All language subtitles for The.Price.of.Fame.2017.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-ETHiCS

(intense music)

- Let me tell you
something folks

everybody's got a
price for Ted DiBiase.

- If I've said this once,
I've said it a million times.

Money isn't everything,
it's the only thing.

And everybody,
everybody's got a price

for the Million
Dollar Man. (laughing)

- He's got money, he's got fame.

Everybody's got a
price for Ted DiBiase.

- I've had everything

that most people think
will make them happy.

I know what it's like

to travel around the
world in first class,

to ride in limousines
and Learjets,

To stay at first class hotels,

to have my likeness made into

action figures and be on
television and be famous.

They say that the love of
money is the root of all evil.

Hogwash, with enough of
this you can buy anything.

I can buy stuff, cars, houses.

- The problem with the people

in the entertainment industry,
and just in that world,

is they've got everything
the world can offer.

You've got money, you've got
power, fame, you get stuff.

- I can buy love, I
can buy a good time.

But you remember this most
of all, I can even buy you.

- Everybody's got a
price for Ted DiBiase.

- And like so many others,
I began to fill that void.

Out there on the road,
away from my family.

And I would go to the bar
with the guys, you know.

I didn't want to go to
that empty hotel room.

What was God in my life, was me.

And on that day as I
looked into the mirror,

I saw a man, a man who had
been blessed with so much.

Blessed in his career,

blessed by a wonderful
wife, blessed with children.

I was looking at a man
who had been willing

to put at risk the
future, and for what?

To stroke his ego.

To stroke his ego.

- Ted DiBiase, making
the most of his money.

Using it to his advantage.

- Every one of you,
remember one thing.

Everybody has a price for The
Million Dollar Man. (laughing)

Right now, you've got everything

you thought you ever wanted.

You're famous, you've got
money, nice house, big car.

But what do you
really have, son?

My friends, you know what
the answer is, nothing.

Nothing, nothing, nothing!

By the grace of
God, every day I try

to be a man of strong character

in integrity, a man of God.

A loving husband
and a caring father.

And like that old character,

The Million Dollar
Man always says,

- Everybody's got a price.

Everybody's got a price.

- Everybody has a price.

The price of fame is high.

(dramatic music)

Well I'll tell you what
I'm gonna do, Shawn,

if you can dribble
this basketball 15
times consecutively

without missing,

look at here, I'm
gonna give you $500,

and I know you and your
family could use $500.

I can tell by looking at you

that you could use a
lot more than 500 bucks.

Ready go, two, three, four, five

six, seven, eight, nine

10, 11, 12, 13, 14, whoops!

(crowd yelling)

Aw, we didn't get to 15, Shawn.

You didn't get to 15, did you?

No, he didn't make 15.

And you know what that means?

What that means Shawn,
is you've got to learn

a hard, cruel fact of life.

When you don't do the job
right, you don't get paid.

(laughing)
- Yep,

that's my dad, The
Million Dollar Man.

I definitely had an interesting
childhood to say the least.

I mean, growing up
the son of a wrestler

I found myself running
around the locker room

with guys like Hulk Hogan,

Andre The Giant, The Ultimate
Warrior, Hacksaw Jim Duggan.

I mean these guys
were larger than life.

They were superheroes.

My house on Saturday mornings

was a very popular place to be.

My friends would come over

and we'd back the couches back

climbin' up on the side table

dropping' elbows off the top

like macho man Randy Savage

and quite often,
breaking a lamp or two.

It was cool watching him on TV.

But that was the only
place I got to see my dad,

'cause he was with you.

300 days out of the year,
when I was with him,

everyone wanted to meet him

because he was The
Million Dollar Man.

And me, I wanted to
be just like him.

I followed in his footsteps.

I became a third generation
superstar for the WWE

and I traveled all
over the world.

I main evented pay-per-views

and wrestled in Wrestlemania.

I even starred in a movie.

With or without
you, I'm going on.

Oscar worthy, if you ask me,
but nobody did. (chuckling)

But even when
everyone told me that

I could never
achieve these dreams

I chose to follow
my dreams anyway.

Alright, yep.

Well I'll see you
in Willcox soon.

Several hours, me too man.

Love you, bye.

And I would soon find out,

as John Maxwell says,
the dream is free.

Love you buddy.

But the journey is not.

(train horn blaring)

(train rumbling)

- One of the questions
I'm often asked,

having been a
professional wrestler

for almost 20 years, is why?

Of all the things I could have

chosen to do in life,

why did I choose such
an odd occupation?

The answer to the question
in a word, is Dad.

I was very fortunate to have

been raised by a very
loving step father.

My biological parents divorced
when I was two years old.

And when I was five years old

Mike DiBiase came into my life.

I had a dad that
was worth admiring.

I had a very good role model.

I was one of those
kids who said,

"I want to be just like my dad."

- Mike DiBiase was a
very, very tough guy

all through his
period in wrestling.

- Iron Mike DiBiase
was very well respected

within the business by his peers

because he was a legit athlete.

He was a nice man.

He was a multi-sport letterman

at the University of Nebraska,

which is a major
division one university.

So he had a great pedigree,

really a stellar reputation.

And no one ever said any bad
things about Mike DiBiase.

- He was a great one,
he was great to me.

He always had time
for me, you know,

He would pick me up and
we'd ride to towns together.

I'd say, "Mike how much
money do I owe you?"

And he'd say, "Terry, you
don't owe me nothing."

Always had great
advice for me too,

"Keep your nose clean," and,

"You've got a wife at home

"and you take care of her

"and you take care of
your family first."

That's the kind of guy he was.

- All I knew when I was five

was that this man
showed me his love.

And, I loved him.

It's great that you
were able to come

on this trip with me, Teddy.

You know, I've
talked to you boys

about where I grew
up and where I lived

and everything most of my life.

But you know, you've
never seen it.

But you know, I want
my kids to know,

- Where it all started.
- Where it all started.

We're gonna drive
by the high school.

I used to run these bleachers.

- The old stomping grounds.

- The old stomping grounds.

- So that's where
you won your...

- [Ted] That's when I
earned a scholarship.

- Scholarship to
West Texas State.

- Yep.

- [Ted Jr.] This is the
house you grew up in?

- [Ted] This is the
house I grew up in.

- Should we go
knock on the door?

(laughing)

I guess it feels
pretty good coming back

to a place like this you know?

It means even more now.

I hold you on on pedestal,

but now seeing this
firsthand, it's like, wow.

I don't know that I would have

had what it took
to get out of here.

- For all the fond memories

that I have here, what
was I gonna do here?

I mean, you know, my dream
was to be like my dad.

My dream was to be like
my hero, and my hero

had been a national
amateur wrestling champion

and could have been a
pro football player.

And you know as you
look around this town,

you can see how I felt,
can this happen here?

Is it possible for
me to make it here?

- It's actually just really
cool hearing the stories

for the past 30 years
and now actually,

it's like putting
a face with a name.

- Let me go on out to

the cemetery, which
is pretty close.

- Came a long way, a long way.

- [Neil] That's one
small step for a man,

one giant leap for mankind.

- In the summer of 1969,
the same month, by the way,

just about two weeks later,

that we'd put a man on the
moon for the first time,

on July the second 1969,

my dad had a heart attack

in the ring during
a match and he died.

And my whole life
changed that day.

- Iron Mike DiBiase's
in-ring death was kinda,

and maybe coldly so,

categorized in the list

of wrestler deaths that
happened in the ring.

He was such a big
star in that era.

- The minute you hear a crowd

go completely dead silent,

you know something drastic
has happened in the ring.

- He went in for
a pin on a press,

and Man Mountain Mike
throw him back and out,

and he went between the
second and the top rope

and never touched a thing,
and hit on the floor.

Harley tried to resuscitate him.

- (sighing) The heart thing,

just different things, you know,

tryin' to bring back

not only a good friend
but a great person.

It just wasn't meant to be.

- My father asked
me to go down there

and substitute for that match,

and I said, "I'm not
going to do it, Dad.

"I've been on the
road all week."

Well, Mike had been
on the road, too,

and I just totally
refused to do it.

And he called Mike up.

Mike says, "Sure."

And I always felt a little bit,

(birds twittering)

nobody knew what
was going to happen,

but I always felt
like I should've

possibly made that trip

and life would've been different
for everybody concerned.

- We had lunch
together as a family.

It's the last time
we ever ate together.

He took a nap, and then his
ride came to pick him up

He got his bag and he
kissed us all and said,

"I'll see ya tonight."

And, as he drove away,

it was the last time that
I ever saw him alive.

I was just hanging
around on the steps

and two people showed up,

and I go and I tell
my mother to get up.

"What's goin' on, I can
tell you been cryin."

And she backed me
up against the wall,

almost like, to brace me,

and she said, "Teddy,"

I mean just tears rolling
down her face, she said,

"We came here tonight
to get your mom

"to take her to Lubbock

"because your dad
had a heart attack

"in the ring during his match,

"and we were gonna
take her to him,

"but I just found
out that he died."

And, I mean, it took the
wind right outta my sails.

I mean, just like, I
just felt everything go.

15 years old and I've gotta
tell my little brother

that he's never gonna
see his dad again.

And, even now, that was hard.

Why did this have to happen now?

Why now, why him?

- Ted was only 15 years of age

when his dad passed away,

and it really
shattered the family.

- Many, many nights, I
would drive my grandmother's

old rambler out to
the desert cemetery

where my father's buried,

and I'd park the car and I'd

put the lights on
my father's grave.

And I'd go out there and I would

pace back and forth in
front of that grave.

But, on my tough nights,
this is where I'd come.

(somber music)

- You know, now, I'm 30
and I'm a father of my own,

and I remember at
times bein' like,

"Oh, yeah, I've
heard the story,"

you know, you comin' out

and spendin' these
nights with your dad,

and I would always picture

what it looked like,
or I had an idea

in my head and because
of your commitment

and your success I wanted to
follow in those footsteps.

I understand now.

(quiet music)

- I had heard a lot about Ted
DiBiase prior to meeting him.

Second generation wrestler,

the guy had a talent like
you wouldn't believe,

plus he was a hit
right off the bat.

- Ted DiBiase, maybe
one of the greatest

technical wrestlers
in the sport,

but he can't fight a lick,
(hard rock music)

and when you're in the ring

with Hacksaw Duggan, DiBiase,
it's gonna be a fight!

- [Announcer] Hello, everybody,

and welcome to the
Mid-South Coliseum!

- Everybody I knew said,

"Kid, ya only got one year
of college left, go back!"

But, you don't understand.

I was in love with wrestling

since I was old enough
to know what it was.

- You know, I'd always
wanted him to be a wrestler,

but what you have to do is
you have to get an education.

- And the DiBiase name,
thanks to his father,

opened a lot of doors

to provide him the opportunity.

Now, those doors would've
been slammed shut in his face,

if he had not
respected his elders

and followed the advice of

guys who were tryin'
to make him better.

Because they saw that
he had great potential.

Teddy was really a natural,

as far as getting
the mental aspect

of performing and
being athletic.

- [Ted] I've been
ranked in the top five

wrestlers in the world

for as long and as far
back as I can remember.

- He had the talent,

he could connect
with an audience,

he could get that audience
engaged in your story

so that they will either
love you or hate you.

- Ted's a great
mechanic in the ring.

If you ask him to do
something, he can get it done.

- Teddy is a
wrestler's wrestler.

First of all, he's a great man.

Right across the board.

You can only tell that if you
know somebody like 30 years.

- Going back in the history of

the professional
wrestling business,

you had the United
States of America,

and in the United
States of America

you had several
different territories,

or booking offices, all
throughout the country.

- You start out in a
territory as a young guy,

nobody knows ya,

and you're on the opening
match all the time,

and you pay your dues.

Ya know, you get
beat every night,

but you're in front
of a live crowd,

you're learnin' your trade,

and you're developing
your own character.

- Ted was through being trained,

and the Funks felt like he
was ready to leave the nest.

They called Bill Watts,
who they were friends with,

and Bill booked Ted in
the Mid-South territory.

- Mid-South was
a huge territory!

- [Ted Jr.] Say,
based in Oklahoma.

- [Ted] Arkansas.

- [Jim] Mississippi, Louisiana.

- [Ted] Parts of East Texas.

- People would call you and say,

"How you guys doin' over
there at Mid-South?"

We'd say, "Oh, man,
doin' 2500 a week!"

They'd go, "Wow,
that's great money!"

"Nuh-uh, 2500 miles."

You drove every day,

and you drove a lot
of miles over there,

sometimes 3000 miles in a week.

The good thing about Mid-South

was you learned and
you learned quick!

- Just to make sure
that this is what he

certainly wanted to do,

and if it was to follow

kind of in his
father's footsteps,

he wouldn't have a problem

if he could accomplish that.

- Ted was a top star
wherever he went.

- That Ted is easily in the
top five of all-time villains.

- Ted DiBiase is the
upper half percent

of the world in the business
of professional wrestling.

He's one of eight, 10 maybe,

guys out of the
billions of people

and the millions that
come to wrestling,

and for him to have that, he's
in the top .5 in the world!

You know how hard that is?

- Fact, he did great
in the Oklahoma area

and he continued in that area

until he got his chance
to go to New York.

- This was the lot
where everybody gathered
on the weekends.

Soon as I got what I
kept asking God for,

"Give me the strength,
give me the talent,"

I get the scholarship, ya know,

and an old buddy goes,

"Hey, I know you
don't drink, but

"you just got a scholarship
to put you through school.

"Maybe celebrate a little bit.

"Let's just have a
couple glasses of wine."

- I know where a couple goes.

- Yeah.

The sad thing is I
did such a great job

of avoiding it for
all those years.

- It's funny how we both have a

lot of similarities
in our stories.

You know, it's like
when I went to WWE

and signed that contract,

and I'm the hot commodity

and the next thing comin'
up, and you weren't there.

I didn't have my
accountability group down there

and I was in this lot, but
it was in Tampa, Florida.

But it was this lot.

That was the temptation.

That's where I fell
into drinking heavily,

and made the decision to
drive one night after that,

and almost, I coulda
cost somebody their life!

God saved me from that,
and I paid for it.

Lord knows I've learned
a valuable lesson there.

- The first person that you got
to speak to was your mother.

- Yeah, that wasn't fun.

- And, I said,
"What did he say?"

She said, "I couldn't
understand him,

"he was crying so hard."

I said, "That's all
I need to know."

'Cause that said everything.

- It was disappointing you
guys that hurt the most.

- My temptation here in
high school was this lot,

this gathering place
for all the parties,

and your lot was Tampa, Florida.

By the time I was 26 years old,

I failed in my first marriage.

That's right, at the
ripe old age of 20,

I got married the first time.

My first son, Michael, was born
on September the 10th, 1977,

and I was failing miserably
as a father as well.

Oh, I love my son.

I couldn't be him
except on weekends

and special occasions and
I couldn't even do that

because as a wrestler I'd travel

so much I was gone
most of the time.

I had no business
gettin' married.

Sad to say, there was
no male role model.

There was no dad there
now to caution me,

to tell me, "Hey, look, pal!"

He was gone.

As I started to climb
the ladder in wrestling,

I believe God blessed
me in spite of me

by crossing my path with

this wonderful Christian
woman, Melanie.

- [Melanie] The first
time that I saw Ted,

I was at a swimming pool.

- So, I'm at the pool one day.

- In Atlanta, Georgia.

- I'm gonna wrestle at
The Omni that night.

(fans screaming)

Things come to those that
are patient and wait.

Well, I've waited
patiently for five weeks

recovering from this injury.

Nobody's gonna take my
career away from me.

- It's gonna be one of
a night at The Omni!

- He lived in the apartments
where I had some friends.

- This group of people come in,

and there's this one girl
that just strikes me.

- As I was oblivious
to wrestling,

the world of
wrestling, at the time.

- She was obviously,
seemed to be with a guy.

'Course, you know,

"Well, is it a boyfriend,
is it a date, whatever?"

- He came back to the pool,

he says, to look for his
watch, which was on his arm.

- I'm talking to myself
out loud, I said,

"Ted, this is the most childish
thing you've ever done!"

And I parked the
car and I get out,

and I'm walking
around this pool,

and I'm lookin' around like
maybe I left something,

like I forgot something
and I'm searching for it.

All I'm doing is trying to
get another look at this gal.

- Three of the guys, I
think, that I was with

got together and
schemed and said,

"We'll go tell him that

"that girl over there
wants his autograph."

Well, that girl
over there was me.

- There's a girl over here
that wants your autograph!

- I thought he was a
Falcon football player.

- She had a white visor hat on,

and she took it off and she
handed it to me to sign.

Well, it was all wet.

- "Sign my visor."

Well, it was wet.

- I said, "I'm sure
over there in the office

"they've got some
office stationary

"and I'd be happy to do that."

- He slyly moved me
away from the group.

- So, I write on
this piece of paper,

"To the best lookin' girl
at the pool, for sure."

- That was how we met!

- I said, "I'm even
gonna sign this love."

I signed it, "Love,
Ted DiBiase 4-26-81."

That's the day we met.

- [Dick] Four, three,
two, one, happy new year!

- New Year's Eve,
1981, we got married.

- It's definitely
good versus evil,

and there's nothin'
like it in the world!

- Number one, it went
mainstream, very much so!

- It's my second
time, and I'm hooked.

- [Reporter] Part
showbiz and part circus,

but it's called
professional wrestling

and millions of Americans
are obsessed with it.

- 1980, ooh, I'd say '83, '84,

things started to
change in the WWF.

We started bringing
in some new people

from all the different
territories and
it just took off.

- [Reporter] Many
got turned on first

by turning the television on!

Wrestling is on TV
more now, than ever.

- Wrestling all over the world

had started to get
a cult following

that the MTV really kicked in,

and so it was ready to
be tapped as an oil well.

- In the mid '80s
it kinda ballooned.

- It was just bigger,
louder, brighter, faster.

- McMahon made connections
with NBC, with Dick Ebersol.

Wrestling went back
on network television

and it reintroduced the genre
to the national audience.

- [Reporter] The
print media has also

recognized
wrestling's popularity

from the front page
of the Daily News

to the cover of
Sports Illustrated,

a usually serious magazine.

- It was insane.

We were goin' to major
cities every night.

He was sold out!

Everything was sold out,

didn't matter where you
went, it was sold out.

- 310 days on the road.

Was at home maybe 3 weeks
out of the entire year

if ya take the travel
out, too, ya know.

And it was grueling.

- I mean, it exploded,

where people were comin'

out the woodworks
comin' to matches, man.

We were runnin' like,
three towns a night

and they were all sellin' out.

- I mean, there was, ya know,

drugs, booze, broads,

whatever town you went to,

I mean, I miss the
old days! (laughing)

- [Reporter] Pro
wrestling might be

at its peak in popularity
and could fade,

but for now, it's an
American made success story.

- But, it was shortly
thereafter that

Ted and Virgil arrived

and they took this
organization by storm.

They really did.

- For all you people out there

who aren't familiar with me,

let me introduce myself.

I'm Ted DiBiase.

I'm The Million Dollar Man.

- [Announcer] DiBiase
made his WWF debut in 1987

bringing with him

a seemingly endless
supply of cash

and a philosophy that he can

have anything or
anybody he wants!

- What would it take to make
this a private pool right now?

- I'm afraid I can't do that,

it's a public pool

and there are taxpayers and
- Public pool.

- I'd have a lot of problems
- (laughing) Taxpayers.

- with the mothers and fathers.

- Listen, mister.

I pay more taxes in a month

than these people
make in a year.

Virgil. (fingers snapping)

(cash rustling)

I think we can find something

wrong with the pool
today, don't you?

(sharp whistling)

- Alright, everybody out!

The chlorine level's too high!

We're gonna close the pool.

- Well, lemme give ya a
little history lesson.

I've paid a little boy
to dribble a basketball.

Aww!

I've paid people to kiss
my stinky, sweaty feet!

I've paid people
to bark like a dog!

- Ruff!

- It's not a question of if.

It's just a question
of how much!

- [Announcer] That's ridiculous!

- The next thing I know

is I get this call
from Vince McMahon,

and I'm sittin' in his office
in Stanford, Connecticut.

- Vince had a vision
of having a wrestler

called The Million Dollar Man.

- And Vince had this
idea in his head.

And he had the idea for a while,

he just had to find the
right guy to portray him.

- If Vince McMahon was going

to be a wrestler,
this is his gimmick.

This is Vince's persona.

- He'll be riding in
limousine every night,

he'll be throwing
money at people,

and Teddy was just laughing.

He didn't believe this was
happening, ya know what I mean?

- Vince had a stretch
limousine for him.

I think he sent
him out to shows,

sent him out to dinner,

a night on the town,
first class all the way!

- Limos, hotels, Learjets,
the whole nine yards,

and he told me, "I never
want you to crack a smile."

- He knew how to be a bad guy.

He knew how to talk.

He knew how to do all the things

that would make
that character work,

and all of a sudden,

that one dimensional character

started growing and
it became very real.

(driving rock music)

(lever rumbling)

(driving rock music)

(booming)

(driving rock music)

(coins clattering)

- [Announcer] Please welcome
to WrestleMania Four!

(crowd cheering)

(soft intense music)

(footsteps creaking)

- The Center.

This building brings
back a lot of memories.

This is where WrestleMania
Four took place,

which was my first WrestleMania.

- [Ted Jr.] That was a
pretty awesome WrestleMania.

- For me, personally,
this WrestleMania

I think was my finest hour.

It was the highlight of

the beginning of The Million
Dollar Man character.

I mean, we started with the
vignettes and all that stuff,

and then, at Market
Square Arena,

the 20 athletes.

- I surrender the World
Championship to Ted DiBiase!

- [Announcer] Wait a minute,

hold on, Andre,
what are you saying?

- Threw Hogan out of the title

and then they stripped
me of the belt

and we're gonna have

WrestleMania Four and
it's a tournament.

You know, people,
"Well, have you

"ever wrestled at WrestleMania?

"Yeah, how would you
like to wrestle at

"WrestleMania the first time
three times in one night?"

When I come here, not
only do I think of that,

but I go all the way back to
how this whole thing started,

takin' that trip up to
Stanford to the office,

and so I went home and
talked it over with your mom

and made a call to Terry
Funk and Terry said,

"If Vince McMahon has an
idea tailor made for you

"and it's his personal idea,
you're a fool if you don't go!"

He laid it out there, ya
know, the whole thing.

Everybody hates a guy, who
by virtue of his wealth,

looks down his nose at people

and we're gonna try
to make the people

believe that you're really rich.

And I go, "How ya
gonna do that?"

"We're gonna fly ya
everywhere First Class.

"You're gonna have
limousine service every day.

"You're gonna stay in
first class hotels."

- [Ted Jr.] We're
gonna make you rich.

- Like, pinch me, is
this really happening?

- What was the crowd like here?

'Cause they're
different everywhere.

- Ah, it was a great crowd!

It was a real, ya know,
everybody was into it.

It's real easy for
me to remember,

all I have to remember is
how old your brother is,

'cause Brett was born 11 days
before WrestleMania Four.

- [Ted Jr.] So I was five.

- Yeah, five years old.

Now, how was that for you?

- I mean, it was a big deal.

It was your first WrestleMania,

and you were gonna
be in there with

Savage, and Hulk Hogan,
and Andre the Giant.

It hasn't even hit me as a
kid, 'cause I'd grown up in it.

- I didn't really get on
the big stage WrestleMania

in a huge domed--

- I did.
- stadium.

How many people were
at your WrestleMania?

- 74,000.

- Okay, try 80,000
at Wembley Stadium.

I gotcha beat, kid.

- Two words, Marine Two.

- Yeah.

- Three, Netflix.

- Three words.

Hall of Fame.

- You got me.

(crowd cheering)

- [Announcer] Welcome to
Indianapolis, Indiana!

(crowd cheering)

Welcome to the Hoosier Dome!
- So, he's gone from being

a big fish in a little pond

to a shark in the ocean,

and it happened
overnight for him.

To digress, Ted isn't one
that could turn it off.

Ted had to be The Million
Dollar Man in public!

- When you're out
there on that road

and you don't have
somebody to say,

"Hey, Teddy, straighten your
blankety-blank act out,"

when you don't have somebody

that's gonna go
ahead and tell you

to keep your life straight

it's a tough road out there.

There're so many
pitfalls out there.

- You guys don't understand,

you'll be like eight
hours on a plane,

ya know, whadda ya got?

Well, all the booze
you can drink.

Ya got a movie, a what?

You know, I'm a little tired.

Drink myself to sleep

or feelin' a little antsy,

I think I'll go out,
and it turns into

gettin' into a little bit
of trouble and debauchery.

- Wrestlers were never
superstars before,

and here you are,

and you really are somebody!

- There's a lot of
opportunity on the road, yes.

I mean, whatever you want.

Women, drugs, booze,

you gotta guy come up

give you a eight
ball of cocaine.

- He'd fly into a city

and there'd be a limo
there to pick you up.

He didn't ask for
it, it's a fan.

And, he'd open, he'd say,

"No, ya know, I'd
better not go."

He'd open the door to the limo

and there'd be three naked

girls inside and
a pile of cocaine.

The next morning,
you haven't slept.

This guy drops you
off at the airport.

He's gonna go home and
sleep for two days now.

"I have to go to another city."

- Everybody in the bar would

stop and turn, look,
and go, "Who's that?"

He just had that aura,
he had that presence.

Now, you add to that, he's
gotta be The Million Dollar Man.

He was a magnet.

I mean, every beautiful
woman in the place

would come up and literally,

in a lot of respects,

throw themselves at him.

- [Ted] Because we all know,

everybody's got a price

for The Million Dollar Man.

- WrestleMania Eight took
place in Indianapolis, Indiana.

And on that night,
after the big show,

dressed in my tailor-made suit,

and sportin' a gold Rolex watch,

big gold chain around my neck

with a dollar sign,
(laughing)

and a beautiful
girl on each arm!

- [Melanie] Taking
care of the kids,

we had soccer practices.

- In my limousine I go to all
the hotspots in Indianapolis,

all of the bars that are cool,

the places to go and be seen.

- [Melanie] Cooking, cleaning,

and sat down to pay the bills.

- [Ted] I didn't go
to bed that night,

I'd partied into the wee hours.

- And that was the first
time that I was aware

that there was anything
amiss, because I trusted Ted.

- I had that limousine
take me to the airport

about six o'clock,

caught an airplane
to Detroit, Michigan.

- When I found that out,

it was like two
o'clock in the morning,

I mean it was late,

I had lots to do, so I
didn't sleep much that night.

- Checked into the
Marriott Hotel.

- When I discovered that Ted

had been cheating
in our marriage,

I had to hold it
together for my children.

I didn't believe
that they needed

to be involved in
that at this point.

He was a good dad.

I didn't want to destroy that,

and being a mother
is one of the things

that is most important
to me in the whole world.

- And then, I
walked to a payphone

in the lobby of that hotel

to call home and
check in with my wife.

What a nice guy, right?

No, what a jerk.

- [Melanie] And then the
next morning when Ted called,

- "I don't wanna talk
about this on the phone,"

I remember saying.

"I'll be on the
next plane home."

- "Oh, I'm on a plane home."

- In response to
that, my wife said,

"No, you won't, because you
don't live here anymore."

- My first reaction was,

"No, no, you don't
live here anymore."

- Click!

My wife, who was
totally committed to me,

my wife, who had borne
two children with me,

my wife, who had accepted my
son from a previous marriage

and loved him and raised
him as her very own,

my wife, who never called me

anywhere in the world
to check up on me,

'cause she trusted me,

that wife had now discovered
that I was committing adultery.

Oh no. help me.

- [Ted Jr.] Hey, big guy!

- [Ted] What's up,
kiddo, how ya doin'?

- I'm good, how are you?

- I'm awesome, love ya.

- Love you, too.

What's goin' on?

- Hey, well, the old
man's losin' some weight.

- (chuckling) You are!

I was about to say,
you've slimmed up, man!

- Started at 340, I'm down to
three, so I've lost 40 pounds.

40 down, 40 to go.

- Okay, so, how much
more do we need for,

- Game weight?

- Yeah.

- 40 pounds.

I wrestled at 260.

- So, we can get you
back in those tights?

- Don't get any ideas.

- You and I could make

- Yeah, you're right.
- a tag.

Well, ya know,
everybody's got a price.

(laughing)

WrestleMania may be
the battle royal.

- Well, yeah, we'll
get on the DVD

and, ya know, the video
games, that'd be good.

- Are you hungry?

- I'm starving!

Do you have a steak--

- You know me and the steaks.

Steaks are on the grill.

Let's go.
- All right,

mine better be big.

(soft music)

- Hey, baby!

- Hey, babe!

- [Ted Jr.] How are you?

- [Melanie] I'm
good, how are you?

- As you know, I've been
kinda followin' the story.

And, you know, my
dad is my hero.

But, what a lot of
people don't know

is the real hero,

(exhaling sharply)

(sighing heavily)

and that's you.

- I'm not any more a
hero than your dad.

- [Ted Jr,] Wow.

- Or anyone else

that turns to God in a crisis.

- Yeah, I mean, we've never
really talked about this.

- No, no, we haven't.

Oh, you're old enough now.

I'll tell ya whatever
you wanna know.

You've heard it.

We've spoken in front of you.

It was important
to me at the time

that y'all didn't have a
disruption in your life.

- That's the thing, ya know,

people ask me all the time,

"What was it like growing up

"the son of The
Million Dollar Man?"

But, you know, I've been asked,

"What was it like during
that time period?"

They asked me how it was for
Brett and I, and Michael,

and I said I don't know,

like, I didn't even
know it happened.

If you don't mind me askin',

what was it like
when you found out?

What was your reaction?

- My reaction, really, Teddy,

wasn't any different than

anybody else would
be at that moment.

It was a complete surprise.

It was nothing expected.

Then you have to process it.

And that takes just a minute,

and then you think,

"Well, this is true!"

I was so hurt, then that
hurt turns to anger.

Then that anger turns
to, "What's next?"

And, one thing I'll tell you

is that I knew that I
loved your dad very much.

I didn't want to have things

work out in our marriage
for the sake of y'all.

In my prayers that night,

just talkin' to the Lord,

I said my heart has
just been broken repair.

So, if I'm gonna
get through this,

you're gonna have to
give me a new heart.

The thing that I came to realize

when I was personally
hurt so deeply

is that there is no
partiality with God.

He does not care
that my sin is small

and your dad's sin is large.

Now, I have large
sins in my life.

- [Ted Jr.] We all do.

- He doesn't care if I had

been the best mother
on the planet.

It still wasn't gonna keep
me from being hurt or harmed,

I just have to know that

when I'm walking through those

I'm not walking
through those alone.

Really there's no relationship

that I can control
on earth but mine.

And it really is only

my relationship with the
Lord, and it's a choice.

So, I had that choice
of, "Where do I go?"

When I couldn't go there alone,

I called in reinforcement.

And I called in people who
knew this, who believed this.

That was truly the saving
grace for me, at the time,

to be able to wake up
in the mornings and say,

"Okay, boys, let's get ready.

"Here's your breakfast.

"Whadda ya gotta do today?

"I'll see ya after school."

- [Ted Jr.] With a
smile on your face.

- And then, when
you left, I lost it!

I mean, there were
days in the beginning

when I would take you to school

and I would come home and
I would get in the bed

and just cry and be so angry,
but I didn't do it alone.

I didn't stay there.

I just am thankful for those
women, every one of them.

You're working out your anger.

You're working out your trust.

You're working out
all of the things

that you go through
just naturally.

- Yeah, healing.

- Healing, a healing process.

And I'm not saying that
it happened overnight.

It did not.

- I think you've done
a pretty good job

of living what you believe.

- Well, thank you, I
have a long way to go.

I do love the Lord,

and I do try to make
that first in my life.

(soft music)

- [Ted] And when it's all over,

well, we'll just
put on our finest

and we'll just go out on
the town in that limousine

and all over Indianapolis,

we'll have ourselves
a real good time,

because everybody's got a price
for The Million Dollar Man!

(laughing)

(soft intense music)

- [Ted] Hey, man.

- [Ted Jr.] Hey.

- [Ted] Ya okay?

- Yeah, yeah!

You got a sec?

Yeah, I talked to Mom earlier

and I've always known.

I know why you do what you do.

I know the story, but,

it was interesting,

'cause I've never really
heard from Mom herself.

We've never had
that conversation

about what happened

and how she felt and
what you did to her.

It was weird 'cause it was
the first time I felt--

- Angry?

- Angry, and this is out of
love, Dad, you know that,

but, how, when you have
such a wonderful woman

and a wife and a family,

and children,
- How could I possibly

do that to my wife?

- Yeah.

- But, to answer your question,

I lived my life on the road.

I was gone 300 nights
a year or more,

and the culture of
wrestling back then,

you've heard me say this,

and basically Jesus
said it, He said,

"The eyes are the
lamp of the body."

He said if your eyes are good,

your whole body would
be full of light.

If your eyes are bad,

your whole body will
be full of darkness.

If, then, the light within you

is darkness, how great
is that darkness?

I lived so much of my life

on the road with
a bunch of guys,

and again, I'm
not casting blame.

I take full responsibility,

but I lived at a
time in our business

when it was normal,
and it was the escape.

It was, in anything that you do,

any sin in your life,
you rationalize.

You rationalize it at the time.

There was never a question,

and Teddy, I want
you understand that,

there was never a question of
how much I loved your mother.

It was an escape.

It was an ego thing.

I look back from where I am now,

and I say the same thing,

"How could I possibly
do something like that

"to the one person
I love the most?"

You know, I was never in
love with anybody else.

It was all about the moment.

Sometimes you could
separate yourself like that

and you think,

"Well, you know,
this really isn't

"hurting anybody but me,

"and what my family doesn't
know won't hurt them."

And, you and I both
know that's a lie.

- Yeah, I wanna know,
how did you feel,

when, like the first
time you saw Mom?

You know, after she told you

you didn't live there anymore?

- I've never felt
so empty in my life.

In a moment in time,

it's like all these things
flash through your mind

and I saw her for all
of the good that she is.

It's so easy to take for
granted the ones you love.

- So when you saw
her the first time,

- Teddy, I was so ashamed,
I couldn't look at her.

I could not look at her.

I mean, I walked
through that door,

at Hal's house, beaten,
put my head down, sobbing.

I could not look at her

because of the guilt,
because of the shame.

That's the lowest I've
ever felt in my life.

I mean, it really
was a turning point,

because I can remember
saying to God,

I don't ever wanna
feel like this again.

I don't ever wanna
be this person again.

- I know that one night,
he come up to me, he says,

"George, I gotta go home."

I said, "Why do you
have to go home?

"We got a show tonight!"

He said, "I just got a
phone call from my wife.

"She's heard about
all my shenanigans

"and carrying on with

"the wild women and the drugs,

"the booze and all that stuff,

"and she's gonna divorce me."

He had tears comin'
down his eyes.

I said, "Well, we'll
take care of that."

He said, "I think she's
changin' the locks!"

I said, "Oh, we can't
take care of that,

"you'll have to handle that,

"but we can get you
home real quick."

- And, the next phone
call that I made

was to a guy who, today,
is my closest friend.

When I met Hal Santos,
he was a youth minister.

He walked up to me in a
gym one day in Baton Rouge.

He introduced himself.

He said he'd seen me on
television wrestling.

He said, "You know what, Ted?

"I just wanna know one thing."

I said, "What's that, pastor?"

He said, "Do you
know Jesus Christ?"

Pastor Hal Santos
committed to pray for me

and over the course
of the next 12 years,

every now and then I get a
phone call from Pastor Hal.

"Hey, Ted, how ya doin'?

"What's goin' on?"

He never gave me the
third degree about,

"Are ya goin' to church,

"are doin' this,
are ya doin' that?"

What he did was, he showed
me unconditional love.

Whenever I would come to St
Louis, he would come to see me.

He'd just sit down to have

a cup of coffee with
me, and you know what?

In my darkest hour,

in my darkest hour Pastor Hal

was gonna do everything
he could to help me.

He made arrangements
for Melanie and I

to fly to St Louis,

and I took the longest 30
minute ride of my life.

- [Ted Jr.] What's going on?

- Everything's good.

Good to see ya.

- How are ya?

- [Hal] Good, you
have a long ride?

- [Ted Jr.] Yeah!

- They take ya
all over the place

to just come to St Louis, huh?

- [Ted Jr.] Yeah!

- I said, "Hal, what do I say?

"What do I do, what
do I tell Melanie?"

He said, "Ted, Jesus said
the truth will set you free.

(upbeat music)

"The truth will set you free."

- [Ted Jr.] Yup.

- [Hal] Yep.

- [Ted Jr.] Yeah.

- [Hal] (laughing) Yeah.

- Hal, you know, you guys
did such an incredible job

of disguising that there
was an actual problem.

It hurts now, and I've had maybe

one conversation with
my dad, just recently,

where I had to ask,

"Why, would you risk it,

"with such an amazing woman,
the mother of your children?"

What was my mom's reaction?

- I can remember taking
your dad back to the hotel.

He was makin' some
calls from there

that he shouldn't
have been makin'.

And, of course those are all

recorded on the phone
records that your mom had.

He said to me,

"Hal, you know, everybody
wants to meet me,"

and it became such a
cold, distant stare.

"Everybody wants to meet me

"because I am The
Million Dollar Man."

- Ha, that's right, and you
can bet your bottom dollar

that the victory celebration
plans are well under way,

and when The Million
Dollar Man throws a party

it's only the best,

the finest wine, the
finest champagne, caviar!

- And there was just some
kind of, the niceties,

all that was all of sudden
became a wind of arrogance.

So, to answer the
question, "Why,"

is that when we let our lives,

no matter what it is,

become so arrogant
that it's about me,

then life will change

because, really, idolatry
is who we make our God.

So, we can become a
little narcissistic

and a little bit demi-gods
of our own selves,

and when I got back with him

I had a quiet moment with him.

I said to him,

"Ted, you know, we're friends,

"and I'm gonna tell ya the truth

"'cause I'm committed
to the truth,

"but you better be careful,

"'cause it seems like you're
doin' stuff without God."

- Because the old saying
stands right here, right now.

The bigger they are,
the harder they fall!

- Now, you fast forward it
to the night of that call,

in March of '92,

and they drop off
Mom, go get your dad,

and put him in a car,

but when we're in the airport,

we're pickin' up this
gold briefcase thing,

and a Rolex watch,
and a whole thing!

Those were not evil or wrong!

But, what happened,
is it was this image

that two weeks before was that,

"Everybody wants to meet me."

Now, we're in the airport,

and people were comin'
up wantin' to meet him.

He didn't have enough

emotional strength to
even speak to anybody.

He was hunched over,
had these suitcases,

and we rolled 'em
out to the car,

and it was a brokenness of,

"What I have done to the most

"important people in my
life, and I can't fix this."

So, when your dad was sayin',

"Everybody wants to meet me

"because I'm The
Million Dollar Man,"

and then the trademark laugh,

all became now, the
laughter was gone.

- If I were to say that
it doesn't hurt still,

when I think about what
he did to my mom, it does.

- After they went
to a counselor,

found a counselor
there in your city,

they would go to counseling
while you guys were in school.

It became something of,

that the counselor paced it--
- Really?

See, I didn't know that.

- Yeah, the counselor paced it

that they should
talk to you about it,

then they would, if
they agreed on it.

And, so it became a real
strategy of healing, not fixing.

I walked through a lot of
stuff with your parents.

Is it about Hal?

No, it's about being available.

- When could you tell that

that man had changed,

that Ted DiBiase was a new man?

- Your dad became changed
when he became broken.

Was he perfect?

No, not by no means,

but he was movin'
away from the old Ted.

- I've said it a
thousand times, now,

but I'll tell ya for
the rest of my life,

literally for the
rest of my life,

how grateful I am for
you takin' the time

to mentor my dad, to actually
care, genuinely reach out.

If you wouldn't have done that,

I don't know that I
would be who I am today.

An entire generation
might be different.

My family's stronger
than they've ever been.

My mom and dad love each other

more than they've
ever loved each other.

I have amazing relationships
with my brothers

and now, I care more
about bein' a dad

and raisin' my son
in a godly way,

in a godly home and
bein' a spiritual leader.

- It all connects.

It's really the grace of God.

To think that God would use us

to share the Gospel
with somebody,

and bein' famous doesn't
give it another edge.

It does give another point,

but the point of the Gospel is

He accepts us who we
are and the way we are.

'Cause I was a kid at 15,

and a guy came by
and talked to me,

a guy named Richard
shared the Gospel with me,

and I accepted Christ at 15
and I haven't looked back.

- Hey, baby, hey.

Yeah, yeah, I'm good.

Hal was amazing.

He's just a great guy, ya know.

(soft music)
(car revving)

- [Ted] I can remember bein'

on my knees, one time,
cryin' out to God!

This is before I really got
right with Him, and saying,

"God, I'm never
gonna do this again.

"I'm never gonna do this again.

"I'm never gonna do this again!"

Ya know, and I mean,
literally walkin' out the door

and goin' down and sitting
down in a restaurant

in the hotel where I was,

and then the devil takes that
gal and puts her right there.

You know, and before
the end of the day,

I've already gone back
on the word I gave God.

So, it's a sickness, I guess.

(upbeat music)

(indistinct chattering)

(panting heavily)

- You gotta push, Brett!

(laughing)

(upbeat music)

(thudding)

Can you handle that?

- I can handle it.

Can you handle comin' off
the road from seein' Hal?

- I dunno.

- How was your trip?

- It was good.

It was good.

You know, Hal's amazing,
but, it was tough, man.

I had some deep
conversation with Hal.

I'll be honest with
ya, I've heard,

the whole time I
was on the road,

of course I've heard
stories about dad

from some of the veterans
and the old timers.

You just hear it,
how he was a partier,

and some of the stuff,

you hear stories, I'm like,

"Man, I'm tired of
re-livin' this,"

and then, I get to Hal's

and he basically tells me that

the week before all of
this went down with Mom,

and he literally
told Hal how much he

loved the fact that people

knew who he was and
he loved bein' famous.

- So, ya know, let
me stop you there,

'cause what really
frustrates me is,

first of all what
you're sayin' is

Hal's sayin' he put fame and
bein' The Million Dollar Man

in front of you, in front of me,

in front of Mom, in
front of his marriage,

and here you are
flyin' to Hal's.

You know, I've heard
it from his testimony.

I've heard it from Steve Keirn.

I've heard it from
all his buddies

about how Dad had
a revolvin' door,

and you get to hear it
to your face from Hal.

I've never had Dad.

I've always heard it through

other people or
through his testimony.

Am I gonna have to initiate Dad

comin' and tellin'
me sorry to my face?

I mean, it's never happened.
- Maybe.

- I know him and mom are over it

and they're through
it, but dude!

- Well, I confronted
him about a week ago

and it's the first time, man.

It's the first time
he told me to my face.

I can call, you want me--

- Let's do this.

Why don't you call him

and just tell him
that you want him

to come over and
have dinner and chat

and don't even tell
him I'm comin'.

I'm gonna put him on the spot!

(upbeat music)

(clattering)

- [Ted] Hey, man, 'sup?

- Speakin' of the
visit with Hal,

I'm at the gym with
Teddy today, Dad,

and I'm gonna get
straight to it.

- Brett.

- Hold on!

- Calm down.
- You know,

I'm at the gym,
Teddy's tellin' me

how you were at Hal's one time

talkin' about how you loved fame

and you loved how
everybody just loved,

you loved the attention.
- Brett, Brett, Brett!

- Hold on, let me get this out!

You know, I hear from all
the guys you wrestled with,

how you used to go out
and party all the time,

your door was a revolvin' door,

and it was all, ya know,

and here we are at home,

and you cared more about that

than you did Mom and us.

Dad, you've never, never

said sorry to my
face, especially,

and I don't know how
- Brett.

- you're sittin'
over there all calm!

- Just stop, stop.
- I've heard it in

your testimony,

I've heard it
- Brett.

- from all these places--

- Brett, Brett, Brett.

Please, look, Dad, I did not,

I invited you over here, yes,

because I wanted to visit

and me and Brett talked
earlier at the gym.

I wanted us all three to

come together and have
this conversation.

You and I have already
had a conversation, but,

- I understand.

- Look.

- Listen, you don't
have to explain

and I understand.
- I just wanna hear you

say sorry to my face.

- Brett, I understand.

Listen, here's what
you need to understand

if you wanna know why you
haven't heard this before.

The first thing your
mother said to me

when we went head to head and
all of this came out, was,

"Your children hold
you on a pedestal

"and I don't wanna destroy that.

"So until they are old enough to

"understand and
there comes a time

"when you can have
that conversation

"with them, they
don't know about it."

That's the main reason.

I've been speakin'
for a long time

and you've heard me
from the platform,

you've heard the testimony,
you've heard the story.

My feeling was this,

as you've heard that
and as you've seen

that your mom and I are

very much in love with each
other and very happy together,

you know there's
no conflict there,

but, I've always felt like
the time would be right

whenever you got to a
place where you felt like,

"I need to hear this from Dad."

and, by the same token,

why have I not just come
right to you and to you

and said, "Let's have
this conversation?"

Because it's like
the conversation you
never wanted to have.

I guess maybe hoping that when
you heard it from the pulpit

and you saw the sincerity in
me in my life and who I am now

that maybe that
would be enough, but

I guess not, and it
needs to be said.

It needs to be said.

I came to a place where I was

so caught up in the fame

and where I was and
what I was doing.

I was traveling,
I was on the road,

I was gone most of the time.

It was almost like a man with
two different personalities.

- We all have our own
demons and our own vices.

You and I both know we
have our own stuff, Brett,

that we've dealt
with, and ya know,

I love that we're
finally havin' this talk.

Well, I said it to your mom,

and I have to ask
both of you boys,

'cause I've never
really said it.

Will you forgive me?

- Dad, I forgave
ya a long time ago.

I mean, heck, I spent my life
tryin' to be just like you.

(soft music)

- Hi, buddy.

I love you, man.

I love you.

- I love you.

- [Ted Jr.] How
much do you love me?

- I love you this much!

- [Ted Jr.] And I
love you this much!

Do you know where Jesus lives?

- Yeah.

- [Ted Jr.] Where does he live?

- Uh, in my heart!

- [Ted Jr.] In your heart,
that's right, buddy.

You know, I'll see ya
in the mornin' okay?

- Okay.

- [Ted Jr.] We'll get up in
the mornin', we'll play, okay?

- Okay.

Don't leave me, Dad.

- [Ted Jr.] I would never.

- No.

- That's why daddy came home.

You're my favorite.

I'll see ya tomorrow, okay?

(smooching)

(soft music)

My dad has always been
my hero and still is.

And like me, he's made mistakes.

I'm old enough to realize now

that we all do,

we all make mistakes,

but those of us
that make mistakes,

we don't think about
the repercussions.

We don't think about the people

around us that love us

and those that hold
us on a pedestal.

Our children, that
hold us on a pedestal,

our wives, or our husbands

that hold us on a pedestal.

(soft music)

- Hello, Teddy.

How ya doin'?
- How's it goin'?

Good.

- Very nice to see you.
- Good to see you, man.

Come on in.

(soft music)

- That's Shawn Michaels,

ladies and gentlemen,
hold the fire!

- I've been on this
journey, ya know,

followin' my dad's footsteps,

and really discovering the story

and hearing it first hand

and there was a different
era back in y'all's era.

- Oh, yeah!

- But some of those
decisions he made,

the infidelity and the adultery

that led to almost my
family being ripped apart.

By the grace of God, and
literally, my mother's love,

and God-like
forgiveness and mercy,

we're as thriving
of a family as ever

and our bond is stronger

and I didn't want to go
through what he went through.

- Yeah, I mean, and also,

train a child in the
way they should go

and when they get older
they won't stray from it.

So, you were young enough that

you still got a
very good portion

of the saved Million Dollar Man,

which I think makes
a big difference.

- Right, well, that saved me.

- I have a couple
moments with your dad,

and came at very
different times.

The first moment, and it's
from a pure wrestling sense.

There was a time,
yeah, your dad and I

were sometimes in
the same places

on a fairly regular
basis, whether it be
out doing whatever.

You know, I was just
frustrated, and he said,

"Trust me when I say talent
will always rise to the top.

"I mean, take time but
it will always rise."

And, it was true,
after I got saved.

I wasn't even really in the
wrestling business at the time.

So, I was sort of
all alone, by myself,

sort of, not floundering in
a bad way, but not knowing.

This new experience had
just happened to me,

and for me it was an,

* Ahh ahh

it was a huge moment.

Everything, you know,

I had a really,
really bad, dark side

and all of that stuff,
but, I mean all of it

lifted off me (fingers
snapping) like that.

Trying to make sense
of that was very tough.

Then I remembered,

"You know that's like that
DiBiase, he got saved."

And, I'm thinkin',

"I wonder if he can
help me figure this out?

And I hunted down
your dad's number

and gave him a call

because I didn't think there was

any way these church people,

it's like, sure, I get that
all your sins are forgiven.

- Right.

- But, you people don't
understand what I've done.

(laughing)

One of the best
things he said was,

"You're not gonna know this yet,

"but look, I've learned this,

"you're gonna find guys,
even in that church,

"that have done some of
the stuff we've done."

He said, "We think we're the
only ones but we're not."

I went back, bein' saved,
and all of a sudden,

for some reason, I'm
the token Christian.

If I cursed or
whatever, it was like,

it's not really happening.

You no longer can make mistakes,

it's like, "No, you
don't understand.

"It's because I made
so many mistakes."

The only thing that
makes me a Christian

is that I've acknowledged
and asked for forgiveness.

- That's right.

- Other than that,

the wheels are still gonna
come off every now and then.

It's the greatest thing

the Gospel brought
me, which is truth.

- Amen.

It was hard for me at first,

because we never
really had the talk.

Like, never had the
man-on-man, like,

"Why the did you do it?"

- The thing is, your dad is
so not the same person he was.

- No, yeah.
- You know what I mean?

His salvation, much like mine,

we don't even identify
with the people we were.

We look at 'em and it feels
like an out of body experience.

- Right.

- And, it's very hard for us
to even get our head around,

it doesn't even
seem like it's us.

That's why you just
come back and you go,

"I'm sorry," you know,

and you do, you ask
people to forgive ya.

And you need it.

You need it from those
people to be able to move on.

'Cause now you can really feel--

- You can move on, yeah!

- Well, and the thing is,
now you can really feel,

that was the thing, too,

I guess there was a shell,
man, a shell over that.

- Wow, yeah.
- You know what I mean?

And then, salvation peels it off

and then it's like

I gotta say that I'm sorry

and I need to know that you
truly believe that I am.

- I never really
heard it that way.

You know, you can feel,

but what was numb
and what was just

meaningless encounters
or experiences

and highs and lows,
whatever they are,

that's a different perspective.

'Cause I see it in you,
and I see it in my dad.

I don't know that guy.

I don't know whoever

those guys were way
back when, you know.

I know who my dad is today.

The thing I'm most
proud of, though,

is the man that my
father has become,

A man of character,

a man of principle,
and a man of integrity.

- It wouldn't
matter to me one bit

if anybody ever saw
it other than me

to hear my son say
the things about me

that you said about your dad.

- Dad, we're so proud of you

and we love you so much.

Thank you for everything
you've done for us.

(audience applauding
and cheering)

- I just want my boy
to look at me and say,

and my daughter to
look at me and say,

"Old man, you did us okay."

And, again, it's
comin' from a guy,

I lost my dad this year,

and I got to be there with him.

My father's the first
person I've ever seen

and you know, as
I've told people,

I watched him take
his last breath here

and his first
breath in eternity.

Ted DiBiase the father says,
- That's right.

- "Heard my boys express
their love for me.

"You can't beat that."

- I just had great
conversation today.

I just wanted to
kinda make a point,

somethin' that I left with.

Talkin' about our fathers.

He shared a really personal

experience that he had with
his dad when he was there.

He was there when he
took his last breath,

and it was just very emotional.

Even on the way up, I
was talkin' to my dad

and he's just so
interested and engaged

in what's goin'
on in my life that

askin' lots of questions

and certainly giving,
still to this day,

amazing fatherly advice

and never once do I talk
to him and he doesn't

tell me how proud he is

and wants to just
know everything.

And I just realize
that I've really

taken that for granted

and, for what it's
worth, dad, I'm sorry.

If your parents are here,

I don't know if your
relationship's good or bad,

but if they're
here, they're here,

and we just take
for granted that

they're here today but
they might not be tomorrow

and I just hope that
I'll remember this,

that from this day,
that time with Shawn

and seein' in his face that

you know, my dad's here
today and I'm so grateful.

As a dad, I want my son

to be annoyed with
how much I love him.

(quiet music)

- I certainly have
to thank my wife.

When you and I got married,
you were 20 years old.

I was almost 27,
but then you waited

12 years for me to grow up.

You persevered.

You put up with a lot of garbage

you didn't have to put up with.

You forgave me for a lot,

and you gave me a second chance.

I'll never forget you for it.

You're my rock.

- How do you find forgiveness?
(audience applauding)

Forgiveness can only come

if you're not in
control of your heart.

If I had been the only person

in control of my heart,

I would not be married today.

And the one thing
that kept me sane

through all of this

was my relationship
with the Lord.

- I must thank Almighty God,

my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

- As his relationship with the
Lord grew, mine kept growing.

We came together
and at some point,

then we were back together.

- For if it weren't
for His grace and mercy

and love in my life,

I don't believe
I'd be here today.

- You just have to
forgive and let it go.

The Bible says, "Forgive as
God in Christ forgave you."

I was forgiven when I made
the decision to follow Christ.

God forgave me of everything
that I had ever done.

Everything that I ever would do.

He did the same thing for Ted,

and we are to forgive
as God forgives.

We can't pick and choose.

"Well, that hurt me really bad.

"I'm not gonna forgive that.

"I did that to her, I
can't forgive myself."

Too bad, so sad, it
doesn't work that way.

You don't get to
pick and choose.

When you decide
to follow Christ,

you either do it or you don't.

(indistinct chattering)

- And, I'm sure I say this

just about every
church I speak in,

but this is the last place,

and I don't mean your church,

I mean this place
here at the pulpit,

it's the last place that

Ted DiBiase ever
thought he would be.

But, God had a plan for my life.

It just took me 38 years
to begin to figure it out.

- Any time any athlete
or any entertainer,

anybody in the public
eye makes a grave error,

normally in their personal life,

and they turn to God, or
whatever their higher power is,

and they become
immersed in that,

you're always gonna have
people that are going to say,

"They're just tryin'
to cover their."

- I mean, I sat down, had
lunch with him one time,

and he told me a story,

and I just didn't
believe any of it.

I thought he was just,

he got messed up by partyin',

was doin' drugs, and womanizing

like we all were
doin' back in the day,

and that his wife caught him

and he was just tryin'
to save his marriage

'cause it'll cost him a
lot of money and whatever.

So I was like, "Whatever, Ted."

- There's always
gonna be doubters,

and that's just human nature.

But, I've learned somethin'
on my journey, man.

Don't point the finger
at the other guy.

Take care of your own stuff.

Clean up your own back yard.

Don't worry about
somebody else's.

- From someone like me
who traveled with him

for so many years,

to go see him and
hook up with him

and the first thing he does
is open up his briefcase

and take out pictures
of this family

and put 'em all over the room
in the hotel every night,

it changed from, "Let's
go out and have a drink,"

to, "Okay, let's go have dinner

"and if we're
gonna have a drink,

"well, let's just come back
here and sit in the room."

So, he removed himself from
that temptation at that time

and it was just different,
it was a different Ted.

- So, I was really
a wait and see guy.

I was very skeptical,

even you can say
cynical, obviously,

and over time, not knowing what,

"by his fruits,"
meant back then,

I could see that Ted was
definitely a different guy.

- I think he's very sincere.

- Ted was definitely a
father figure in my life.

He's the only person that I've

pretty much looked
at as a father to me.

The time that he spent with me

in the hotel rooms
or at his house,

or part of his family,

I mean, it goes beyond
words, what that meant to me.

Especially me without a father.

You know, my dad died,

when I was young, so
it was pretty powerful.

- Teddy was at this church.

It was outside, and Teddy just

basically told his testimony.

And when he started, I thought,

"Oh, boy, here we go,
it's at work again."

It's not the real deal.

This is just another phony

using the Lord for his business.

As Teddy talked, and
he told the story

that he had to get outta there

and I had been part of that,

the way he humbled himself,

I started to realize that
this is the real deal.

This is really the real deal.

In fact, he was so
convincing to me

that a couple, maybe six
months to a year later,

it opened me up for my
walk with Jesus Christ.

It touched me, so that
Teddy's accepting of the Lord

actually played a role in
touching me through it.

So, ya know, it's pretty
personal, when it gets that way.

- I'm very thankful
that Ted did that,

'cause it really, I
think, broke ground

and some of our hearts as well.

But I can't imagine
what that was like,

walking through that
in our industry.

- The main thing
that we're here for

is the man of honor tonight.

Give it up for Ted
DiBiase, people!

(congregation applauding)

A lot of people know that

a few years ago I tried
to take my own life

and I'm doin' really good, now,

but in one of the
darkest hours of my life,

Ted reached out to me

and he's always shown me love.

He never judged me and Ted,

it just means the world to me

that you're a friend of mine

and I love you very much, Ted,

and thank you so much.

Thank you.

God is great!

I love you, Ted.
(congregation applauding)

- [Ted] God loves ya.

- My mom is amazing.

She's an angel

and I don't know that I would
have the strength to do that.

But I also know, even more
so now, the man that he is.

And, I can tell you
that a lot of people,

(clearing throat)

I saw Willcox, that little town,

and I know my dad's been workin'

since he was six
years old every day.

He still works today.

He hadn't stopped.

I can't tell ya the last time,

I don't know the last time

my dad ever spent
a dime on himself.

He is a servant of the Lord.

And that's my dad.

He made a mistake, we all do.

This journey in
learnin' about this,

it's given me just the
admiration I already had,

but now, understandin'
just the pain

that you've gone through,

bein' away and then
goin' through that,

and then literally
livin' a selfless life,

that's the kind of dad
I want to be to my son.

Following in your
footsteps again, ya know?

Like, I wanted to be a wrestler,

now I wanna be that kind of dad.

I want my son to be proud of me

because of the man
that I've become.

The character and the
integrity that I exemplify.

The only reason I want
that and desire that

is because that's
the man you became.

- Whoo!

- Because you said, "Less
of me, God, more of you."

I know you almost lost it,

but you built it even stronger,

and you took advantage of that

and I just wanna tell you
thank you, and I love you.

- I love you too, man.

(slapping)

Love you, too.

- [Tate] I'm a wrestler!

- You're a wrestler?

(both growling)

Hey, what wrestler are you?

- DiBiase!

- [Ted Jr.] Ooh!

Are you the Romper Stomper?

(imitating whooshing)

- I am the Romper Stomper!

I come a-rompin' and a-stompin'!

- I think Ted's
initial catch-phrase,

"Everybody has a price,"

opens up an interesting box.

I think it goes back to the days

of the Faustian bargain,

you know, what would you be
willing to do to live that life?

And in a lot of cases,
people pay too much.

The price of fame is too costly,

you know, comes at the expense

of your family, your
relationships, your health.

So, it's something I
deal with every day.

So I think it's a
good question to ask.

There are some days when I
tackle a flight of stairs

and think to myself,
was it really worth it?

Some days when
you get a headache

from five minutes of
bright lights and things,

was it really worth it?

And, I think Ted has asked
himself that question

many times over
the years as well.

I think that's why his
testimony is so valuable,

because I think
pre-testimony Ted's answer

being no, it's wasn't
worth the price of fame

and post-testimony I
think the answer is

absolutely, it was worth it

that he's doin something
bigger than the business.

- Yep, that's my dad,

who loved to lace up his boots,

(indistinct chattering)

who loved the roar of the crowd.

Who battled with giants
(indistinct chattering)

and titans that were
larger than life.

Yep, that's my dad,
(indistinct chattering)

who said, "Everybody's
got a price,"

and when it came to fame he
learned that, well, it's true.

(soft music)

(car rumbling)

(door thudding)

- You know, Dad,
it's been a long time

since my last visit,

but I always come back

and I'll keep comin' back.

I was only 15 years old

when I came out
here way back when,

feelin' lost, not knowin'
what was gonna happen to me.

Watchin' mom drink
Herself into oblivion

and I came here for your help,

to help remember the things

that you taught me
and instilled in me.

You know, Dad, I did
pretty good at first.

I got that scholarship,

I went to college,

I didn't smoke and
drink and go crazy.

But when I got to college

I let it creep into my life,

all those things that
you warned me about.

The truth is, it controlled
me for nearly 20 years.

You didn't want me
to be a wrestler,

but I had to be just like you.

Then God blessed
me with Melanie.

God blessed us with children,

but I came out here tonight

just like I did so
many times before

to let you know I
finally got it right.

I finally got it right, Dad.

All I ever wanted when I

was 15 years old was
to make you proud.

And, now, I think that I have.

I think that you would be.

(sighing heavily)

It's been so long,

but it seems like
yesterday when I come here.

I miss you.

I miss you very much,

but I'll see you again.

I have three good boys.

They're good boys.

I've tried to instill in them

the same things that
you instilled in me.

Rocky road, sometimes,
but they got it, Dad.

They got it a lot
faster than I did.

I'm a grandfather, now.

Yeah, you're a
great-grandfather.

I just wish that they would
have the opportunity to meet ya.

I'm gonna keep going, I promise.

I'm gonna keep livin' right,

and I'm gonna keep
livin' for God.

I hope you're proud of me,
Dad, and I love you very much.

(soft music)
(softly sobbing)

- And, yes, that's my dad,

that after all of this,

he left his dream,

the only thing that he knew
how to do, for his family.

I know this is where you
came, and talked to your dad,

and I just want you to know

I'm so blessed that I
have you here to talk to.

And I'm so grateful
for the things

that you have taught
me over the years

and to dream big and go for it,

and never let anybody
tell me I couldn't do it,

but with whatever I did to
put character and integrity,

before everything, and,

- This is where
it started for me.

- You know, if those
walls could talk,

and if Mike was
standin' right here,

I know exactly
what he would say.

He'd say, "Good job, son.

"You did good!"

- I love you.

- Love you too, Dad.

- I just wish that you had

been able to meet
him and know him.

- Me too.

- I came here for
a lot of reasons.

When I was in
turmoil, when I was

watching my mom drink,

and not knowing what to do,

and goin', "Dad, what do I do?

"What would you have done?"

But I found peace here, too.

God met me here.

God comforted me here.

(sniffling)

(sighing)

- Yup, that's my dad,

that taught me to be a man
of character and integrity.

Yup, that's my dad,

who taught me how to
be a loving husband.

But, probably most importantly,

how to be a good father.

(soft music)