Black Widow
06-22-2009, 04:57 PM
Ted DiBiase's boyish good looks belie his chosen profession.
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The 26-year-old West Palm Beach, Fla., man is a wrestler with the WWE, which, complete with TV cameras, lights and pyrotechnics, rolls into the Resch Center Monday for a live broadcast of WWE Monday Night Raw. Also on the bill are notables Batista, MVP, Matt Hardy, Carlito, Mr. Kennedy, Cody Rhodes, Gold Dust, Hornswoggle and more.
"I don't know what happens but something happens to me when I walk out that curtain and that bell rings," DiBiase said. "I just turn into this completely different guy."
DiBiase comes from a long line of wrestlers. His grandfather, "Iron" Mike DiBiase, began the tradition, and was the adopted stepfather of "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, DiBiase's father and namesake.
"An interesting fact right off the bat is not only were my grandfather and father wrestlers, but also my grandmother (Helen Hilde)," DiBiase said. "It's deep in the blood."
Sadly, DiBiase never had the opportunity to meet his grandfather, who died of a heart attack in the wrestling ring during a match with Harley Race, who performed CPR and rode in the ambulance.
"What's interesting is Harley got my dad into this business, really kind of groomed him and took him under his wing after my grandfather died," DiBiase said.
"And when I started three years ago, Harley has a (wrestling) school in Eldon, Miss., and that's where I started training. So he's had something to do with all three of the DiBiase superstars."
DiBiase calls wrestling an "instilled passion" he treasures, especially when as a child he got to go to work with his dad.
"That my dad was famous was nothing to me," he said. "I just thought it was really cool that I could see my dad work."
Being a professional wrestler is not an easy life, admits DiBiase, who trains at least five if not six days a week and puts only healthy foods in his body.
"That's the side of wrestling people don't see," he said. "It's not all glitz and glamour."
It's the love of the fans that make it worthwhile, DiBiase said. "You can't really describe the feeling when you walk into that arena and there's 55,000 people cheering your name or even booing you. That kind of reaction, it's like a drug. It's an adrenalin rush and literally indescribable."
DiBiase also is taking a turn at acting, starring in the upcoming WWE movie "The Marine 2," the sequel to "The Marine," which starred pro wrestler John Cena. It will be released straight to DVD later this year or early next. The theatrical spectacle of wrestling, he said, prepared him for acting.
When it comes to critics who think wrestling is all smoke and mirrors and doesn't hurt, DiBiase says, jump in the ring.
"I've hurt my knees, broken fingers, separated a shoulder; you go through a lot. But I love it. I mean I love it."
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The 26-year-old West Palm Beach, Fla., man is a wrestler with the WWE, which, complete with TV cameras, lights and pyrotechnics, rolls into the Resch Center Monday for a live broadcast of WWE Monday Night Raw. Also on the bill are notables Batista, MVP, Matt Hardy, Carlito, Mr. Kennedy, Cody Rhodes, Gold Dust, Hornswoggle and more.
"I don't know what happens but something happens to me when I walk out that curtain and that bell rings," DiBiase said. "I just turn into this completely different guy."
DiBiase comes from a long line of wrestlers. His grandfather, "Iron" Mike DiBiase, began the tradition, and was the adopted stepfather of "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, DiBiase's father and namesake.
"An interesting fact right off the bat is not only were my grandfather and father wrestlers, but also my grandmother (Helen Hilde)," DiBiase said. "It's deep in the blood."
Sadly, DiBiase never had the opportunity to meet his grandfather, who died of a heart attack in the wrestling ring during a match with Harley Race, who performed CPR and rode in the ambulance.
"What's interesting is Harley got my dad into this business, really kind of groomed him and took him under his wing after my grandfather died," DiBiase said.
"And when I started three years ago, Harley has a (wrestling) school in Eldon, Miss., and that's where I started training. So he's had something to do with all three of the DiBiase superstars."
DiBiase calls wrestling an "instilled passion" he treasures, especially when as a child he got to go to work with his dad.
"That my dad was famous was nothing to me," he said. "I just thought it was really cool that I could see my dad work."
Being a professional wrestler is not an easy life, admits DiBiase, who trains at least five if not six days a week and puts only healthy foods in his body.
"That's the side of wrestling people don't see," he said. "It's not all glitz and glamour."
It's the love of the fans that make it worthwhile, DiBiase said. "You can't really describe the feeling when you walk into that arena and there's 55,000 people cheering your name or even booing you. That kind of reaction, it's like a drug. It's an adrenalin rush and literally indescribable."
DiBiase also is taking a turn at acting, starring in the upcoming WWE movie "The Marine 2," the sequel to "The Marine," which starred pro wrestler John Cena. It will be released straight to DVD later this year or early next. The theatrical spectacle of wrestling, he said, prepared him for acting.
When it comes to critics who think wrestling is all smoke and mirrors and doesn't hurt, DiBiase says, jump in the ring.
"I've hurt my knees, broken fingers, separated a shoulder; you go through a lot. But I love it. I mean I love it."
postcrescent.com