Ted Jr. Talks Bryan's Success, If He Was Pushed Too Quickly, More

[ironworks]

Former WWE Superstar Ted DiBiase Jr. recently spoke to Raj Giri of WrestlingINC.com to discuss his wrestling career and "The Price of Fame" documentary. The film takes a look at Ted DiBiase Jr.'s journey to learn his father's road to redemption, while spotlighting Ted DiBiase Sr.'s life and wrestling career. The goal is to raise $30,000 by this Friday, April 25th, you can support the film and donate at Kickstarter by clicking here.

Here are some highlights from the interview:

Wrestling INC: You started training in 2006, signed a WWE developmental deal in 2007 and less than a year after that, you made your debut on the main roster. Did you think you were ready? It happened really fast.

DiBiase: "I honestly never expected in a million years for it to happen that fast. You know, I'm pretty gutsy. Was I completely ready? I don't know, I mean I've seen, I think a lot of the guys get put on the road before they're completely ready. The problem is, there is not a lot of guys to learn from. The way you learn this business is, you work with people who are better than you, you work with the veterans. I wasn't working with any veterans and the only way I was gonna work with veterans is if I go on the road. So, that's when the real learning process began because you kinda plateau when you're in the developmental, you feel like it's so far under you actually get in ring with, you know, top guys. I was fortunate to work with Taker, and Hunter, and Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton. So that was when I really began to get a grasp of the art of what we do. But, I was ready to go, man. I wasn't gonna tell them not I'm not ready, don't bring me up."

Wrestling INC: It seems like when I talk to a lot of, when talk to multi-generational wrestlers, they'll talk about how it's easier to break into the business, but it's much harder to get pushed or develop your own character, or get to the top because the expectations are so much higher. A lot of people instantly see your father, your grandfather. Is that kind of what you experienced?

DiBiase: "100%. I was actually offered a developmental contract before I even stepped in a ring and I didn't wanna do that because part of that, that stigma. I wanted to really earn the respect of the guys, and hopefully fans that [thought], "Hey, he did it the hard way." But, yeah, that is a little easier for us to get our foot in the door, but it's like microscope is on you and they're watching you. Everybody's comparing you to your father, and mine just happened to be really good. They were watching me saying, "Is he gonna be as good as his dad?" I'll be the first to tell you - I'm definitely not as good as my dad, but my dad had 23 years of experience and worked with some of the best. So, it's just hard, and it's harder today to really learn the craft."

Wrestling INC: You were put into Legacy, and you were talking about some of the guys you got to work with. Undertaker and Triple H and Shawn Michaels. What were some of your favorite matches during that time?

DiBiase: "I really enjoyed - I'm trying to think of the year - maybe '09? We did SummerSlam, when Shawn came back and we really started our feud with DX. The SummerSlam match, that was cool and they come out on the tanks. I just remember that moment. We're standing in the ring and I was telling Cody, I was like, "Dude, this is real? Are we dreaming right now?" You know, the lights went dark and the glow sticks just come out and I'm about to go toe to toe with, you know the other childhood hero other than my dad, Shawn Michaels. It was just a very surreal moment. So that was an awesome match. I really enjoyed it.

"Then, I had a good match with Bryan Danielson - or Daniel Bryan, whatever you wanna call him - in Survivor Series a couple of years later. I remember that match was just a lot of fun. We had the crowd. Then obviously wrestling in WrestleMania. Even though the time got cut and I wasn't crazy about the match, but it was WrestleMania. You know, 74,000 people there in Scottsdale, Arizona. I think it was 26? Wrestled Randy and Cody. It was just cool. I wrestled in WrestleMania, I've filmed a movie. I've really done a lot; I've done everything you'd wanna do. I mean, I wasn't a WWE Champion, but man, I did it. It's like a childhood dream can true. So I don't feel like I've missed out on anything."

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Wrestling INC: You mentioned wrestling Daniel Bryan at Survivor Series. What are your thoughts on how far he's come since then, and did you see that coming?

DiBiase: "Did I see it coming? Kind of. I guess I wanted it to happen for him so bad. I'm so happy for that guy. If there's anybody in this business alive today that deserves what they're getting, it's him. He's just an impeccable, amazing talent. Bryan was actually the one, he was in Japan the first time I went, and really held my hand and showed me the ropes and then WWE turned him away twice after I had debuted and I think they fired him before that. And, it was like, how is guy dude never gonna get a shot? Then he comes and he just kept grinding, you know? He's the ultimate underdog. He's just the nicest guy. He's just a great guy. For somebody, like the success he has right now he deserves it more than anyone. Because he's extremely good.

"One of the matches I had, I think it was in Paris maybe. It was not televised, but I remember Christian got hurt and Arn Anderson asked me and Bryan to put in a little more time. And we did, like, 42 minutes one night. I just remember he just called everything. I just went ahead a listened to him and we had the most fun. It was one of those nights where the crowd was just reacting to everything. But he just knows. He knows how to tell a good story and he's just so humble about it. You know, he's very humble, which I have a lot of respect for. So happy for him. I can't stand his beard, he is one ugly dude. But, man he's a good guy. Good friend."

Wrestling INC: I believe we first saw the trailer for The Price of Fame this past November, right?

DiBiase: "Yeah. My buddy Pete [Ferriero] put the trailer up on his Facebook page. It wasn't even me. I didn't even send it out right at first, it was just him and it generated quite a bit of buzz. I think we had like 60 or 70 thousand views in two days. And, that was just off of his Facebook. I had tweeted it out that we got a call from a film festival in Maine and Free Mantle media who does American Idol and America's Got Talent. They had seen it and they called and we had a couple conversations with them. They were asking about if we were interested in doing a reality show. I was like, "I don't know." None of those things are out of the question. Yeah, it generated buzz and we kept working on this thing. It does cost money. There is a lot of traveling and there is a lot of license fees and you got to build websites and do editing and sound. A lot goes into it. A lot more that you don't realize. That's why we started the kickstarter campaign."

Wrestling INC: When you started in November, about how complete was the movie? Or had it just started?

DiBiase: "We had really just started on it. And, I was amazed, I really got excited when I saw how well Pete did putting that trailer together. I flew up to Wilcox, Arizona. I've never been there with my dad, although I'd always heard stories. We filmed some stuff for a few days and then by the time I landed in Jackson, Mississippi the next day, he'd already put together that trailer. I was like, "Pete, this is really good!" And he said, "You think I should post it?" I said, "Yeah man, definitely. Let's see what kind of feedback we get." And it was all really positive. We've got a few more things we need to film as well. Some more interviews. We've got a couple other things that we need to put into this so it's going to take a little more time but we're close to the finish line on this."

Wrestling INC: Fans can go to kickstarter and support the project. With the money, what is it going to be used for? Is it going to be used to do more interviews and things like that, or just overall production?

DiBiase: "Yeah, the overall production, the editing is a lot of time. A lot of time goes in the editing, a lot of studio hours, license fees, lawyer fees. Just to get trademarks and looking at a lot of travel. We wanna go to some cool places. We went to Caesars Palace, we're trying to book Madison Square Garden, take my dad back there where he wrestled Hulk Hogan. We really want to make this a real intimate film. Not only for the fans as much as it is for people that are watching this film that had struggles.

"If you know the story, if you've heard my dad speak, you know that he gets extremely long-winded so I apologize on his behalf. You know, my family was almost torn apart by the decisions my dad made outside the ring. I've never had these conversations with my dad about his infidelity, nor have I talked to my mom about it. So, it is an opportunity for me to have those first-time conversations. And they're tough. They're really tough conversations. So it's very real, and people can relate. So, the fans are going to love it, people that go through struggles and trials and tribulations, they're going to relate with what the DiBiases went through. I mean, we're real people. So I'm really excited to tell this story."

DiBiase also discussed how hard it is to get a spot on the WrestleMania card, part-timers getting top spots at WrestleMania, his father not being happy with his decision to enter the business, why he decided to leave WWE, if he would return and much more.