Why Money Isn’t Everything To The ‘Million Dollar Man’, On His Gimmick Being A Vince McMahon Original

– WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase recently spoke with Ring Rust Radio and discussed a wide variety of wrestling topics, check out the highlights below:

On why money inst everything to the Million Dollar Man:

“What I really want people to really realize walking away from this is that what everybody seems to think in the world if I have this great job and I make a lot of money and a nice house and a big car and all the stuff that it’ll make you happy. Guys, I had that and not only did I have it, but Vince McMahon was promoting me. He was sending me everywhere first-class, Learjets, limousine, the whole star treatment, and I came to a place and realized that with all of that, if I didn’t have the love and respect of my wife and my children, I didn’t have anything.”

“I didn’t have anything that mattered. That’s odd for the guy that played the Million Dollar Man, who said money is everything, but it’s not. It’s so superficial you can’t believe it because I came from that place,” DiBiase continued. “That’s what this story is about, so I hope people come away with it realizing that happiness is not about money and being cool. It’s about character and integrity. It’s not about what you get as how much you give, and that’s what I am trying to do with my life now.”

On his “The Million Dollar Man” gimmick:

“The Million Dollar Man the character is actually a Vince McMahon original. It was presented to me and Vince kind of started laying it out. In a moment when he was called away and I was just sitting there with Pat Patterson who at the time was his right-hand man, Pat looked at me and said, ‘Ted, if Vince can be a character in his own show, this is it, this is who he would be.’ It had never been done before. Vince said, ‘I chose you because you’re articulate; you carry yourself well; you interview very well; you are a great wrestler; you’re perfect for this.’”

On why Bobby Heenan was the best:

“Bobby Heenan to me, he was the best. Of all the guys that have been managers that can pick up a microphone and talk, he was a natural and so good. His character like mine was so hated, it was like a little weasel. Everybody wanted to kill him and that was the whole point. Bobby Heenan was as quick-witted off the cameras as he was on the camera and just as funny. A great guy and I just thought the world of him as a person.”

Credit: BleacherReport for transcription