WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase recently appeared on an episode of his “Everybody’s Got a Pod” podcast, where he discussed a number of topics including his era of pro wrestling.
DiBiase said, “In terms of wrestling and coming from the era that I came from, which many fans have said was — and again, this is not me talking, this is the things I hear from the fans. They say, ‘You guys who wrestled from the mid-’80s to the mid-’90s were the last great era of wrestling.’ And I have to somewhat agree. Because it’s kind of like, wrestling has always been — when you walk into a movie, it’s a movie. When you walk into a wrestling match, you know it’s a show you’re seeing. But if the people in that ring are really good at what they’re doing, they can draw you into their story. For example, I’ve been smart in the wrestling business since I was in the sixth grade. And I used to watch like, when I graduated from high school and went back and I was playing football at West Texas State, I would always go to the wrestling matches on Thursday night whenever I could. And watch Terry Funk, Dory Funk Jr., and others who were really good at what they did. And I would get drawn into the story. I’m watching this and I know it’s a show. And it’s the same as watching a movie. You know it’s a movie, but if the actors are really good, you get drawn into the story they’re telling.”
“Well what’s missing, in my opinion, in wrestling today is the story. I see guys get in the ring and they take all these bumps, flip-flop and fly. And the match is over in like five minutes, seven minutes, maybe 10 minutes. And it’s just two guys out there beating each other up. Instead, get up there and grab a headlock. If you ever watched real wrestling, it’s all on the mat. And there are no ropes. And anyway, I used to [be] like old school, man. And I’d grab an arm, and I’d work that arm. And we might do something to a spot or something, and I get back on that arm. And then maybe the tide would turn, and I would start getting beat on. And then every chance I got, I went back to that arm. You understand what I’m saying? Because the people remember that I had weakened that guy’s arm. So instead of going back and hitting him in the head, I went back to work the arm. I guess that’s the best explanation I think I can give.”
On today’s wrestling not being believable anymore:
“Things like — and I’ve seen guys do this. I’ve seen somebody have a guy in the corner and grab by the hair of his head, and run him all the way across the ring into the turnbuckle on the opposite side. Now do you think for a minute if you were in a real fight on the street and grabbed a guy by the hair, that you could run him across the street by his hair into a light post? Hell no! You might pull his hair out, but he ain’t going.”
“Okay, now, same thing. You’re in the corner. And maybe a guy’s — because I used to stagger over to the corner, and I’m right there. And you grabbed him by the hair — but the turnbuckles are right there, and you go bam! That’s believable. That’s what that’s what I’m trying to say, is that the believability factor in wrestling in my opinion, for the most part, I mean, there’s a few exceptions. That’s my beef with wrestling today.”
You can check out the complete podcast below.
(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
