Wrestling Deja Vu 04.06.09: All About the Money

Posted by Joseph F. Martinez on 04.06.2009

Ted Dibiase used to say that “everybody has a price.” So what’s it going to take for you to click this column?

Hey yo. Welcome Wrestlemaniacs to the post-Wrestlemania edition of Wrestling Deja Vu. I'm sure you won't go far without hearing something about last night's huge show, so I'll try and keep my comments about it at a minimum. This column was turned in a little before Wrestlemania, so it's impossible for me to have a write-up in here. Why did I turn it in early? I expected the greatness of John Bradshaw Layfield wrestling at Wrestlemania to bring the site down for a bit.

Regardless, I'm sure the show was fantastic. Anyways the format for the column is altered a bit since I'm always for changes, so hopefully everything goes smooth.






Speaking of John Bradshaw Layfield, he's the subject of this week's WDV. One can divide Layfield's career into two parts. For the majority of his career he was a tough Texan who drew comparisons to the great Stan Hansen. The latter part of his career has Layfield using a rich snob gimmick similar to that of the Million-Dollar Man, Ted Dibiase. The focus of this column will be on Layfield's rich Texan gimmick, but as always, comments from last week are next.

Looking back

Slight mistakes on my part dominate the comments this week. Got any suggestions, questions or comments? Send an e-mail to [e-mail] or just leave something down in the comment section.

Flotsky: You put the Blue Blazer and Liger in a match together, and don't even have them wrestle? Let's just say that this might be a slight waste of talent.

Always leave them wanting more, I guess. The two never fought during Hart's life (from what I can find), so it's a shame they never got to do that, not even in the WDV ring.

Tim Smolens: Hurricane better than Liger? WRONG! Liger has been a legend around the world for two decades. He's had numerous high profile matches and titles. He pioneered a style of wrestling emulated to this day, and his character had a real point of reference. The hurricane? Phooey! Poppycock! Balderdash! Utter nonsense! Wake up son.

This wasn't the only comment about me picking Hurricane over Liger. I guess if you look at their whole careers, Liger blows Helms out of the water. I picked Hurricane over Liger because I was a Hurramark and he's always been more fun for me since I barely got into some wrestling from Japan.



And introducing the participants

A self-proclaimed WRESTLING GAWD. Bradshaw started wrestling in 1992 and was signed by the WWE in 1994. He underwent various midcard gimmicks until he was paired up with former World Champion, Farooq. The two formed a solid tag team called the Acolytes. Between the formation of the Acolytes and the birth of John Bradshaw Layfield, Bradshaw wrestled primarily as a tag wrestler (with a brief singles stint in 2002). He never rose above the midcard until he started applying his real life wealth into his on-screen character. Since then, Layfield has been at the top of the card (despite a retirement period). His Clothesline from Hell isn't as damaging as Stan Hansen's, but it's still a very effective finisher in the WWE. Layfield is probably near the end of his career, but he had a long solid run and won a world title. Not everyone can say that.




WHERE IS HE NOW?: Still wrestling. Depending on what happened last night, he's either the current or former Intercontinental champion. He is also a successful businessperson, owning his own company called John Layfield's Layfield Energy.



It's a shock that this guy is not in the WWE Hall of Fame yet. He wrestled in the company for around seven or eight years and was one of the more exciting characters before the Attitude Era. Before signing with the WWE, Dibiase enjoyed success in territories. He debuted in 1975 and in 1987, he joined the WWE. Dibiase never won a world title, but his gimmick made him an infamous character. He would tease the fans in the audience with promises of money if they did something embarrassing (kissing his foot). He had a big bodyguard who went by the name Virgil. He and Virgil were at the top of the card, but Dibiase never won the big one. This resulted in the birth of the Million Dollar title. The title was never recognized by the WWE as a legitimate championship, but Dibiase paraded it around as such.

WHERE IS HE NOW?: Dibiase left the WWF in 1996 (to fund the nWo among other things). He was a road agent for the WWE from 2005 to 2006 and he is currently a minister and motivational speaker. He was last seen on WWE television introducing his son, Ted Dibiase Jr., to the WWE Universe.

CHANGE (AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS) YOU CAN BELIEVE IN

Money makes the world go round. It also helps to have money if you're a wrestler because success seems to follow those guys. Ted Dibiase was the pioneer of the "rich snob" gimmick and he was one of wrestling's standouts when he was active. Years after the Million Dollar gimmick died, midcard cowboy, John Bradshaw Layfield, brought it back into the WWE. Like Dibiase before him, JBL berated people who had lesser than he did and he demanded respect. Layfield also won a world title, something that Dibiase failed to do during his career. It's not quite sure where Dibiase's money came from, but Layfield wrote a book about money management called Have More Money Now: A Common Sense Approach to Financial Management. This, along with a planned push, resulted in Layfield's money gimmick. Money, good promos and solid ring-work (although Dibiase was arguably better in this department) made these guys memorable and very similar to one another.

MASTERS OF THE MIC


JBL goes toe to toe with a dinosaur while Dibiase teaches a kid the facts of life

Charisma is something that a wrestler needs if he or she wants to get over with a gimmick like Dibiase's. Without charisma, threats come off as empty and weak, but magical things can happen with charismatic figures like Layfield and Dibiase. Being able to talk on the mic was not the only thing these two guys had in common. They also were very flexible with their characters. Sometimes, they were completely serious, but other moments saw them in a comedic manner. The two promos above are examples of their lighter work, but both have classic moments where they are serious, take JBL killing Hornswoggle as an example.

INVESTING IN A BETTER TOMORROW

One of the great things about having excess currency in a world driven by money is the ability to purchase all the things one wants. This is pretty prevalent in the careers of JBL and Dibiase. These guys had the money to buy bodyguards, matches, titles and sometimes they led to bigger and better things. Layfield had the most recent of these encounters when his buyout of Shawn Michaels' contract led to a feud between the two and eventually, a match between HBK and The Undertaker at last night's Wrestlemania. Layfield's Cabinet back during his title run also spurred other things, including a bigger profile for Orlando Jordan (who won a US title with the group).

Ted Dibiase is no stranger to this though. Recently, he has made waves by debuting his children into the industry, but back when he was a wrestler, he used his money to bring in wrestlers. One of these men was future WWE Hall of Famer, The Undertaker, who was brought into the WWE by Dibiase in 1990. His money also played a role when he bought the contract of Hercules, thus making him his slave. This led to a face turn by Hercules and a subsequent feud. Oh, and he also introduced a guy who went by the name, The Ringmaster. He went on to win titles, sell tickets and enter the Hall of Fame as Stone Cold Steve Austin. These are not the only instances where these two used their money to invest in the future of wrestling, but they are the more dominant ones.

WDV FACE-OFF

The bell rings and the two lock up. Layfield shoves Dibiase into the ropes and the Million Dollar Man responds with a shoulder block that knocks Bradshaw to the ground. An elbow drop from Dibiase is missed and JBL takes advantage by lifting Dibiase and bringing him down again with a body slam. He tries to do his patented multiple elbow drop spot but only hits one before Dibiase rolls out of the ring. After a 30 second stare down, Dibiase is back into the ring and the two lock up again, this time Dibiase connects with a quick fist drop. He lifts Layfield up and tries to suplex him, but to no avail. Bradshaw squirms out of Dibiase's grasp, avoids a quick punch from the Million Dollar Man and locks on a bear hug. No submission victory is had, so Bradshaw alters his position and hits a quick Russian Leg Sweep. He goes for the pin, but only gets 2. He tries another pin after that but Dibiase is out after 1. Bradshaw berates the ref, but is stopped when Dibiase interrupts with a reverse atomic drop. Dibiase struggles to the top rope for the back elbow drop, but it's missed. Layfield picks Dibiase up, whips him against the ropes and connects with the Clothesline from Hell for the win.

The Rundown

Money, charisma, and great storyline involvement were trademarks of these two individuals. Like the superhero gimmick from last week's column, the rich gimmick is another character that can get old if overused, but can deliver some solid results. Layfield and Dibiase worked the gimmick to perfection. Up and comer Robert Roode is trying to make his way up the ranks with a similar gimmick and time will tell if he ever enjoys success like either of these men. Without the gimmick, Bradshaw's time as a WWE employee may have been over by now. It gave his career a fresh breath of air and a path to the main event. Dibiase enjoyed success before he came into the WWF (where he adopted the gimmick), so it can be argued he would have done okay without it. Still, when Layfield hangs up his boots, and the WWE (or any other organization) wants to put a young heel over, all they need to do is give him some kayfabe riches.

In Case You Missed It

Miss any columns posted over the weekend? No problem, here is everything that was done.

411Mania's Squared Circle News Report

Wrestlemania Evolution Schematic

Column of Honor

The Bell to Bell News Report

Shining a Spotlight

Contemplating CHIKARA

Of course, look out for the buckets of Wrestlemania coverage that 411mania provides.

Goodnight, Travel Well

- I think it's illegal for me to go a whole column without mentioning Dibiase's laugh, so here's that blurb for it. It fit his whole character perfectly.

- With all the wrestling I've been watching in anticipation of Wrestlemania, I almost forgot about the start of the MLB season. I have high hopes for the Texas Rangers this year even though most people think they won't compete until next season. Fantasy baseball is also something I'm looking forward to.

- John Bradshaw Layfield is my favorite wrestler of all-time, so I hope any bias towards the man is not very noticeable in this column. I know his career is really close to the end (it may have ended last night) and his in-ring ability is declining, but I always enjoy watching him perform. He isn't a Hall of Famer, but he should be remembered.

-Tonight on Raw there should be all the fallout from Wrestlemania. With Backlash in 3 weeks, the WWE may start some of that build for that. I know WWE.com once said Backlash was a bunch of Mania rematches, but that'll probably change some with next week's draft.

- So, there you have it. Another column done and seven days until a new one. Hope you enjoyed Wrestling Deja Vu this week and bookmark 411mania so you won't forget to come back here next Monday when I have another article up.