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“I can tell you what I won’t be getting,” said World Wrestling Entertainment star Ted DiBiase Jr. as he examined the menu at Yolk (747 N Wells St.) Wednesday morning. “Buttermilk pancakes. I want to, but I’m not going to.”

DiBiase — who is 6-foot-3 and a muscular 230 lbs. — isn’t out of shape. Not even close. But in an industry where putting on weight can land you in the doghouse, you can understand why the former tag-team champion instead ordered the multi-grain pancakes.

DiBiase, son of wrestling legend “The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase, is an up-and-coming star in WWE. The 27-year-old wrestler was given the lead role in the straight-to-DVD film, “The Marine 2,” which is a sequel to 2006’s “Marine” film starring fellow wrestler John Cena. From what DiBiase hears, he beat out 5-time WWE champion Randy Orton for the role.

To prepare for his film debut, DiBiase took acting lessons with a teacher in Los Angeles.

“He would play my wife,” DiBiase said of his acting teacher. “The first day, his voice would go extremely high. He’d get really into it and tell me how much he loved me. A few times I lost it and was like, ‘Man, you’ve got to stop that. This is getting weird.’ But he turned out to be very cool, very helpful. He made me realize less is more.”

According to DiBiase, WWE now has its own acting class for up-and-coming wrestlers. The class is meant to make the wrestlers more comfortable on the microphone and help them with those entertaining backstage promos wrestling is well known for.

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In a blog on Philly.com discussing the past week’s events in the city, Ted was mentiond very briefly.

WWE at FYE
WWE wrestler Ted DiBiase, Jr., son of The Million Dollar Man, signed DVD copies of “Marine 2″ at FYE (Broad & Chestnut) Friday night before heading across the street for dinner with a small party at Capital Grille.

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– January 7th 2010 – Toronto, Ontario Signing (2)

For a moment, Ted DiBiase Jr. had a flashback. Back to when he was seven years old, sitting in front-row seats. He was there to cheer on his dad, The Million Dollar Man. But he was also anxious to see his other hero, Bret “The Hitman” Hart.

“Bret’s music came on,” remembers DiBiase, now 27. “He came down, looked at me in the front row. He stopped and put his glasses on me. I still have those glasses.”

So imagine the feeling when The Hitman resurfaced on WWE’s RAW on Monday, after more than a 12-year absence.

“It was so cool,” says DiBiase, now a WWE star as part of The Legacy and also starring in a direct-to-DVD movie, The Marine II. “This past Monday, I was a fan. I almost forgot I was there to work.”

“I saw Bret at the hotel and we talked for awhile. He was very encouraging. When one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time tells you you’re doing a great job, you know you’re doing something right.”

Not only did Hart shake hands with Shawn Michaels, he also came face to face with Vince McMahon. Peace was shortlived with McMahon booting Hart in the gonads, leading to a feud that will peak at Wrestlemania.

A few channels down the dial, rival promotion TNA had huge moments of its own.

TNA introduced Hulk Hogan as its new go-to guy. And he brought along a cast of characters. There was the predictable (Nasty Boys, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman). There were surprises. Sean Morley (Val Venis), Orlando Jordan and Jeff Hardy. And there was Naitch, Nature Boy Ric Flair, a huge coup. The TNA show was a rollercoaster ride, but it was compelling TV. So was RAW, at least while Hart was part of it.

Let’s see if TNA has enough bullets in its gun to move Impact to Monday. Another Monday Night War wouldn’t be a bad thing for wrestling fans.

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Check parts 2, 3 and 4 below:

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