50 Fascinating Facts About WWE in The 1980s
21. The ‘Million Dollar Cape’ Belonged To McMahon
The 'Million Dollar Man' character took off and made DiBiase one of the biz's biggest heels. After failing to win the WWF Title, Ted appeared in a bunch of vignettes designed to introduce his tailor-made championship: 1989's Million Dollar belt. You might recall seeing DiBiase wear an evil villain cape during some of these promos. Get this: That cape literally belonged to Vince McMahon.
Why?! Don't ask. Most fans out there presumably figured this was a prop someone added in at the last minute to make Ted seem more over the top. Nah, it came from Vince's wardrobe back home. Being honest, a lot of these stories about McMahon make more sense now than they ever did. The fact he deemed it necessary to have a cape in his collection, and probably handed it to DiBiase so casually, speaks volumes.
Teddy didn't ask any questions. On a purely wrestling front, the cape did give DiBiase's gimmick more of an evil edge. He looked like a power mad psychopath when wearing the thing out for visits to see how his new title was coming along.
This is yet another story that Conrad Thompson couldn't believe on Bruce Prichard's podcast. Vince plucked a cape from his wardrobe and handed it to Ted like that was the most normal thing in the world. At least it made the 'Million Dollar Man' look like a bigger heel.