– Brian Fritz recently interviewed WWE star Ted DiBiase Jr. for his blog on The Orlando Sentinel website, here are the highlights:
On When He Knew He Wanted To Get Into Wrestling: Yeah. Definitely, as a child at a very young age, I wanted to be like my dad and carry on the legacy but that didn’t become a reality until a got older. In my late teens, I realized that I wanted to really give this a shot. I tell a lot of people that my dad didn’t really want me to for a while because of the way it was before now. There was more travel and it was just a lot different. When he got signed back as an agent, he’d seen the changes. That’s when I was about done with college and I was like ‘I’m going into wrestling dad’. He said to finish college first and then you can try it. I’m not going to help you. I’m going to point you in the right direction but this is on you. You have to do it on your own so that’s what I did.
On Carrying On The Family Name: I don’t feel pressure from my father. I think I put more pressure on myself. With my dad being “The Million Dollar Man” who was such a profound character in building wrestling into what it is today – this global phenomenon – he and others paved the way. So, yeah, those are big shoes to fill. I don’t think it puts too much pressure on me. I don’t put too much pressure on myself. I’m trying to be successful. Yeah, I want to surpass and do things my father didn’t do. I’ve already made a movie! He never made a movie. But it’s not like that. I’m not trying to be better than my father. I’m just enjoying what I do. I have the same passion that my father had for wrestling. It’s just a roller coaster ride.
On His Father’s Advice: My father has changed a lot – he’s in the ministry now. He told me to always listen, take criticism well, listen to what the older guys have to say and apply it and live your live with character and integrity. And never settle – always try to get better. Always try to improve and don’t get complacent. That’s kind of the guidelines I live by.
On Wrestling Randy Orton: That was one of my favorite matches so far. I had a match with Cena as well on Superstars that went really well. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on that match. I went and watched it back and it was good. A lot of that is because Randy Orton is just amazing. He’s a top guy because of how well he works and he just knows wrestling and he knows this business. It was such a pleasure but it was hard being in there at the same time because we’re boys but I definitely have a lot to look forward to.
