All language subtitles for EP-15 - Ted Di Biase

- For the love of money is the
root of all sorts of evil,

[organ playing]

and some, by longing for it,
have wandered away

from the faith-

-and pierced
themselves with many griefs.

Everybody's got a price
for The Million Dollar Man.

Including you.

[laughs]

- Let's take a review of how
Ted DiBiase has developed

into one of today's top stars.

- When Vince met with Ted.

He says-- goes,
"I've got an idea.

I think you'd be
the perfect guy for it."

- I'm rich, you're poor, and
that makes me better than

each and everyone of you.

He said,
"I think you'd be one

of the hottest heels
I've ever have."

- It was so well done.

It just fit him perfect.

- He was actually giving away
$100 bills everywhere.

I was like,
"Yes, this is gonna work."

- You're all a bunch of suckers.

- Everything that
he did was horrible.

- Let's hear a big bulldog bark.

- Woof woof.

- And people ate it up.

- Ted was just
the consummate heel.

- One of the greatest
characters of all time.

- [laughs]

Is that enough?

- I always likened it to
selling your soul to the devil.

Temptations were endless.

- And I got caught up
in the lifestyle.

- Ted ran hard, I mean,
partied and ran hard.

- I think he got
himself in trouble.

- We had to share with the-
you know, the rest of the world.

We want dad.

We a want dad.

We want him.

- How do you make
that transition

to go from superstar to home?

- Well, this is my office.

Well, all of these things
have a special meaning to me.

If you throw them all together,
it's a history of my life

in professional wrestling.

This is the first action figure
of me, and I-I could still

remember the first time I walked
into whatever store it was,

and I was like, "Wow."

A little piggybank,
Million Dollar Man piggybank.

- There were we go.

[laughter]

- And this picture right
here is my mother.

Now, there's a lot of my peers,
who like myself or second and

third generation wrestlers,
who can say,

"My dad was a wrestler, too."

But there aren't too many
that could say,

"My mom AND dad were wrestlers."

I was born
Theodore Marvin Wills.

My biological father was
a professional singer.

Had a beautiful deep bass voice.

Sang with guys like
Tennessee Ernie Ford.

Now, I have a very deep bass
voice, but I couldn't carry

a tune if it had handles on it.

My mother and he divorced
when I was two.

My mother was an entertainer.

She did, uh, what you call stage
show dancing, and I'm not sure

how she transitioned into being
a lady wrestler, but she did.

When I was really little,
the deal was she says,

"Whatever you do,
you sit right where I put you,

and you don't get out
of that chair."

She goes out and has
this match and, uh,

she getting beat up really bad.

I'm, you know, "That's my mama
up there, you know."

So I went running up to the
ring, right, when she caught me,

if looks could kill, and all it
took was that look on her face,

and I literally turned and ran.

Well, I tell ya, I never got
out of my seat again,

that's for sure.

And when I was five,
my mother married Mike DiBiase.

Mike DiBiase's wrestling name
was "Iron Mike."

- Introducing Iron Mike.

- He was not only a professional
wrestler, but 1946, he was the

AAU National Heavyweight Amateur
Wrestling Champion.

I wanted to emulate him in life,
and of course, the one thing

that he didn't want me to be,
uh, was a professional wrestler.

And it wasn't about
the wrestling,

it was about the lifestyle
of wrestling.

Wrestlers put miles and miles
and miles on their vehicles,

having to stay in hotels.

Of course, none of that
was covered.

You know, everything was paid
out of their own pocket.

He would take me with him every
now and then,

and I had probably some of the
greatest conversations

of my life with my dad
on those trips.

You know this is the guy that--
in the most formative years of

my life in the age of 5 to 15
was the inspiration of my life.

And when I say 15.

that's when I lost him, July the
2nd 1969, in Lubbock, Texas.

- Some people came to the house.

I know they were wrestlers
and people we knew,

but it was late at night.

I immediately knew
something was wrong.

- One of those great
relationships in his wrestling

career was with the Funk family.

- There's not a bigger name
in Texas than the Funks.

Everybody came through West
Texas in that territory up there

in Amarillo because of Dory Sr.

- Terry Funk's mother, uh, took

me out on the hall and looked me
straight in the eye and said,

"Teddy, your dad had a heart
attack tonight and died

on the way to the hospital."

And that's how I found out
that he was gone.

I remember the, uh,
shriek that went out

when they told my mother.

She just lost it.

Terry Funk showed up, and he had
my dad's wrestling bag,

And I remember opening that bag
and, uh, my dad's, uh--

his wrestling tights were still
wet with his sweat,

and I buried my face in that.

I could smell my dad.

It's funny the things you do
in situations like that.

And it was just one of those
moments in my life

that I'll never forget.

- Teddy became the father of
the family, and Teddy would

do everything, and that was
a tragic, tragic time,

and they moved to Arizona.

- As a young man,
I didn't go to church that much,

but I prayed a lot
for my mother.

She started drinking heavily.

And so I stayed there
in Willcox, Arizona

with my grandmother.

Football meant the world
to me at that time.

I played offensive guard
and tackle.

My driving force was to be good
enough to earn that scholarship

to play college football.

I graduated in 1972
from Willcox High School.

I had initially signed a letter
of intent to play football at

the University of Arizona.

I'm watching TV one afternoon
and wrestling comes on,

and it's the wrestling out of
Amarillo, Texas, The Funks.

And they're promoting that
they're gonna bring a show

to Tucson, and I-I hadn't seen
any wrestling for three years

since my father died.

So I went to Tucson to see the
Funks, and that visit turned

into a visit to
West Texas State University.

In the back of my mind
as a kid growing up,

I always wanted
to be a wrestler.

I always wanted to be my dad.

So going to West Texas State
served two purposes.

Number one, I was there on a
football scholarship,

and number two, it would be
the lead into my professional

wrestling career
and my family's relationship

with the Funk family.

You know, I'd basically known
them all of my life,

and I knew that they would help
train me to get into wrestling.

- I knew he was gonna be
in the business.

I wanted him to be
in the business, of course.

I just wanted him to not go
in as early as he did.

- I heard Mom and him
talking about a career path

in wrestling, and it was always,

"No, that's not what's
gonna happen."

- 1974 in Lubbock, Texas, I had
my first match in the ring where

my father had his last,
and I didn't even think about it

until after it was over.

- Weighing 247 pounds,
Ted DiBiase.

- Ted DiBiase,
like many others,

became a honed and skilled
wrestler in Mid-South.

- The Figure 4 Leglock
by Ted DiBiase.

- It was a big territory of
Oklahoma, Arkansas,

Louisiana, and Mississippi.

I was exposed to so much
great talent.

- Ted DiBiase,
who was just a teenager,

dedicated himself to someday
honoring his father's memory.

- It's DiBiase after Flair.

- Great work ethic, really good
performer, and-and, uh,

he was-was trained and hung
around the-the-

two of the best ever,
Terry and Dory.

- Dropkick by DiBiase.

- I had one year of college
left, and I didn't go back.

People were telling me,

"Kid, you got it,
and you're going places."

- And it's funny because he
never really had a gimmick.

- No ring wear or anything
like that.

Yo, he was a wrestler.

He was a tough 6'4",
265-pound wrestler.

- Piledriver.

DiBiase just teed off.

- And one day I got this call
from Ted.

He says,
"Well, I got a call from Vince.

Do you think I should stay here
in Oklahoma or go to New York?"

I said, "Get your ass up to New
York," is what I told him.

- The first time I wrestled
Ted DiBiase was

in Madison Square Garden.

- The Incredible Hulk Hogan.

His opponent, Ted DiBiase.

[bell rings]

- Ted DiBiase had made quite
a name for himself

and was considered
a great technical wrestler.

And that was the type
of wrestler that

Vince and James McMahon wanted.

- During the territory era,
a-a wrestler would come

into a wrestling promotion,
work for a few months,

and then usually lose to whoever
the next top good guy might be

on his way out.

- [indistinct] armdrag.

- I remember Ben Sr. coming
to me and saying,

"Hey, we got a lot of high
hopes for this guy."

- Nervous wreck.

Ted made me look great.

- Now he has a little bear hug
and it could be over.

[bell rings]

- It's over.

- You know, I was wrestling
that night in The Garden

and then I was going back
to Texas.

Terry Funk called me and he
said, "You need to get to

Georgia because there's three
names in the hat for the--

who possibly would-- might be
the next NWA World Champion.

And the three names are
Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes,

and Ted DiBiase."

To be number one
in professional wrestling,

you gotta be a winner,
and you gotta go where

the action is and
where the best is.

- For all the regional
territories that existed,

no championship meant more
at that time than

the National Wrestling Alliance
Heavyweight Championship.

Ted DiBiase had the skills
to be an NWA champion.

- When I went to Georgia,
that was when Melanie and I

met in Atlanta on
April the 26th, 1981.

- We actually met
at a swimming pool,

and the guy that I was friends
with said to Ted,

"This girl over here wants
your autograph."

- And I said,
"Okay, what's your name?"

She goes, "Melanie.

But everybody calls me Mel."

So, I put,

"To Mel, the best-looking girl
at the pool for sure."

And I said,

"I don't even know you,
and I'm gonna sign this love."

And I did.

"Love, Ted DiBiase.
4/26/81."

- I looked at him,
and I was like,

"Well, what number are you?"

- "What number am I?"

- "You gotta be
a football player."

- She says,

"So you play for the
Falcons, don't you?"

[laughs]

I said, "I'm a professional
wrestler."

- DiBiase, oh.

- "Do you mean like
that stuff on TV?"

- Toehold into the, uh,
figure four.

- [laughs]

She wasn't too impressed
with that.

I don't have to stand here
and give you my credentials.

Everybody knows what I can do.

- He did ask me after that
if we could go out on a date.

And I said absolutely not

because how am I gonna
defend myself?

I don't know this guy.

He's huge.

So, I said, "Let's just meet
at the pool."

I needed to know who he was
before I was alone in a car

with him somewhere.

And we ended up just having
a really close connection

right from the start.

- That was the beginning of it.

And so New Year's Eve 1981
with JYD as my best man,

Mel and I got married.

- Three months after
we got married,

I found out I was pregnant.

- There was a lot of talk of Ted
DiBiase becoming the next NWA

World's Heavyweight Champion,
but, uh, he was passed by.

And so, uh, Ted DiBiase
looked at his options

and he left
the Georgia territory.

He spent time with his family.

But he was always looking
for that next big thing.

[crowd cheers]

- Look at this.

- He slammed him.

- He slammed the Giant.

- I don't believe it.

- Hulk dropping a big leg.

Over for the cover.
It's over.

- He got him.

- I opened the hotel room door,
and I pick up this paper

and the front page says,
"World indoor attendance record.

93,000 people
at the Pontiac Silverdome

for WrestleMania III."

I mean, my mouth dropped open.

I was like, "Oh my gosh."

All I remember thinking is that
I'm going to have to ultimately

be working for that company.

- Ted DiBiase, and I had been
together in Mid-South Wrestling

and I had made the move.

I was coming to New York
to work for WWE.

While I did that, Ted was on a
tour in Japan.

- So I get this call from Bruce,
and Bruce says,

"Vince McMahon is extremely
interested in you."

- I had just had a baby.

I was a full-time mom.

I could see it on his face.

This was a really important
conversation he was about

to have that could possibly
change his life and mine.

- When Vince met with Ted, he
says, "I've got an idea.

I think you'd be
the perfect guy for it."

Ted had the look and Ted
had a bit of the swagger.

He says, "If you wanna come up
here, I can guarantee you that

you'll make more money
you ever dreamed of.

We'll have more fun than you
could possibly imagine having

in this business."

- Then he laid it out for me.

The one thing everybody hates
is someone,

who by virtue of their wealth,
they bully people.

That's the essence
of this character.

And he said,

"I think you'd be one of the
hottest heels I've ever had."

Off the cuff, I said,

"Well, he-he sounds like
a million-dollar man to me."

For all you people out there
who aren't familiar with me,

let me introduce myself.

I'm Ted DiBiase.

I'm The Million Dollar Man.

Money can and does buy
you anything or anybody.

- 100% Vince McMahon's vision-

-Don't you wish you had money?

Just throw it away.

- -to create this character
that exploits the fact

that everybody has a price.

- Everybody's got a price
for The Million Dollar Man.

- What a great gimmick
to be given to you.

You-you're basically playing
Vince McMahon, you know?

- In the 1980s, American pop
culture was all about greed

and excess and how much money
you could actually make.

One of the biggest movies
in theaters was Wall Street.

One of the biggest television
shows in the world was Dynasty.

The Million Dollar Man,
Ted DiBiase,

embodied that in the WWE.

- What would it take to make
this a private pool right now?

- I'm afraid I can't do that.

- It was just a fun ride.

He had-- He was having so much
fun he loved it.

- I pay more taxes in a month
than these people

make in a year, Virgil-
[finger snap]

- He was actually giving away
$100 bills everywhere.

I was like,
"Yes, this is gonna work.

This is brilliant."

- Virgil.
[finger snap]

[finger snap]

Virgil.

[bell ringing]

- As a Million Dollar Man,
you're not gonna

do things yourself.

So, you have to have a man that
is going do the dirty work that

you don't feel
comfortable doing.

- Come on you little --
get out of the pool.

All of you.

Fall out.

- Oh, Virgil was, uh,
key to this, I think, you know?

- Virgil takes care
of all of life's little problems

that I don't have time
to take care of anymore.

- Million Dollar Man would
snap his finger,

"Hey, Virgil, get this,"

Virgil was right there with it.

- I'm rich, you're poor, and
that makes me better than

each and every one of you.

[crowd boos]

- Ted would use his money
to make people do things

that they might not ordinarily
do, but for the right price

maybe they would.

- Let's hear a big bulldog bark.

- Woof woof.

- The vignettes were great.

- The vignettes.

- Now, get down,
and give me 10 push-ups.

[crowd counting]

- Doing your best just ain't
good enough

for The Million Dollar Man.

You're all a bunch of suckers.

[laughs]

All those things that we did
all those people got the money.

- Everything that he did was
horrible, you know,

how he treated people.

How dare he?

And people ate it up.

- If you can dribble this
basketball 15 times, look here,

I'm going to give you $500.

- And realize the heat is
you offer somebody money

to do something,

they just about get there-

-and then you take it away
from them.

- 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13, 14.

Oops.

Aww.

- That child learned a hard
lesson that day,

that if you don't do the job-

- You don't get paid.

[laughs]

- The laughs was-
was diabolical.

- [laughs]

- The laugh made it.

The tagging, every vignette
with that laugh, was like,

"What are you going when
Hulkamania runs wild?"

You know, the laugh
was the same thing.

[laughs]

- That's an exaggeration
of my regular laugh.

Vince just happened to be
walking by, and he heard it and

he goes ,
"That's The Million Dollar Man.

I want to hear that laugh
at the end of every interview."

[laughs]

And I tell people that now,
all the time, I say you know,

"I had almost a 20-year career
but what am I remembered for?"

[laughs]

- Who wouldn't want to be
The Million Dollar Man?

Who wouldn't want to live
that way?

And Ted,
he lived that character.

- You know,
you've done a lot ofthings.

What's the nicest thing
you've done?

[laughs]

- Gee, that's a $100 bill.

- You want that $100 bill, kid?

A little flash cash
was Vince's idea.

We were going to try to make
the public believe

you're really this guy.

So I says,

"If you go in and buy a cup of
coffee, throw down a $100 bill.

- Ted also was able to live
the gimmick in real life.

Had stretch limousines pick him
up at the airport to and from

the arena, stayed at the finest
hotels paid for by the company

to protect the gimmick.

- He also has to fly first
class, everybody else

in the back, but not Ted,
he's The Million Dollar Man.

Got to live the gimmick.

- Oh, it was- it was a blast.

- Oh, there it is, the Million
Dollar Dream he slapped it on.

- You know, I would beat my
opponent, and I'd take a $100

bill, shove the 100 in their
mouth and, you know,

when they got back to the
dressing room I'd say,

"Cough it up."

[laughs]

It was like a fairy tale at the
beginning, and I go from

working, like, every wrestler
used to work, you're-

you're putting the miles on your
car and, you know,

none of that is paid for.

I go from that to Learjets
and limousines.

While all the wrestlers are out
there beating each other

to pieces, I'm sitting back
relaxing contemplating

my next move.

- He didn't need
the competition.

He didn't need the
sportsmanship.

He didn't even need to win.

He was willing to use his money
to get the WWE Championship.

- Everybody has a price
for The Million Dollar Man.

I'm going to prove it to you in
the biggest way I know how.

I'm going to buy

the World Wrestling --
Heavyweight Championship.

- He got so much heat
because people were like,

"He could b-buy the belt?

He could buy a championship?

Is there no integrity
in the WWE?"

It immediately elevated him.

- That's right, baby,
it's going to be mine.

Lock, stock, and barrel.

The Million Dollar Man always
gets what he wants.

I went out, and I bought
André the Giant.

This man will beat Hulk Hogan
and the Heavyweight Title

will be mine.

[crowd cheers]

- Welcome to the largest
television audience

in World Wrestling -- history.

- The Million Dollar Man,
Ted DiBiase, purchased

André the Giant with
the intention of André winning

the WWE Championship, so he can
hand it over to DiBiase.

- And it was also the first time
that wrestling had been

on prime-time network television
in many years.

- Here comes the Hulkster.

Oh my.

- I saw something the other day

it's still the largest viewed
audience for that time slot.

- That was a smart move
by André.

- Championship is on the line,
and the unthinkable happens.

- Suplex right on top of him.

- He's on him

- One, we got two.

That's it.

Well, no.

Hold on.

- He got him.

[bell rings]

- He got him.

- No, he didn't.

- The referee counted three.

- A fast count that doesn't even
acknowledge that Hogan's

shoulders were up.

Ted DiBiase has not just
paid off André the Giant.

- The one in the ring
took the money.

It had to be-

There has to be some
chicanery going on.

- Ted DiBiase bought him off.

- Some guy named
The Million Dollar Man

helped the Giant just a little.

- The loophole there was once
André won the championship,

he surrendered
the championship to

The Million Dollar Man
Ted DiBiase.

- I surrender
the World Champion-

Championship to Ted DiBiase.

- Wait a minute.

Hold on.

André, what are you saying you-

- There was a big fuss
about that.

[laughs]

- Million Dollar Man
with a championship.

That's not legal, I don't think.

- Because of the circumstances
surrounding the title switch

a decision was made by WWE.

- Ted DiBiase is also not the

World Wrestling -- Champion.

I now declare the title vacant.

- And there was going to be a
tournament at WrestleMania IV

to determine a new champion.

- Hi, WrestleMania IV.

- The very short list of people
who have gone on last

at WrestleMania,
there's a reason Ted DiBiase

found himself in that spot.

- Savage in deep trouble.

- It was because Ted DiBiase
was the best villainous wrestler

on the WWE roster.

- Suplex delivered.

- WrestleMania IV,
the idea was I would somehow

become the champion.

- Oh, look at that shot.

- But now, Vince is marketing
toys and games to children.

It's about making that money.

You know, if you're the
champion, and you're a heel,

you're not going to be
a champion long.

- Oh, he clobbered
The Million Dollar Man

- Because all those kids want to
see the championship belt

around their hero.

[crowd cheers]

- Oh.

- The flying elbow.

Hooks the leg.

It's over.

[crowd cheers]

[bell rings]

- We have a new champion.

- Ted DiBiase should have
been a five-time world champion.

Easily two or three.

Easily, but he didn't need it.

He could draw money.

He was believable as hell.

His work was off the charts.

- It's The Million Dollar Man.

- Oh, wow.

Gosh.

- So I said,
"I don't need your stinking belt

I'll create my own title,
I'm The Million Dollar Man."

You are a designer
of fine jewelry.

Are you not?

[chuckles]

Oh, wait, of course, you are.
I wouldn't have come to you.

- The Million Dollar Man
wouldn't have just

a regular championship.

- I want gold, I want diamonds,
and spare no expense.

- And Terry Betteridge in
Greenwich, Connecticut

was a jeweler that Vince
knew that created

this championship belt for us.

- It's mine.

It's mine.

Oh my gosh, it was amazing.

I give you, Brother Love,

The Million Dollar Championship
belt.

There's 700 stones in the face
of the belt.

Well, those are all cubic
zirconium.

I asked my wife,
"What's a cubic zirconium?

She goes, "Almost a diamond."

And I said,

"Okay, it's almost a diamond,
so it's worth something.

The real joke is in the back
of the belt,

there's three real diamonds.

I said, "Why?"

"Well, if anybody asked you,
are the diamonds real?

You can say yes,
and you won't be lying."

Nothing means more
to me than money.

So nothing means more to me
than this championship belt.

- Back then, if you were a main
player in WWE,

that meant you were a character
very familiar to the mainstream.

And I would say every person in
Western society at that time had

heard of and probably seen
The Million Dollar Man.

- And it seems to me that I
should have been out here

about 30 minutes ago.

And since I wasn't, I think you
owe me a little money.

- It moved so quickly into that-

-limousines and room service and

suites and private jets,
and I'm at home with three boys.

You're just rolling along
and trying to survive

all the bumps that come
along with it.

- We, as his kids,
we had to share him with the-

you know, the rest of the world.

And so our time actually
together was very, very,

very minimal.

Really at the end of the day,
we want Dad.

We want a dad, we want him.

- Hey?

How y'all doing, huh?

I was putting the future
and the stability of my own

children at risk.

I was out 3 straight weeks,
21 days, 21 cities.

I'm really only off six
days in a month.

- Fun.

But at the same time, uh, you
know, we missed Dad a lot, too.

Part of my life growing up,
I would see Dad, you know,

maybe a couple of times a year.

- It was just a fantasy out
there that I cou--

I needed reality.

I was raising three boys.

I could not live in that.

- The Million Dollar Man
lived that character

in and out of the ring.

And I'm sure the-the other--
the boys didn't like it

[laughs]

because, you know,
they're sharing rental cars,

and he's traveling around
in limousines '

cause he's The
Million Dollar Man.

- Separate dressing room, coming
in a little later than normal.

And it just felt a little
different sometimes,

staying out, uh, a little late
sometimes at some of the bars

and partying and having
a good time.

Where before,
the old Ted DiBiase really

didn't do it, you know.

And so I think that really
had a change

in his home life and his life.

And I think it
affected everything.

- Ted ran hard.

I mean, partied and ran hard.

- Maybe we partied a little too
much sometimes, you know.

I think he probably had a
problem with that, too,

and I think he got himself
in trouble.

- I always kind of likened it to
selling your soul to the devil

because you're gonna make
a lot of money.

You're gonna be more famous than
you could have ever imagined.

There's no, really,
relationship.

I don't know how you keep
a relationship going,

not only with your spouse
but your children.

The temptations were endless.

- And I got caught up in the
life- the lifestyle to a degree.

- I did everything at the house,
took care of the home,

took care of the kids, and I was
paying the bills one time

and I noticed some charges that
were a little suspicious to me.

And so followed up with that
and just found out

that Ted had been unfaithful
in our marriage.

- And, uh, she confronted me
with what she found.

And I said, "I don't wanna talk
about this on the phone.

I'll be on the next plane home."

- I said, no, you won't.

You don't live here anymore.

- Click.

That was the worst
day of my life.

- I was unfaithful.

When my wife found out
and confronted me with it,

it was immediate remorse for me.

"How could you be so stupid?

How could you put something
so precious at risk like that?"

And quite frankly,
I didn't deserve her.

- So you have
to make a decision.

I'm gonna keep this.

I'm gonna grow bitter.

I'm gonna divorce.

I'm gonna make my children's
lives hell, uh,

and be gone with him.

Or you can do what
a Christian would do.

And that's work
through the pain.

- I had accepted that I was
gonna lose the best thing

that ever happened to me,
that I was a fool,

that I was an idiot, the whole-
the whole nine yards.

And, uh, that's when my, uh,
journey, I call it back to God,

really began.

During that time,
we were counseled

by one of my best friends,
Pastor Hal Santos.

- One night, Ted calls me, he is
going through a tough time

and he said, "I need your help."

I said, "Let's make a plan how
we can get you all here."

Ted and Mel came,
and then the boys came.

- We joined him, and went with
all of his kids from his church

to this thing up in Chicago.

"There's Ted DiBiase.
There's The Million Dollar Man.

What's he doing here?"

Good question.

I went to my knees, I put my
nose in the carpet, and I laid

there and cried like a baby and
didn't care what a soul in that

room thought.

- And all I could think of was,

"Melanie, God loves Ted as
much as He loves you.

He still does."

- And I looked at Mel that day
and I said, "If you'll give me

this chance, I'll become the man
you thought you married.

And God willing, one day, I'll
regain your respect and trust."

That was in March of '92.

- We were stronger
because of it.

We probably had a healthier
respect for each other than we

did before because you kind of
take for granted your partner,

but you shouldn't,
you should treasure it.

- His whole life was gonna end
for what he knew it.

And to him, that was too huge
a price.

And it- and it snapped him
back into reality.

- Who are you?

- Hulk Hogan.

- Hulk Hogan?

- The change was immediate.

He waited till it got to
a tough place,

but then he found God's grace.

Kept his marriage together,
raised kids.

- Well, give me the
other monies.

- Give you the
other monies?

I don't have any more,
that's all of it.

I'm going to get you.

[laughs]

- How do you make that
transition to go from superstar

to home where you're
expected to just be dad?

He was really good with them in
that-- the first few hours, that

first day that he would be home,

he did nothing but play
with them.

- Did you get this for daddy?

- And then the next day, he and
I would have a kind of a day.

That would be our time.

And then the next day,
he was back on the road.

If your dad is playing a
character that flashy and fun,

you know, uh, they would
try to imitate the laugh.

I would catch them playing with
each other, uh, in their rooms

when they didn't think
I was listening.

They loved it.

- That's everything to you.

Everything.

Um, and you wanna be
just like him.

[laughs]

- Even to this day, I'm 45 years
old and I still, um--

it chokes me up because,
uh-

-I love my dad.

[crowds cheers]

- When you work the type
of competitive style that

Ted DiBiase had been working
his entire career,

those injuries
are gonna pile up.

And by 1993, Ted DiBiase had
accumulated so many neck

and back injuries that, really,
he-he made the choice

at 39 years old that he'd
be better off retiring.

- My dad, Mike DiBiase was 45
years old-

-had a heart attack
in the ring and died.

I remember I made
a promise to myself that

I wasn't gonna to stay too long.

And I remember telling Mel,
I said, "I'm-I'm done."

If you gotta step on people,
if you gotta be a little bit

cutthroat, then that's
what it takes.

- And he was a commentator,
he was a manager,

but in the meantime,
he wasn't taxing his body

the way he had throughout
his in-ring career.

And that allowed him time to be
with his family and do the other

things he enjoyed doing.

- I was starting to do some
of the ministry work then.

'Cause every time I see an
invitation and every time I see

the altar full, it takes me back
to that moment in my life

that was life-changing.

- The man, you know,
changed so much.

I think it saved his life.

- Ted has two legacies,
really, that overlap.

Not many people get to say that,

but he had a career in
wrestling that is legend worthy.

The second half of his life,
he's left a legacy.

To me, it's much more powerful

than being a legend
in a wrestling ring.

- You might have made choices
that were bad choices,

you can't do anything
about your past.

Today is the first day
of the rest of your life.

- He really believes
what he's saying,

and he does walk the talk.

He's not gonna shove
it down your throat,

but if you want to talk
about it, he will.

- There's a lot of haters out
there, I don't believe the hype,

I judge people by their actions.

So I judged Ted on who he is and
how he treats people,

and I think he's, uh,
a great man.

- Lord, I pray that You would
touch those lives tonight

and that You would
give them freedom.

- So many other guys that I'd
worked with, uh,

their lives didn't end up so
well, and so many of, uh-

of them are gone now.

And, you know, thank God that
Ted found that path,

- Ups and downs, whether, you
know, good or bad,

the main thing that sticks out
in me in dad's legacy,

he said--

Dad was always-always
been consistent.

Whether he's wrestling
or speaking,

Dad comes from the heart.

- The Million Dollar Man,
Ted DiBiase.

[applause]

- Ted was excited to get
that recognition

to be inducted
into the Hall of Fame.

He had a great career.

He worked hard.

It meant everything to him.

In his work life,
that was his passion.

I mean, he gave literally
blood, sweat, and tears

to that business.

- I guess as
The Million Dollar Man, I-

I hate to admit that there are
some moments in time and

some things in life that just
really can't put a price tag on.

And for Ted DiBiase,
tonight is that priceless night.

I feel so fortunate to have
been chosen to be this guy.

- I think that Ted will
forever be known as

The Million Dollar Man.

It was a great gimmick,
and I think Ted wore it well.

- I think one of the greatest
characters of all time.

- 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.

Oops.

- People know who The Million
Dollar Man is, you know, and

it-it goes from the laugh-

[laughs]

-to the theatrics,

to just being the guy,
Ted DiBiase.

- People ask me, even now,
they go,

"Well, are there times
when you miss it?"

I love the business,
I thank the fans all the time.

I'm satisfied.

You know, I-
I'm satisfied with where I am.

And I certainly have
to thank my wife.

You put up with a lot of garbage
you didn't have to put up with.

You-you forgave me for a lot,
and you gave me a second chance,

and I'll never
forget you for it.

You're my rock.

What you doing?

Oh, okay, you gonna go to
Honey first, aren't you?

- He is the best
grandfather ever.

We literally do not miss an
opportunity to be with them.

- I don't want to be remembered
as being a great wrestler,

but a man who truly loved
and served his family.

And you know what?

- What?

- You cannot escape
the tickle monster.

[laughs]

This is one of those moments
in my life

when I wish my dad were here.

And I think that he would pat me
on the back, and he would say,

"Job well done.
I'm proud of you, son."

There's nothing more
that I ever wanted.

Before I go, just in case
there's any doubt

left in your mind.

That what I have said
for so many years is true

because you see,

everybody's got a price
for The Million Dollar Man.

Including you.

[laughs]

- I'll be the richest wrestler
that ever lived, Ted DiBiase,

The Million Dollar Man.

I don't know why-

why Vince didn't call him the
Billion Dollar Man.

♪