Ted DiBiase Recalls Backstage Drama Between Veterans and Outsiders at WCW Slamboree 1997

On the latest episode of the Everybody’s Got a Pod, WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase talked about an incident at WCW Slamboree 1997 where Ric Flair and Roddy Piper didn’t feel Sean Waltman — aka Syxx — was a big enough star for a six-man tag team match with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall at Slamboree 1997. You can check out some highlights below:

Ted DiBiase on how the incident came about: “Sean’s a good friend of mine. But at that time, you know, he wasn’t a big name for any organization. And so it’s 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 don’t remember a whole lot about it. But I mean, me looking at it from where I am now, would have said, ‘Yeah, it’s kind of like, I can see where the those guys would have had an argument’… and again, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, they were relative newcomers themselves. You know what I’m saying?”

On Ric Flair and Roddy Piper wrestling into older age: “Wrestling being what wrestling is, it’s kind of like, if you’ve still got it and can go for it, go for it. There’s the battle you see in the ring, and then there’s the battle that you don’t see backstage. That was just — I mean, I thought about that later. I thought, ‘Man, I wonder if I can.’ 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, ‘Ted, I doubt you’ll ever die of a heart attack.’ I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘You have the arteries of a much younger man.’”

On not minding older veterans taking up TV time: “Well, 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 — I mean, where did I learn to wrestle? I didn’t learn it in the gym; I learned to win the ring in front of a live crowd. That’s the old school. And so any guy that comes along that’s got that savvy, that gets it? You know? I’d say ‘Hey, come on, I can learn from you.’”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Everybody’s Got a Pod with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.