The weekend of Wrestlemania XXVI is going to be a momentous occasion for the DiBiase family.”Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, while son Ted DiBiase is set to make his first appearance at Wrestlemania.
As the excitement of the “Granddaddy of them all” draws ever closer, father and son spoke to skysports.com’s Richard Parr.
This year the ‘Million Dollar Man’ will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. It’s about time isn’t it? ‘Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase: Every year people would say: “Is this going to be your year?” And I’d kind of joke about it and say: “Well, they have a magazine with me on the cover which lists me as one of the top-50 greatest of all time. So sooner or later they’re bound to induct me!”
Seriously, to be recognised by your peers, which essentially is what the Hall of Fame really is, is the highest honour that you can have. I’m extremely honoured to have been selected and quite humbled by it. The really sweet thing about this is, kind of the cherry on top of the sundae, that two of my boys will induct me: Ted and my son Brett, who is in the WWE developmental programme. It’s going to be a really special weekend.
So would you ever get back into the ring? Would anything tempt you to come back?
MDM: It’s kind of what the ‘Million Dollar Man’ says: “Everybody’s got a price!” But it would have to be a pretty high price for me because my mind is willing but my body is not. I’ve got pretty bad knees. I couldn’t run out of a building on fire if I had to because my knees are so bad! But you never know. Never say never. There might be one last match. I know my son would love that.
I think many fans would too. In fact I was going to suggest a triple threat tag team match. The DiBiases (Million Dollar Man and Ted Jr.) versus the Rhodes (Dusty and Cody) versus the Ortons (Cowboy Bob and Randy). What do you think?
MDM: Wow.
Ted DiBiase: That would be a Mania moment.
MDM: That definitely would be a Mania moment. It would be pretty cool.
Twenty two years ago you were in the Main Event at Wrestlemania IV against ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage. Your son is likely to be wrestling in his first Wrestlemania this year. Have you given him any tips?
MDM: ‘Mania is as big as it gets. It’s kind of like when I introduced him, when he first went out there; you never get a second chance to make a first impression. What I told him was: “you have to have this attitude.” And I said what I want you to be thinking of when you walk through that curtain is: “I own the place.” And exude that confidence and do what you know you can do. So far he has done that. I’m very proud. Like I’ve said on television and behind closed doors, I think he has all of the potential to be a WWE Champion at some point.
So how did you feel when he slapped you in the face when you guest hosted Raw last year?
MDM: Not nearly as bad as he felt at the end of the show when the cameras stopped rolling. Because I went back out on stage and slapped him!
So how did it feel to slap your Dad?
TD: Man, I’d been waiting 27 years for that! No, actually I was giving him hell all day. I was telling him how hard I was going to hit him and that this is going to be awesome. But then when we did it, we did that live, that was not a pre-tape. And I remember just slapping him and walking off set and I turned around to see his reaction.
And when I saw his reaction it looked like he was heartbroken. I guess he was a great actor because I felt terrible. I’m not going to lie I ran over and was like: “Dad I’m sorry man!” I apologised. The worst thing is, I go over and apologise, I was like: “I never want to do that again.” And then at the end of the show when we went dark in front of just the live audience, me and Cody (Rhodes) were standing on stage and then Vince (McMahon) hits the ‘Million Dollar Man’ music. I’m like: “What the heck?!” I turn around just in time to catch a slap, a receipt from my dad. And it literally knocked me to my knees.
MDM: Vince said to me: “Go out there and give the kid the receipt!”
Your brother Brett will be inducting your father into the Hall of Fame with you. We saw him briefly at Summerslam when he disturbed the match between John Cena and Randy Orton. Apart from a quick appearance on Raw the following night, we haven’t seen him since. So what was that all about?
TD: My little brother is crazy man! He’s nuts! I really don’t know what got into him that night. Once the world gets to know Brett they’re going to love him. He’s quite a character. He’s full of, I don’t know what it is but he’s full of something. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to be travelling the world with my little brother.
