Ted DiBiase Recalls His First Meeting with Vince McMahon & Million Dollar Man Pitch, Asking Terry Funk For Advice On Joining WWE

In an interview with Bill Apter for SportsKeeda, Ted DiBiase discussed his first meeting with Vince McMahon, getting Terry Funk’s advice on whether to join WWE or not, and Vince’s original pitch for the Million Dollar Man character. Highlights from his comments are below.

On his first meeting with Vince McMahon: “I got that call from Vince and I went up there. It’s funny, that first trip up there, he just told me, he says, look Ted, your mic skills are great, you’re great in the ring, you’re the total package, and I have an idea, and he says, it’s my idea, it’s fresh, it’s new, he says, there’s a lot of things in wrestling that have been done over and over and over, but this is fresh and new, but here’s the deal, I can’t tell you what it is unless you agree to come on board because I don’t want to give away a great idea and then you go somewhere else and do it. So I played kind of, I don’t know why I was hesitant, I said, I need to think about that, talk it over with my wife, he says OK great.”

Ted DiBiase on what Terry Funk told him to do: “I called Terry, I told him about my conversation with Vince, and he said, Teddy, if Vince McMahon has an idea, and says it’s tailor-made for you, pack your bag and don’t look back, go. So I called Vince and said, I’m your guy.”

On Vince McMahon’s pitch to him for what would become the Million Dollar Man character: “So I said, what is it. He said no, I’m not gonna tell you on the phone. I want to fly you and your wife both up here, so he flies us both to New York, limousine, Stanford, they entertained my wife, so Vince kind of laid it out there. The one thing that everybody hates is someone who bullies with their wealth. They just flaunt their wealth. And like most bullies, they talk real big but in reality, most of them are cowards. I said yeah, my dad always told me that. He said, that’s the essence of this character.”

On what he’d like to say to Vince following the news of his retirement: “Vince, thank you. Thank you for the biggest break of my life. I’ve never known a man more dedicated to what he does and passionate about what he does than watching you. You’re a man driven, and I’ve heard you say, I just absolutely love what I do, and what he loved to do, he took wrestling to a plateau that I don’t think anybody could have. So thank you, Vince, very, very much.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit SportsKeeda with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.