Ted DiBiase Read online

  Throughout my ministering, I have been fortunate enough to see many other wrestlers give their lives to Jesus. Some have even got a calling to spread their message to others from the pulpit and the wrestling ring. Guys like Nikita Koloff, Greg Valentine, Sting, “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, and Tully Blanchard are serving the Lord.

  Nikita Koloff is a great friend and was one of the better wrestlers in the business. He was a one-time NWA Heavyweight Champion and was voted in 1987 “the most inspirational wrestler of the year” by the flagship wrestling magazine at the time, Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Nikita now serves the Lord. He is an ordained minister and is profoundly involved in missionary work. He travels all over the world, including the continents of Africa and South America. Like me, he preaches at churches and schools. We also do Christian wrestling shows and events together in an effort to bring people to Jesus.

  NIKITA KOLOFF:

  Having worked for different promotions, Teddy and I never crossed paths in the wrestling ring. We only met a few times through our wrestling travels. We really got to know each other after Teddy’s acceptance of Jesus Christ.

  It is fascinating how the Lord works. Just as Ted and I had parallel wrestling careers (we both had great runs and reached a plateau within our respective companies), we have parallel careers in the ministry. Just as we did similar things in wrestling, we now do similar things in the ministry. For example, we both go to schools to do school assemblies and to prisons to speak; and we do wrestling crusades. From time to time, we will also tag team with each other and do some events, especially the wrestling crusades. Through these events, we have literally seen thousands of people.

  In terms of our friendship, a few years back Ted and I became really close at an Athletes International Conference in Phoenix. This is a yearly Christian conference for college and professional athletes in all sports to attend and get ministered to. It has been going on for twenty-six years and during the four-day conference, athletes spend quality time with each other fellowshipping, learning about the Lord, and living the Christian lifestyle. At this conference, many professional wrestlers have been saved, such as Road Warrior Hawk, Big Boss Man, “Mr. Wrestling” Tim Woods, Luna Vachon, Gangrel, Terry Taylor, and Marty Jannetty. Between Teddy and me, we have been able to impact a lot of wrestlers’ lives. One year, we had forty wrestlers and their wives in Phoenix at this conference. Besides Teddy and me, some other wrestlers who are members of this conference include Shawn Michaels, Sting, George “The Animal” Steele, Superstar Billy Graham, “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, and Greg “The Hammer” Valentine. Larry Kerychuk has done a great job organizing this conference and thus helps to bring many athletes to the Lord.

  In August of 2007, Ted and I went to Israel. We were both baptized in the Jordan River. We walked where Jesus walked and it was a very powerful visit.

  SHAWN MICHAELS:

  The Lord has taken Teddy from a wrestler to someone who is preaching the gospel and spreading God’s word. His career in wrestling was a building block, so when Ted DiBiase came to the pulpit, people knew who he was, and he could draw from that notoriety to preach the gospel.

  When I got saved, Teddy was one of the first guys I called. In our industry, nobody used to talk about Christianity and salvation. I needed to talk to someone who was a wrestler and in the business, but who was also a Christian. Someone who knew where I had trod and who could help me make sense of forgiveness and salvation. I reached out to Teddy to help me find my way and I continue to speak with him. He encourages me and others.

  He may not be aware of this, but aside from preaching the gospel and preaching from the pulpit, he also reaches out to the wrestling business by the way he encourages the rest of us.

  Ted DiBiase is a man who mastered the wrestling business. He was one of the best workers that I have ever had the privilege of watching in the ring. I went from admiring him as a wrestler to having the honor of admiring him as a strong Christian man, preacher, and Christian brother. He is not ashamed of the gospel. Just like he did in the wrestling business, he continues to persevere and drive through it all. So many of the great aspects that he had in the ring, he now has as a man of God, and I admire him greatly for that.

  Every day, it is my aspiration and goal to live for the Lord. To serve Him as well as my wife, children, family, and community. After all the years of taking, it is time to give back. I don’t care about being famous anymore. I pray daily and try to stay humble and never become the egotistical self-serving fool that I once was. I want to reach people through my ministry and give what God has given me—to influence people so that they may live a wonderful life and attain salvation and eternal life.

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  CONCLUSION

  With the guidance of the Lord, I am growing every day as a minister, husband, father, and human being. I continue to spread the word of God and bring people to Jesus from both the pulpit and the wrestling ring.

  Melanie and I are closer now and more intimate than we have ever been. She is my best friend and we share everything together. In her downtime, Melanie works as an interior designer and is very successful in her profession. She continues to be empowered by our family, community, and church.

  MELANIE:

  Over the years, Ted and I have traveled down some smooth roads and some rocky roads, but I would do it all over again. I wouldn’t trade anything for it. Any relationship is hard, even a good one. No matter how bad things seem at the time, it is so much better to endure the trouble that it takes to work through them, and come out on the other side and still have each other. This outweighs any benefits that you think you might get from tossing in the towel too soon.

  His celebrity status and profession afforded us the opportunity to travel the world and meet many interesting people. Through it all, he has always been up to task and always gives a hundred percent. He puts his family first and has done everything for us. He has always been a wonderful husband and I love him dearly. I can genuinely say that everything is in place the way it should be.

  He is a great father and loves his three boys. Ted may be big physically, but he simply has a huge heart—he is just a big old softy. Our children respect and love Ted and they have the utmost admiration for their father. I am also so very proud and thankful that my boys have a relationship with their father; a close, loving relationship. Now that the boys have gotten older, Ted is their confidant.

  Ted is a loving husband and an excellent father. He is a servant of the Lord and overall a wonderful human being. Ted cares for others and treats them with dignity and respect. He is simply a great guy and by marrying Ted I hit the jackpot.

  I am very proud of my three sons. They have seen me evolve as a father and as a person. We have an excellent relationship. It is funny, however, that the one thing my dad didn’t want me to become when I grew up was a professional wrestler. It wasn’t because of the actual wrestling, but rather the hardships that came with the business. As the father of three boys, I understand now what my dad was talking about.

  While they were growing up, I told my boys that even though there were no guarantees in life, there had to be other professions for them to pursue besides wrestling. “Guys, the hardships of the business and the long hours away from your family isn’t worth it. Go to college and get an education so you can attain a stable career. Find a position that will afford you the opportunity to spend quality time with your wife and children.” As I write this, however, there is a good chance that there will be three more DiBiases in the wrestling industry.

  My oldest son, Michael, is going on thirty. Although he is having a hard time finding out who he is, he is currently focused and is training with Harley Race to become a professional wrestler. Until he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), he was progressing nicely. I am confident that once he rehabs his knee, he will be back in the ring.

  MICHAEL:

  How many kids get to grow up watching their hero on TV, and call that hero Dad? Growing up, I always knew the e
xact time I could turn on the TV and watch my hero. Although what every other kid in the neighborhood thought was the perfect life was not always so perfect.

  My brothers and I did not get to see Dad much. He would be gone ten to fifteen days at a time and home for three. His tours to Japan would last usually a month at a time. When he was home, Dad was exhausted from the long road trips. He would come home, change into his red or blue All-Japan sweats, and crash into his recliner. The bottom line was when Dad got home, he was worn out. He only had a few days to recover, spend time with his wife and kids, and get ready to go again. It was a routine we were all used to. It was all we knew.

  There are many fond memories that I will always hold close that only a wrestler’s kid would understand. I loved going to the shows with Dad. My brothers and I would often take turns going on the road for a few days. At an early age we learned the routine: wake up, catch a plane or get a rental to the next town, check into the hotel, get a bite to eat, get a workout in (if you could find a gym), take a short nap, and be at the arena at least an hour or two before the show started. And if it was TV, you were there all day.

  Funny as it may seem, to this day, I remember certain smells: airports, hotel lobbies, Dad’s gym bag (where he kept his gear and at times championship belts), and Dad’s scent after the matches (a mix of Drakkar cologne and sweat—it seemed that he would never stop sweating). My favorite smell was of the arena. When you first arrived it was cold and quiet. There were a few people bustling around in preparation for the show. I remember roaming around, checking out the venue, watching the guys set up the ring, and listening to the boys talk about their matches. As the night went on and the fans filled the arena, the air would get a little smoky. There was the smell of fresh popcorn popping. The lights would dim with the beginning of the first match. The crowd would go up and down, depending on how well the boys were working that night. Naturally, my favorite part of the night was watching Dad. The one thing I will always remember was no matter the size of the venue or how many people attended, Dad was always the same.

  Teddy is twenty-five and a college graduate, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Although he’s had job offers, he is now training to be a professional wrestler. He trained for a year with Harley Race and did two Japan tours. Teddy is now in the WWE developmental program in Tampa. I hear he’s “a chip off the old block.”

  Teddy recently hit the nail on the head when he saw that I was discouraged about him entering the world of professional wrestling. He pulled me to the side and made me proud. “Dad, I did everything you asked me to do. I went to college and got a degree. But the one thing you have to understand is that you have always been my hero. I’ve always wanted to be like you.”

  TEDDY:

  I don’t really know where to start. I really could write an entire book on the influence that my father has had on me. I guess I’ll start with something that my father has been telling me for a while now, at least since I’ve begun approaching manhood and especially now as I am pursuing a dream and a profession in the wrestling business. Dad always said to me, “Son, success is not measured by wealth, possessions, or even fame. It is measured by what kind of man you become. You are either a man of character and integrity, or you’re not.” My father has been very adamant about teaching me that, in his words, “Wealth and fame can be taken from you in an instant, but who you are as a man and what you stand for is something that no one can take.” This is my father and the man that he has become. This is the man that I look up to and admire, and I hope to emulate one day.

  My dad has always supported us boys with anything that we set out to do—most of which was football and soccer, and yes, now finally, even wrestling. Just for the record, this was not always the case. He would always say, “Well, if you want to wrestle, then you have to beat me first.”

  Dad has finally come around and realized that I just want to be a part of the family history: the DiBiase wrestling history. He wanted to be like his dad, and I want to be like mine. He also had to eat his own words: “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something!” I really liked bringing that one up when we would argue about me wanting to wrestle. He did make me finish college first, for which I am grateful. This is one thing that he didn’t do, but he assured me that he would have if his father had still been alive.

  Dad made sure that when we committed to do something, we followed through with it all the way. I played soccer and football. The soccer team that I played on was a select team. We traveled all over and played just about year-round. There were many times when I was younger that I would get burnt-out and just want to quit, so I could have my weekends free to hunt or hang out with my friends. It was these times that Dad used to teach me about hard work, sacrifice, and commitment. I can hear him now: “Boy! You aren’t quitting! You made a commitment to your coach and teammates. You’re going to finish what you started and that’s final!” He always told me stories about how hard his dad pushed him because he told his dad that he wanted to be the best. Well, I wanted to be the best too, and even though he couldn’t be at practices or games most of the time because he was on the road, I knew he would be calling, asking for a report on how I did. I’ve always wanted to make him proud. He never expected me to be the best, he just expected my best. “Make the sacrifices necessary, work hard, and do your best.” I’ve heard those words from him a million times.

  My dad has spent his life serving others. If he wasn’t entertaining thousands of people in the ring, he was at home washing clothes, doing the dishes, or just doing what he could while he was home to help out my mom. He loves my mom very much, and he should, because she has been there through the good and the bad! He’s a lucky man to have such a wonderful wife and I am the luckiest son of all to have her as a mother and him as my father.

  My father was a great wrestler and entertainer. I know that, and I am proud of his accomplishments. I can only hope to be as good as he was one day, but I am even more proud that being a good wrestler and entertainer are not his greatest qualities. Unlike for many who have pursued it, the business did not define my father. He’s a man with a servant’s heart. He has compassion for people in need. He puts God and his family first, before anything else, every day when he wakes up. He’s a good husband, and he’s the greatest father a son could ask for. I love you, Dad. Thank you for everything.

  My youngest son, Brett, is the ham of the family. He is twenty and is a sophomore in college on a soccer scholarship. He isn’t sure what he wants to do yet, but I have a feeling that he will be following in his brothers’ footsteps. I told Brett and all my boys, as well as kids everywhere I go, “Dream your dream.” If you are willing to pay the price, like the Million Dollar Man would say, then you can be anything you want. Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t. Be brave enough to live your own dream, not somebody else’s dream.

  BRETT:

  As a kid, I never really figured out that my dad was the Million Dollar Man. To me, he was just my dad. I can’t exactly recall when I realized that he was a pretty big deal around the world and to a lot of people. But I do remember thinking that Dad was a big-time wrestler and it was really cool!

  Like my two older brothers, as I got older, I was very much into wrestling. I would always go crazy watching Dad on TV, and would yell and beat up my World Wrestling Federation Million Dollar Man daddy doll. While I watched my dad on TV, it bothered me how mean he looked and how he was always cheating. My mom would always try to figure out how to explain to me that my dad was really not a mean guy or a guy that cheated in real life.

  One of my wrestling memories with Dad was when I went on the road with him. One time, I met Skinner (Steve Keirn) when he was out of character. He was a great guy and was very nice to me. Later that night, I saw him wrestle in his character with a knife and spitting tobacco out of his mouth. I was terrified. After seeing that, I wouldn’t get anywhere close to him.

  Although I thought it was cool that my dad was
a wrestler, having him just as my dad was even better. Dad raised me in a way that will help me succeed in life. I will never forget when Dad sat me down and said, “Son, there are three things in life that if you abide by them, I won’t have to beat you!” He said, “Don’t cheat, lie, or steal.” Those things were the same three things his dad, “Iron” Mike DiBiase, had told him.

  Let me share a story of how Dad was just being Dad—not the Million Dollar Man, walking around stuffing hundreds in people’s mouths. One day, I was in the kitchen and my mother and I were arguing. Now, my brothers and I were never supposed to be disrespectful toward Mom, because that was one thing that would make Dad knock you out. During this argument, Dad walked in and saw what was going on. Well, I raised my voice and Dad popped me right in the mouth. Dad always had a good jab, but when he nailed me this time, out of instinct, I pushed him in his chest. Before I even realized what I had just done, Dad immediately picked me up by my shoulders, with my feet six inches off the floor, and lectured me for about five minutes without ever setting me down. He then tossed me on the couch, opened the door to the backyard, and said, “Come on. Since you think you can hang with me, let’s finish this in the backyard like men!” Let’s just say I tucked in my head like a dog that had been beaten for peeing on the floor. Dad raised me and my brothers to respect not only our parents, but people in general.

  Dad will always be the greatest influence in my life. I want to make him proud with whatever I end up doing with my life. I know if I will use the skills and values he has instilled in me, then I will be able to reach all my goals and fulfill all my dreams. Thanks for everything, Dad. I love you.