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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! Ted Dibiase


tiger_rick

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Don't worry, just another fantasy rebooking thread.

What would you have done with Ted Dibiase in the two years between SummerSlam 1991, when the Virgil feud peaked and SummerSlam 1993 when he effectively retired? May not be speaking for everyone but I fucking hate Money Inc. Not just because IRS is the most boring wrestler in history but mostly. Teddy was long done as a top guy but his work in the Virgil feud was outstanding and he still had plenty left. Would you have had him work singles? Would he work in a tag team if it wasn't THAT tag team? Or could he form his stable while he was still working?

It's perhaps a lot hindsighty because the WWF didn't do proper stables back then but I think a Million Dollar Corporation stable with the aim of protecting Dibiase and attaining his goals, would have been far better than when he was the none-working mouthpiece a few years later. I know this is going down the "Power & Glory were wonderful" route that revisionists hate but they'd have been a great fit for a heel group with Dibiase if they'd not been forgotten about in mid-91 (Beverley Brothers as a shitty alternative) and Sid would have fit too. The tag division died a death in 1992 so anything that avoids Money Inc. is obviously a plus. Dibiase seconding Sid against Hogan and working Bret himself after WM8 would be a massive improvement. Plus we either get Power & Glory having a proper run or the Beverley Brothers never exist. Win-win-win.

What do you think? What would you do?

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I think if he has a stable it's almost inevitable that IRS ends up in it, stinking up the joint. Dibiase as a singles guy in the Intercontinental mix works for me though, with some muscle for back up, such as Sid like you mention, or later on use Dibiase to bring in Lex to go after the tag straps and maybe avoid the Narcissist gimmick. 

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Last minute bid by me for Dolt of the year but didn't Ted used to be a handy face in his younger years?

How about he starts using his vast wealth in an altruistic manner. Video packages of Ted throwing a party for disadvantaged kids.

Put him up against Perfect. Use him to get a decent match out of Warlord.

He could tag with Tito Santana to save him from the awful Matador gimmick.

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I always thought the WWF missed a trick by not having DiBiase feud with Roddy Piper after the Virgil feud especially as they had matches on house shows and the feud was cut short due to injuries sustained by Piper around the time of Wrestlemania.

On a personal level, I quite liked Money Inc. so I am unsure in a fantasy booking point of view if I would split them up. However, one programme could be a feud between DiBiase and Shawn Michaels, with the former working as a babyface after Sherri double crossed him to join up with HBK.

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I didn't mind Money Inc at all. I think its probably down to them being an established team when I first started watching, so DiBiase being with IRS is just as natural a fit as him being a singles guy. Its such a mindfuck when I see an old DiBiase match when he's accompanied by Sherri.

That said, there were plenty of things for DiBiase to do.

In hindsight, given DiBiase's previous status as a upper midcard/main event guy during better times, and one of the dwindling number of longstanding stars of the 80s still on the roster by then, maybe he would have been a more appropriate opponent for Bret Hart at the 1993 Rumble. After all, Razor Ramon had only been around for 4-5 months at that point.

One of the major criticisms of Bret's first run is that he didn't beat anyone on a top tier level other than Flair. Looking at that January 1993 roster, other than Randy Savage, I don't think that any other heels would fit the bill more perfectly.

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I love a bit of late 80's/early 90's Ted. I still want the role of him as WWF Champ eventually. I'd maybe go with some business dealings not going very well for him so he ends up (momentarily) learning the error of his previous ways by becoming a more humble character. In true dastardly heel fashion though, just as Dibiase looks like he's turned his values and morals around, those business dealings which ended up taking his wealth end up coming up trumps. Essentially a reset of his WWF introduction where he becomes even more pompous and villainous. Incorporate the ideas above where he surrounds himself with a group (sorry, but IRS makes sense. I do love the idea of Power and Glory there though). He eventually wins the WWF Championship and heads to a WrestleMania either against Hogan, or if they were determined to get Bret over as the next big babyface. Use Dibiase as his first Title win.

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Dibiase in the KOTR finals vs Bret would have been pretty sweet too, not that there was anything wrong with the Bam Bam match, far from it as it was Bret's night with 3 amazing different matches. However, that little match within a match they had at Survivor Series 90 (i think ) was superb whilst it lasted, so definitely more Bret vs Dibiase.

 

Like said above, Sid would have been a natural fit for a stable, as would Lex. Both could have benefitted from being around Ted, letting him do the mic work.

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I have contradictory feelings because as a heel formerly pushed as being a threat to the big belt, with Mr Perfect going on the bench, The Million Dollar Man would have been the perfect guy to transition between any two babyface I champions or be the smug bastard that the good guys chase in the B markets with babyface Hogan or later Savage as WWF Champion. However that scenario would deny us either Piper giving Bret the rub or later Brets run with Shawn which yielded three great Coliseum matches prior to SummerSlam so... I don’t know.

Another possibility would be a run with the recently turned Undertaker. If Ted’s running out of steam in singles you could have added his scalp to Jake The Snake in building Taker up as the kids’ new favourite, foam gravestones and all.

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I’d definitely have preferred Dibiase stay in singles and maybe have a bit of a stable. Him and Lex sounds like a good combo to me as well. I’d have loved to have seen a feud/series of matches between Dibiase and Mr Perfect in 93. I don’t recall those two meeting in singles before have they? I want to say I’d have had him in the IC title picture but then where does that leave Shawn Michaels? Dibiase vs Perfect for me though. Him and Pornstar Marty could’ve had some good matches as well. And I’d have had him dip in as a challenger for the big belt against Bret at some point as they worked well together and, as others have said, it’d give Bret a nice rub to beat one of the top heels from that late 80s Hogan heyday.

But that’s just *matches*. I’m really not sure what the move would be storyline-wise. They’d done a lot with the money bags gimmick already. I guess that’s where a stable would’ve maybe freshened him up a bit. As long as they kept the likes of Nikolai Volkoff in his half tuxedo/half trunks getup away. 

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Teddy Bear was doing a different gimmick after SummerSlam 93, when he left the WWF. I always thought Father Ted turned into a fat bastard when he retired. Then I saw him team with Stan Hansen in All Japan, and he must have been tucking in once he got off the road, because he looks like jumper wearing Ted from 1994, just without the jumper. I imagine he only went on the road after WWF to give him a pretend injury to fraud Lloyds out of payment for the next 25 years.

 

Edited by IANdrewDiceClay
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