Ted DiBiases purchasing power was strong enough to own the rights to human beings. Virgil is clearly the prime example here. Ted Classic made that poor guy do everything. Virgil carried his bags, laced his boots, counted his money, strong-armed weaker individuals, drove him around, yelled at little kids, rubbed his shoulders, and even retrieved $100 bills shoved into the gaping mouths of fallen opponents. After time, the owner/servant relationship became too much for Virgil to handle. He turned on DiBiase, eventually wrestling him to gain possession of The Million Dollar Championship. When Ted won it back, he accused Virgil of stealing some of the diamonds because thats what The Million Dollar Man would do. It didnt stop with Virgil. At one point, DiBiase owned the rights to the contract of Hercules, but that relationship was short-lived. It was nothing compared to his control over Nikolai Volkoff. The former WWF World Tag Team Champion had fallen on hard financial times by 1994 and was the perfect target for DiBiase. It was as if The Million Dollar Man lived to torment the poor Russian, who was hired as a member of his Million Dollar Corporation. Instead of dollar signs on his tights, he was forced to wear cent signs. Instead of an actual tuxedo, he wore a tuxedo t-shirt. Volkoff played the role of the aforementioned jobber Mr. Washington on numerous occasions. DiBiase also insisted on calling him Nickel and Dime Volkoff. Ouch. I could go on all day about the horrendous acts of a man who valued the almighty dollar above all, but Im not sure it gets much worse than treating your fellow man like property and making him do the things you dont want to do. To atone for his squared circle sins, Ted DiBiase has since become a Christian minister. Its probably for the best. I cant imagine what the landscape of sports entertainment would look like with The Million Dollar Man at full strength today. Babyfaces of the world can breathe a sigh of relief.
Eric Delgado has been writing about professional wrestling for five years and has been involved in the professional wrestling business as a performer for ten. He is also the former host of Steel Cage Radio and has an irrational love for The Ryback.
