Ted DiBiase, WWE Hall of Famer, shared his experiences and thoughts on his time in WWE creative during the mid-2000s on the latest episode of Everybody’s Got a Pod:
Reflecting on his time in WWE creative, DiBiase expressed a sense of wanting to forget that period. He recognized the complex and multifaceted nature of the creative process and gained an appreciation for the writers who constantly generate ideas. As someone from the old-school wrestling era, he believed that his generation was the last to learn the art of wrestling in the traditional way, which involved frequent in-ring performances in front of live audiences. The storytelling aspect and constant communication with opponents were fundamental to this process. When he was asked to be part of the creative team, he found it challenging, partly because he was rooted in the old-school methods that emphasized learning through in-ring experience.
“It’s almost like it’s a time I’d like to forget. The one thing it did do in terms of the way I think is, maybe it made me appreciate what those people do every week. I mean, those writers it’s like, who thinks about all this stuff. And of course, it’s good and bad as far as I’m concerned. It’s kind of like, I’m an old-timer. I’m the last of the old-timer age. A lot of fans say that. And I hear this from a lot of fans, the guys that were in wrestling or in the WWE or whatever from the mid-80s to the mid-90s were the last great era of wrestling. And I have a tendency to agree with that, only because I was part of it. And the difference is, my generation was the last generation that learned our art the old-school way, and the old-school way was basically getting in the ring every night in front of a live crowd and having a match. And of course as a beginner, your opponent is going to be able to lead you. I mean, because we’re talking out there all the time. We’re telling the story, and the story is obviously good versus evil and how that comes out. But it’s nevertheless a story. And we’re talking, we’re communicating all the time. So when they tried to make me part of the creative team, it was very hard for me. Looking back from where I am now, I wonder if it was very hard because of, you know, maybe just me being hard-nosed and ‘Hey, this is the way we did it.’ And I’m from the old school and that’s the way I learned it.”
DiBiase, a man of strong faith, worked creatively in WWE at a time when they often relied on violence and sexual content for programming. When questioned about any reservations he might have had, he said,
“Well, there weren’t any reservations, and I thought about that too. And then, one of my friends looked at me and they said, ‘Ted, who did Jesus hang out with?’”
Elaborating on his point from earlier, DiBiase explained that he preferred to perform based on a provided storyline rather than creating the story itself. He drew a parallel to the acting industry, where talented actors excel at bringing a script to life but may struggle when asked to write the story.
“Well, it’s not so creative in terms of — Stephanie was the one that talked me into going ahead and doing this. You know, I tried to tell Stephanie. I said, ‘Steph, that’s not me.’ I said, ‘You tell me the story. You tell me what you want to happen in that ring. And my gift is to go out there and make it happen.’ Now. I mean, look at the acting industry. Look at Hollywood. You know, there are a lot of great actors and they’re great actors. You give them the script, you tell them what you want, bam! And they can do it. But you give them a pen and say, ‘Write the story,’ they’re going to go. ‘That does not compute.’ And that’s me.”
(h/t 411mania)
