thing I had ever seen.

Before I left Mid-South, they told me not to say anything about being pushed to become the NWA Heavyweight Champion. The other territorial promoters were pushing for two other guys, Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair. The decision to crown the next NWA champion was a political decision. Bob told me that he would talk to Sam Muchnick and the others. I was advised to just work hard in the ring and to keep everything on the down low. While in Atlanta, I was to simply get over with the fans and get as much television exposure as possible.

It was in October that I relocated to Atlanta. Jim Barnett was the promoter. He was openly homosexual and rumor had it he was one of Rock Hudson's lovers. Ole Anderson was the booker. Ole was real stubborn but I got along with him. Other talents that came in and out of the territory were Jake
Roberts, Jim Duggan, Terry Taylor, Dusty Rhodes, Tommy Rich, Tony Atlas, Ronnie Garvin, Steve Keirn, Terry Gordy, Michael Hayes, and Bob Roop.

JIM DUGGAN:

Right after playing football for the Atlanta Falcons, I had my first ever meeting with Teddy in a tag match. As soon as I locked up with Teddy, he let out a curse word and immediately tagged in his partner, Tommy Rich. I was extremely green and very stiff. Sensing that I was out of control, Teddy wanted nothing to do with me in the ring.

I really enjoyed wrestling and hanging out with Michael Hayes. I have known Michael some twenty-plus years. I worked with him in the Mid-South, UWF, and Georgia territories. He was the vocal leader of the Freebirds' faction and was unquestionably a great ring psychologist. Because of his understanding of the business, he is currently one of the major creative producers and writers in WWE.

But that doesn't mean Michael was a great in-ring wrestler. He was quite stiff and he frequently potatoed me. We must have wrestled a hundred matches, but our Strap match in Fort Worth stands out. We had a very stiff match. It was nothing personal. It was just Michael being Michael in the ring. And this time he had a strap in his hand; he about beat me to death.

MICHAEL HAYES:

Teddy was born to wrestle. He was a consummate professional in the ring. Teddy had great appeal with the fans and he was someone they could put their arms around. When he turned heel, he had the fans' attention. Before he was the Million Dollar Man, he was a star in his own right in the Mid-South, Georgia, and UWF.

The wrestling industry as a whole is a lot better off for having Teddy DiBiase in it. His passion for the business is one
of his most redeeming qualities. I know my life is better because of Ted DiBiase.

The Georgia territory did really well the year before I got there, but I was coming in on the tail end of the success. I was earning decent money, but nothing great. I continued my St. Louis and Kansas City trips to supplement my income and to increase my exposure.

Since business was down in Georgia, Ole got disgruntled and eventually quit. Robert Fuller was brought in to take his place. Robert was a decent guy, but I had already been exposed to one of the best bookers in the country, Bill Watts. Robert was no Bill Watts.

The first day I walked into the Atlanta studios, Austin Idol came up to me and said, “Hey, Ted, nice to see you. When are you getting the title?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know, the world heavyweight title. That's why you're here, right?”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Idol just smiled and walked away. I don't know who, but somebody had let the cat out of the bag. In wrestling, nobody can keep a secret. The big joke in the business is that there are three forms of communication: telegraph, telephone, and tell-a-wrestler.

TERRY FUNK:

Teddy was a major performer and was seriously being considered for the NWA heavyweight title. However, Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair had bigger organizations and more power behind them. In the end, Teddy lost out.

BOBBY “THE BRAIN” HEENAN:

I first met Ted working the St. Louis territory. He was a big guy with a great voice and was a good wrestling talent. He was very nice and
personable. The buzz was that he was going to be the next NWA Heavyweight Champion. I thought he would make a great champion.