
WWE Hall of Famer โThe Million Dollar Manโ Ted DiBiase recently took to an episode of his โEverybodyโs Got a Podโ podcast, where he talked about a number of topics including how the incident at WCW Slamboree 1997 came about.
DiBiase said, โSeanโs a good friend of mine. But at that time, you know, he wasnโt a big name for any organization. And so itโs kind of like, if you want to make him a big name, well then you make him a big name. And the only way you can make him a big name is by letting him have a match where he gets featured and he wins, and he wins, and he wins, and is elevated to that position. And I donโt remember a whole lot about it. But I mean, me looking at it from where I am now, would have said, โYeah, itโs kind of like, I can see where the those guys would have had an argumentโโฆ and again, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, they were relative newcomers themselves. You know what Iโm saying?โ
On Ric Flair and Roddy Piper wrestling at an older age:
โWrestling being what wrestling is, itโs kind of like, if youโve still got it and can go for it, go for it. Thereโs the battle you see in the ring, and then thereโs the battle that you donโt see backstage. That was just โ I mean, I thought about that later. I thought, โMan, I wonder if I can.โ I probably could have gone a couple more years. I was in as good shape as any of those guys. But again, it was just a personal thing. And to be honest, I am very happy today that I did that. I mean, because I look at guys who kept going, maybe even to 45. But you know, you go back to, 50, 53, 54, 55 year-old guys still climbing in the ring and wrestling? Now, I mean, I have had both my knees replaced. But other than that, I mean, I just had a checkup with my heart doctor. He said, โTed, I doubt youโll ever die of a heart attack.โ I said, โWhy?โ He said, โYou have the arteries of a much younger man.โโ
On not minding older veterans taking up TV time:
โWell, for me, I grew up in the business. There are a couple of guys that have told me stories about having had the opportunity of wrestling my dad, obviously before he was gone. But that he had helped them considerably. In other words โ I mean, where did I learn to wrestle? I didnโt learn it in the gym; I learned to win the ring in front of a live crowd. Thatโs the old school. And so any guy that comes along thatโs got that savvy, that gets it? You know? Iโd say โHey, come on, I can learn from you.โโ
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)