“Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase Discusses His Legendary Gimmick

WWE hall of famer, the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, was recently interviewed by Sports Illustrated as a part of their “Week in Wrestling” series. They discussed several aspects of his career, including how far WWE was willing to go with his “Million Dollar” gimmick, and his legendary laugh.

When DiBiase first made his break into the wrestling business, he initially wanted nothing to do with Vince McMahon.

“Initially, when I saw some of the things Vince was doing, I thought he was killing the business,” he said. “There was the comedy stuff, the wedding on TV. My dad was a wrestler, so I grew up old school. Looking at it from where I am now, he dressed wrestling up and made it family entertainment.”

However, the as the wrestling business boomed in the 1980s, DiBiase’s feelings quickly changed, and knew that he needed to be a part of the WWE brand in order to be relevant. This led to a fateful meeting with McMahon, in which the “Million Dollar” gimmick was pitched.

“Then Vince said, ‘In order to make the public believe you’re really rich, we’re going to fly you first class, you’ll have limousine service every day, and every time the public sees you, they’ll see the appearance of wealth. He even went so far to give me ‘lash cash.’ I’d pick my spots and go into a restaurant, announce myself, and tell everyone it was their lucky day because the ‘Million Dollar Man’ had arrived. Virgil would pick up everyone’s check, I’d slap down the hundred bills, and the WWE office would replenish me after I gave them the receipt.”

One of the things that is synonymous with DiBiase is his iconic laugh.

“The laugh is an extreme exaggeration of the way I laugh,” said DiBiase. “I have an extremely deep voice, and I was locked in a room with Gene Okerlund doing interviews for about an hour about each town we were about to visit. I just happened to end a particular interview with that laugh, and Vince happened to be walking by—he stuck his head and the door and said, ‘That’s it. That’s the ‘Million Dollar’ laugh, and I want to hear it every time you cut an interview.’ I had a 19-year active wrestling career, and I’m remembered for my laugh.”

Were you a fan of “The Million Dollar Man?” Leave us a comment below, or post a comment on our Facebook page!

Follow @Dericho06

Follow @WrestleRumors