by Ted DiBiase
BRUCE PRICHARD (Brother Love):
We had so much fun with the creation of Ted’s vignettes. They were real and everyone involved got their money. More important, they accomplished our goal of introducing to the wrestling world the Million Dollar Man character.
I was now a full-fledged heel and my character was established as a person who could buy anything he wanted. In fact, I proclaimed the unthinkable: I told the fans that I was going to buy the World Wrestling Federation heavyweight title. To help me with this transaction, I was going to contract out Andre the Giant to beat the champion, Hulk Hogan. After Andre defeated Hogan, I would purchase the title from Andre. Since he was cheated out of the title by Hogan at WrestleMania III, Andre enthusiastically agreed to my terms.
The stage was set for February 5, 1988. The night was a historic one, because it was the first time professional wrestling was being broadcast on live national network television since the 1950s. During the event, which aired during prime time on NBC as part of a special The Main Event, Hulk Hogan was set to defend his title against Andre the Giant. Of course, since I had purchased Andre’s services, I was going to be ringside.
What followed was probably one of the greatest angles and finishes of all time.
In a rematch from WrestleMania III and as the setup for WrestleMania IV, Hulk Hogan dominated the match. With my investment in trouble, I continually fussed and demanded that Andre win my title. Toward the end of the match, referee Dave Hebner got trapped between Hogan and Andre, and was knocked out cold. I quickly dragged Hebner out of the ring and signaled for a new referee. The crowd totally freaked out when none other than Dave Hebner’s identical twin brother, Earl, became the new referee.
Unbeknownst to the crowd, and due to my influence and money, Earl was Dave’s “evil” twin. Andre quickly recovered and gave Hogan a huge body slam, then went to pin Hogan. Even though Hogan had one shoulder up, Earl counted “one-two-three” and called for the bell declaring Andre the new champion. The crowd was stunned! Hogan was furious and despite his plea, Earl proceeded to call for the championship belt. We entered the ring, and he raised Andre’s hand in victory. Andre was then given the championship belt.
With a smile as large as life, Andre showed me the belt, then put it around my waist and declared me the new heavyweight champion. With my hand raised in victory, I was on top of the world.
All of a sudden, Dave Hebner regained consciousness and reentered the ring. He argued with Earl about the match result. Andre and I rolled out of the ring as the two brothers argued. Meanwhile, Hogan was still steaming over the obvious con job and grabbed both men by their shirts. He glanced back and forth between them in disbelief. Everyone in the crowd, as well as Hogan, was stunned by what had just occurred. Nobody saw it coming.
BRUCE PRICHARD:
Ted’s purchase of the heavyweight title from Andre was a history-making event. We kept it real quiet and nobody knew about it except the talents involved. The goal of the angle was threefold: (1) to get a Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant rematch; (2) to move the Million Dollar Man character into the spotlight; and, (3) to plant the seed for the introduction of Ted’s Million Dollar Belt.
I wrestled as the “champion” for some two weeks; however, my champion status would soon be challenged and questioned. The president of World Wrestling Federation, Jack Tunney, issued a proclamation: he was taking the title away from me.
President Tunney was in a sticky situation. He couldn’t give the title back to Hulk Hogan, because technically he lost the match against Andre. Andre wouldn’t take the title because I had paid him off. And I couldn’t keep
the title because I didn’t win it legitimately. The solution was to have a tournament at WrestleMania IV to declare a new champion.
WrestleMania IV was my first WrestleMania. The event was held at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on March 27, 1988; Donald Trump himself was in attendance.
I wrestled three times that night. In the first round of the tournament, with both Andre and Virgil by my side, I pinned “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. In my quarterfinal match, I wrestled and pinned Don “the Rock” Muraco. Because I had interfered in Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant’s quarterfinal match, causing both men to be eliminated, I didn’t have an opponent in the semifinal, so I was now in the finals against fellow heel Randy “Macho Man” Savage.
During the course of the match, Andre attacked Randy outside the ring. Sensing trouble, Randy’s manager, Miss Elizabeth, ran to the back. Within a few minutes, the crowd went wild as she returned with none other than Hulk Hogan. Now it was Andre in my corner and Hogan in Randy’s. Even though Randy was a heel, the crowd could feel his babyface turn with each passing minute of the match.
In the end, I had Randy in my finishing move, the Million Dollar Dream. Elizabeth got up on the ring apron and distracted the referee. Hulk Hogan entered the ring and nailed me in the back with a steel chair. Soon thereafter, the Macho Man pinned me after dropping his patented flying elbow drop from the top rope. Randy Savage was crowned the new champion.
Although I lost the title, I was still very arrogant and quite rich. I told everyone that the world heavyweight title didn’t matter. I didn’t need the title. Rather, I created my own belt: the Million Dollar Belt. From that day forward, I became the self-proclaimed Million Dollar Champion, crowing and bragging that my belt was worth millions of dollars in gold and diamonds.
BRUCE PRICHARD:
The Million Dollar Man character was perfect for Ted. His skills in the ring were excellent, and he played the character to perfection. He carried himself like he owned the world—just the way we envisioned.
For more than three decades, I have been a part of professional wrestling and have literally done it all, traveling all over the world, including to Australia, Europe, and Japan. I have been to all fifty states. I have wrestled alone and as part of a tag team, and I’ve served as a referee, a manager, an announcer, a producer, and an advisor to the creative team.
I have held almost every title in the business and have worked for every major promotion. Some of my accomplishments include: AJPW International Heavyweight Champion (four times); NWA National Heavyweight Champion; NWA National Tag Team Champion (two times); Mid-South North American Heavyweight Champion (four times) and Mid-South Tag Team Champion (four times); World Wrestling Federation World Tag Team Champion (three times); and the King of the Ring 1988.
Not too bad for someone who technically didn’t win the title.
That’s me riding the streets of Willcox.
3
THE EARLY YEARS
On January 18, 1954, at 11:11 p.m., I was born two months premature to Ted Wills and Gladys Helen Nevins in Miami Beach, Florida. I weighed in at five pounds, eleven ounces.
My dad, whom I was named after, was born and raised in South Florida, and was an entertainer and singer. He had a great bass voice and was a regular on The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show.
My mother was born in Grand Island, Nebraska. She was extremely attractive and was a great dancer. In her early years, she worked as a showgirl, performing with many of the big bands of the 1940s and with Frank Sinatra.
At sixteen years old, she married her first husband, professional wrestler “Spiderman” Al Galento. She was clearly too young, and the marriage was doomed from the start. When she discovered that Al had had an affair, my mom divorced him (she was pregnant with my older brother, Albert Jr., at the time). The marriage lasted less than six months.
After the divorce, her parents, Edgar and Marie Nevins, helped out with raising Albert. At the time, my grandparents were living in Omaha, Nebraska, and were in the restaurant business. One day, my grandma read an advertisement in the paper about a local café for sale in Willcox, Arizona. The deal was too good to pass up; plus, her doctor recommended that she move somewhere warmer to help her arthritis. So, with my mom and Albert, my grandparents moved west to run Marie’s Truck Stop Café.
With my older brother in good hands, my
mother went back on the road, and it was while she was touring that she met and fell in love with my father.
I didn’t get much of a chance to build a life with my parents, since they were always gone, and when I was two years old, Ted and my mother got a divorce. During my toddler years, my grandmother raised Michael and me (Albert had legally changed his name to Michael after our mom married Mike DiBiase).
I don’t have too many childhood memories of Ted. But I do remember one time that he came for a visit when I was four years old. My mother was on the road. Ted asked me if I wanted to go on a trip with him to Los Angeles. He said, “If we use our time wisely, I imagine we can even sneak in a trip to Disneyland.”
I really wanted to go to Disneyland with my dad, but it was up to my grandmother. She adored Ted and thought he was a great guy, so she didn’t see any harm in him taking me. “I don’t think there would be any problem with the two of you spending time together,” she’d said. As quick as I could, I packed my stuff and, together with my dad, I headed west to California.
It was a wonderful and unforgettable trip. My dad showed me the town, fed me great food, and, as promised, took me to Disneyland. He even took me to see the movie Sleeping Beauty. After the movie, we got something to eat and headed to the toy store. We walked in and went straight to the Sleeping Beauty toy display. I was overwhelmed. Dad bought me a little plastic sword and shield just like the prince had in the movie. As an added bonus, he bought me the Sleeping Beauty children’s storybook to read later. I was so happy!
I also got a chance to watch my dad perform onstage. I remember him rehearsing his part as a backup singer for Tennessee Ernie Ford. He even introduced me to Mr. Ford. After shaking my hand, Mr. Ford told my dad, “Bring him out to the house this weekend. My wife will just love this kid!”
On Sunday afternoon, me with my Sleeping Beauty toys and book in hand, Dad drove us into the hills of Hollywood to Mr. Ford’s luxurious home. His estate was huge, with a giant swimming pool in the backyard. It was the first time I had seen a television on the ceiling of a bedroom. I had a great time and ate a wonderful meal. Ernie’s wife was super nice, and I can still remember crawling up onto her lap as she read Sleeping Beauty to me.
Just as I was starting to bond with Ted, my vacation unexpectedly ended. Mom had come home early. When my grandmother explained where I was, she was livid, I mean steaming mad. She immediately took the next flight from Tucson to Los Angeles, and it seemed like just as I hugged my mom upon her arrival, I was back in Willcox.
I don’t think my dad meant anything bad by taking me to California, but my mother was angry because he didn’t ask her permission. It would be the last time I saw Ted for quite some time.
When I was older, I asked my mother why she and Ted divorced. “It wasn’t that Ted was a bad guy. He didn’t beat me or anything like that. But I so wanted to feel secure. Ted didn’t meet that need for me. He had talent but no ambition. He was the kind of guy who would sit back waiting for the big break to come to him, rather than going out looking to make it happen. He was just too carefree for me.”
I later found out that Ted was approached by a major producer to take a part as a singing cowboy in a huge country-and-western television program. Ted thought the idea was ridiculous and turned down the part. He didn’t want to have anything to do with the show. Well, that “ridiculous” singing cowboy part went instead to Roy Rogers. I’m sure there were no happy trails for Ted after that.
After the divorce, Mom continued to make her living on the road. However, she made a career change and was no longer a showgirl. She chose a profession that was more physically demanding, where beauty was just as important as strength. Mom entered the professional wrestling circuit.
BOB GEIGEL:
Helen was a very good wrestler. She was also quite attractive. I first met Teddy in 1957 when he was traveling with his mother. She was wrestling in Tucson. When he was three years old, I taught Teddy how to swim in the hotel’s swimming pool.
Women’s wrestling was a very glamorous and thrilling profession. Besides my mother, there were other beautiful and very athletic female wrestlers in that era, including the Fabulous Moolah, Mae Young, Vickie Williams, Toni Rose, Susan Green, and Joyce Grable.
Since the road was no place for kids, my brother Mike and I stayed with my grandparents in Willcox. I loved living with my grandparents. Willcox was one of those dust-blown towns located on Interstate 10 between Phoenix and El Paso, Texas. I remember there was only one stoplight and one paved road. Even now, it has fewer than five thousand people.
Things weren’t like they are today, when you have to keep an eye on your child every second. I distinctly remember walking and riding my bike all over town by myself at five years old. I would walk to and from school with my mutt dog Curly (my grandfather called him Blacky).
I was a good student, so as a reward my grandmother would often give me fifty cents to go into town and watch a movie. The movie theater was only about two miles from the café. I would ride my bike down Railroad Avenue to
My mom wrestled as Helen Hild.
the theater. I’d pay twenty-five cents to see the movie, ten cents for a Coke, ten cents for a box of popcorn, and a nickel for a candy bar. For fifty cents, I enjoyed the movie and had a feast. Times sure have changed.
I used to walk to the full-service gas station next door to Grandma’s café. It was there that I saw diverse people from all over the country. I even helped out the station attendant by cleaning either the car’s headlights or windows.
I remember the Superman television show was very popular at that time. I, of course, wanted to be just like Superman. I would go get a dish towel from the café’s kitchen and have Grandma pin it to the collar on the back of my shirt. When I walked, ran, or rode my bike, the towel would flap in the wind just like my hero’s cape.
I hung out with my grandfather, Edgar, who was a retired Union Pacific Railroad engineer. He often took me to school. He was a gentle man and was very magnanimous. I used to enjoy watching him work in the garden.
Grandpa was a diabetic. I would watch him take his insulin shot in the thigh right before breakfast. He would drop his pants right there in the kitchen. He was very careful with his diet because of his condition. Every morning he would get up and have the same thing: soft-boiled eggs, wheat toast, and a bowl of Wheaties or Shredded Wheat.
After lunch, Grandpa would go out to the back porch and smoke a cigar. I was curious and would always ask him if I could smoke his cigar. He would smoke that cigar down to the butt and then give it to me. He’d say, “Now, don’t inhale it.” I thought it was the coolest thing to puff on that cigar.
Grandpa did some crazy things. I don’t know if it was because he was getting up there in age, but he always kept Grandma on her toes. One time, he got this idea that he was going to paint his car. It was a nice, moon-shaped vehicle that ran quite well. He went to the local paint store and purchased a couple of gallons of latex house paint. Right from the can, he painted the entire car silver. My grandma was furious and righty so. The car looked hideous.
My grandmother was an angel. She cared for my brother and me and was very giving and compassionate. I recall many times when she gave hoboes free meals and helped others in need. She was very gracious and taught me about empathy and kindness. Because of her, I have always treated people with dignity and respect.
But Grandma was one tough lady too. Smoking her trademark Salem cigarettes, she would work long hours in the restaurant. As a woman in the 1950s running a truck stop café, you had to have a tremendous amount of determination and good leadership skills. And unequivocally she did.
So many people have told me that my grandma went out of her way to help people. She was an unbelievably kind and hardworking woman. She lived to be eighty-nine years old.
JOHN DIBIASE (brother):
Grandma was a sweet and wonderful lady. She always had a smile on her face and would go out of her way to help people. Many times she wou
ld feed people who didn’t have any money, or even help those out who didn’t have enough money to pay the entire meal tab.
She also took care of Teddy and me like we were her own children. She would protect us and make sure that we had everything that we needed. In her eyes, her grandchildren could never do anything wrong.
Every day, my grandmother would sit at a table near the window of the restaurant and wait for me to get out of school. I would eat lunch at the café every day. In fact, Mike and I would eat most of our meals at the café. We spent many of our days there.
I loved watching my grandma cook and bake, especially when she made fresh cakes, pastries, pies, and cinnamon rolls. She made sure I always had my fill, which was probably why I was a husky kid. From birth until my high school years, I was a chubby butterball.
I helped out the best I could by washing dishes or bussing tables. But my favorite time was just watching and listening to the vast array of people who would come into the café.
JOHN DIBIASE:
Ted was seven years older than me. I remember both of us working in my grandma’s truck stop. My grandmother was a hard worker and she often had to clean up after me because I wasn’t doing such a good job as the dishwasher. I also remember sitting on top of the roof of the restaurant with Teddy to watch the parades in town.
There was a jukebox in my grandmother’s café. I enjoyed listening to music and I used to put my own marked quarters (so it wouldn’t cost anything) in the slot to listen to the songs. I had many favorites, including anything by Johnny Cash. But my all-time favorite song was Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman.” Today when I hear that song I’m reminded of that place, the people, and my grandma.