On a recent edition of his “Everybody’s Got A Pod” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase Sr. discussed Harley Race’s gimmick in WWE, Vince McMahon’s influence in making that character a king, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On Harley Race’s gimmick in WWE as king: “The people have seen this guy as Harley Race. In the make-believe world of professional wrestling, he’s a tough guy. In real life, he’s a tough guy, right? He’s a guy you do know — I would say it this way. If you had to walk down a dark alley at night and you knew there were a bunch of thugs in the alley. If you only had your choice of having one person to go with you, it would be Harley Race. But sometimes I wonder if that was like Vince — like a rib. Like, ‘Okay, this big, tough Harley Race, and I’m gonna make him king.’ Again — here’s the thing that’s hard for me too, and I think Jake would probably agree with me on this because we grew up in the old-school way. Our fathers were old-school wrestlers, and so this new thing with the WWF and trying to market towards children and stuff toys and stuff like that. Your bigger-than-life hero Hulk Hogan; and I’m like Snidely Whiplash, everybody’s got a price for me. Kind of cartoonish. And so, I have to keep that in mind in terms of what Vince would try for Harley. So, yep, swings both ways.”
On The Bushwackers transforming into the Sheepherders: “You know what, those guys were great. And I loved them. I mean, it was kind of like — their gimmick, they do the deal and they would get everybody to follow. But you know, aside from the gimmick and all the faces they can make and all that stuff, they were really great workers. I mean, it was like a night off because they were so easy to work with. You didn’t have to do much coaxing or leading. It was just natural. And so to have a tag match with those guys, I would always look forward to it. Vince brings them in, and they make this change. And again, it’s kind of like me. They’re gonna be good guys, but they’re gonna get the kids to like him because of all that crazy stuff they do.
“For me, the first time I went to the WWF, I was a baby face. So when Vince brought me back in, he brought me back in and the whole thing… the one thing everybody hates is somebody who by virtue of their wealth bullies people, the character of the Million Dollar Man. But it was always easy to work with these guys, because the kids love to — and of course it was especially, I had a lot of fun because being one of the most hated heels and wrestling with the Bushwhackers was, and they would do things to where, I’d be brought back up like this and when he comes to the ring, he just has taps me on the shoulder. And I turn around, and he just pokes me in the eyes. [laughs] And I just go down sell the heck out of it. Some of it was silly stuff, but you mix it with a serious match. It’s hard to explain, but they were great at it.”
