| Ted DiBiase | |
|---|---|
| |
| Birth name | Theodore Marvin DiBiase Jr. |
| Ring name(s) | Ted DiBiase Ted DiBiase Jr. |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Billed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Born | November 8, 1982 (age 40) Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Resides | Madison, Mississippi |
| Billed from | Madison, Mississippi |
| Trained by | Chris Youngblood Harley Race |
| Debut | 2006 |
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Jr. (born November 8, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and actor signed with WWE where he appears on its Raw brand. DiBiase has held eight championships overall in his WWE career.
DiBiase is a four-time World Heavyweight Champion. DiBiase is a former three-time WWE Tag Team Champion having held it twice with Cody Rhodes and once with The Miz. DiBiase is also a former WWE Intercontinental Champion.
Early life[]
DiBiase was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and was raised in Clinton, Mississippi. He knew fellow professional wrestler Christie Ricci as a child, as they attended a Sunday school class together. He graduated from Clinton High School in 2001. At Clinton, DiBiase was the football team's starting quarterback. He enrolled at Mississippi College in Clinton and was a starting wide receiver for Mississippi College's football team before leaving the squad following his freshman season. He also played soccer in college, and received awards in both sports. He graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Business Administration. During his time in college, DiBiase considered becoming a minister.
Professional wrestling career[]
Training and early career (2006–2007)[]
DiBiase and his older brother Mike DiBiase, received professional wrestling training from Chris Youngblood in Amarillo, Texas, before going to train at Harley Race's Wrestling Academy. The DiBiase brothers made their professional wrestling debut on April 14, 2006 for World League Wrestling (WLW), the promotion run by Harley Race in Eldon, Missouri in conjunction with the Wrestling Academy. On February 17, 2007, they won the Fusion Pro Tag Team Championship by defeating Raheem Rashaad and Juntsi. In early 2007, DiBiase also wrestled on tours in Japan for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he competed against wrestlers including the former GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion, KENTA.
World Wrestling Federation (WWE)[]
Florida Championship Wrestling (2007–2008)[]
In July 2007, DiBiase signed a development deal with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and debuted in their training territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). He made his FCW debut on August 4 in a tag team match, in which he and Jake Hager defeated Keith Walker and Heath Miller. In October, DiBiase became a member of the Next Generation Hart Foundation faction alongside Harry Smith, TJ Wilson, Nattie Neidhart, and Teddy Hart. He quickly separated from the group, however, and gained Maryse as a valet. On December 18, 2007, DiBiase defeated TJ Wilson to win the FCW Southern Heavyweight Championship in New Port Richey, Florida. DiBiase, however, was unable to defend it due to an injury sustained, so he awarded the championship to his partner Heath Miller on January 19, 2008. As of March 2008, DiBiase had suffered from a multitude of injuries including sciatica, a fractured left knee, separated ribs, broken finger, and bone spurs in his elbow. Due to these injuries, DiBiase competed sporadically in FCW for the next few months, competing in both tag team and singles competition.
Smackdown - Legacy Inc. and Championship Reigns (2008-2009)[]
He made his WWE television debut in May 2008 signing with the Smackdown brand where he would go on to form a tag team with Cody Rhodes. The duo would go on to win the WWE Tag Team Championships on two separate occasions. After Rhodes moved to RAW, DiBiase moved into singles competition and would go on to win the World Heavyweight Championship in March 2009. Not long afterwards DiBiase would reform Legacy under the name Legacy Inc along with Michael Noventa. DiBiase would go on to win the World Heavyweight Championship two more times in 2009. After this DiBiase mostly stayed around the mid-card level occasionally teaming with Noventa and challenging for the WWE Tag Team Championships however the two would come up short.
Raw - Fourth World Heavyweight Championship Reign (20011-2012)[]
In 2011, DiBiase would move to RAW and acquired the managerial services of Maryse and won the WWE Intercontinental Championship. After moving back to Smackdown in January 2012, DiBiase won his record-tying fourth World Heavyweight Championship in a Elimination Chamber match. This tied DiBiase with Edge for most reigns as World Heavyweight Champion, a record which has since also been tied by Chris Jericho. In 2012 DiBiase also challenged for the WWE United States Championship but came up short.
Later in 2012, Dibiase asked to be released from his contract, citing personal family reasons.
Return to Raw - Feud with Matt Hardy (2015-Present)[]
In October of 2014, Ted re-signed with the WWE. He worked the NXT developmental territory for a few months before being brought up to the Raw brand in January 2015. Ted's return brought on the interest of Matt Hardy, as Hardy attempted to recruit Dibiase into the 2% stable, with himself and Mariusz Pudzianowski. His debut match on February 2, 2015, Dibiase lost a close match to former champ, Travis Kooper, after distraction provided by Hardy. On the February 16th edition of Raw, Hardy told Dibiase that if he helped Hardy win the Royal Rumble, then he would give Dibiase the opportunity to main event Wrestlemania.
At the Royal Rumble, Dibiase turned down that proposition, eliminating Matt Hardy. Hardy would get his revenge that night by hitting him in the head with his Tag Team Championship title belt while Dibiase was in a precarious position over the ropes, eliminating him from the Rumble. It was announced on the WWE App that Dibiase and Hardy would face off at WrestleMania 31 with 2% ownership of the WWE on the line. On the March 9th edition of Monday Night Raw, Matt Hardy would hire a returning Brock Lesnar to attack Dibiase, leaving him a bloody mess in the ring.
Personal life[]
DiBiase is a third generation professional wrestler. His grandfather "Iron" Mike DiBiase, his grandmother Helen Hild and his father "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase are professional wrestlers. His older half brother Mike and his younger full brother Brett are also professional wrestlers. On July 12, 2012, Dibiase got engaged to his high school sweetheart, Kylie Tanner. The couple made arrangements to be married in the Summer of 2013. In October 2012, Kylie was diagnosed with brain cancer, which caused Dibiase to ask to be released from his contract with WWE. In mid 2014, Kylie passed away after an 18 month battle with cancer.
On February 15, 2008, DiBiase's Cadillac sport utility vehicle crashed into another vehicle in Florida. No one was seriously injured in the crash, but DiBiase was arrested for DUI. He was released later that day on a US $500 bond.
In May 2012, DiBiase started his own non-profit organization, the Ted DiBiase Foundation. As part of the foundation, individuals with life threatening illnesses or disabilities are offered the chance to meet DiBiase at WWE live events, and further programs for youth leadership and community causes are being developed.
DiBiase is a supporter of English football club Liverpool FC, stating he got into the sport and began supporting the club whilst living in an apartment with friend and fellow wrestler Sheamus. He is also an avid fan of the Mississippi State Bulldogs football team.
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- Dream Crusher / Million Dollar Buster (Cobra clutch legsweep) – 2006–2009
- Dream Street (Cobra clutch slam) – 2009–present
- Million Dollar Dream (Cobra clutch) – adopted from his father
- Signature moves
- Diving double foot stomp
- Dropkick
- Fist drop – adopted from his father
- Half nelson backbreaker
- High knee
- Inverted atomic drop
- Multiple elbow drops
- Rebound clothesline
- Sitout spinebuster
- Snap scoop powerslam
- Suicide dive
- Wrestlers managed
- Nicknames
- "The Fortunate Son"
- "The Million Dollar Son"
- Entrance themes
- "Priceless" by Jim Johnston (June 30, 2008–January 19, 2009)
- "Priceless (remix)" by Jim Johnston (January 26, 2009–June 8, 2009)
- "It's a New Day" by Adelitas Way (June 15, 2009–September 13, 2010)
- "I Come from Money" by S-Preme (September 20, 2010–2012)
- "Blew Up the House" by Jonny Lang (January 2014 - present)
Championships and accomplishments[]
- World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
- World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
- WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
- WWE Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Cody Rhodes (2) and The Miz (1)