Ted DiBiase On His First Impression Of Junkyard Dog, Recalls JYD’s Blinding Storyline With Freebirds

On the latest episode of the Everybody’s Got a Pod, WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase talked about the life and career of The Junkyard Dog, a notable feud he had in Mid-South Wrestling and more. You can check out some highlights below:

On his first impression of Junkyard Dog: “Unbelievable, what a nice guy. Super nice guy. Very funny, always cracking jokes. And just an all-around great guy. I’ve heard things that, compliments that Bill has given me that — it wasn’t directly to me, but through other people, my ability and what have you. If you got a new great talent, somebody you’re gonna push, then you gotta put him with somebody that can get him there. And I guess that somebody was me, you know? But at first, we were both babyfaces. And he was doing, he was doing great and coming along good.

“I guess the best way to describe Dog was he didn’t have like — he wasn’t a great technician type of guy. But he had so much charisma, oh my gosh. And he was so good on the microphone that it made up for what he didn’t have. And I actually, I remember calling Terry Funk when Bill told me that he was gonna turn me heel. And I said, ‘You know, this is the first time it being heel.’ And he said — the way Terry said it, he says, ‘When you’re the heel, you’re calling the match, okay?’ And then with a guy like JYD who has all those great characteristics, but he’s not really a great ring technician, you gotta know what he can do and what he can do very well. And stay away from the things that he can’t do very well. He says, ‘It’s like you gotta put him in the middle of the ring and work around him.’ I would have to create all the excitement. And that’s eventually what we tried to do. But like I said, I mean, we were such good friends that when Melanie and I decided to go ahead and get married, we got married on New Year’s Eve, January the 31st, 1981. And JYD was right there and stood up as my best man.”

On JYD’s strength: “Oh God, he was strong, brother. He was extremely strong. And again, he had the body. He had the look. He had just so much charisma. And that’s what Bill did. So like I said, he’s a brilliant guy. You gotta tell him like that. You gotta be careful who you put him in the ring with because you gotta put him in the ring with somebody that you know is going to do what you want him to do. And a smart heel knows how to get his opponent over, and at the same time keep his feet. I knew how to do that.”

On JYD’s blinding storyline with Free Birds and the business it did: “Oh gosh I mean, it was crazy. It was through the roof. I don’t have any statistics to tell you but I mean, I knew we were doing unbelievable business. And the Freebirds, I mean, Michael Hayes and the Freebirds, they had to be real careful where they went and where. I can’t remember, I think it was Terry Gordy told me about a story where they stopped somewhere to get gas. They wouldn’t serve him. ‘Get outta here.'”

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.