“The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase is one of the greatest heels in history and it can be argued he’s equal to Ric Flair in many ways, but his lone WWE Championship run has been omitted from the history books.
DiBiase has taken it upon himself to begin a petition to have his title reign recognized by the WWE.
On his site, he states: “In February of 1988, Ted enlisted the services of the legendary Andre The Giant to assist with capturing the WWF Championship. Andre was successful in pinning Hulk Hogan at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, IN. In the history books WWE has decided not to recognize this title reign even though Ted defended the championship at a live show against Bam Bam Bigelow.”
Ted DiBiase’s reign lasted three days where he appeared in house shows with the one title defense as mentioned above.
WWE’s caught in their own web
Ted Dibiase gained the championship after Andre the Giant pinned Hulk Hogan to win it. This was when Earl Hebner’s “evil twin” counted Hogan down despite his shoulder being up on February 5, 1988 edition of Main Event.
The real Earl Hebner came out to challenge the decision, but it was allowed to stand. Andre then announced he was surrendering the championship to DiBiase for his three day reign.
WWF President Jack Tunney decided that DiBiase wasn’t the champion because he didn’t win it via pin or submission, and since Andre surrendered it the title was vacated.
This led to the championship tournament at WrestleMania 4 where Randy Savage defeated Ted DiBiase after the went through a grueling 4 and 3 matches respectively leading to the main event.
Savage won thanks to Hulk Hogan’s interference as he was there to negate Andre’s interference.
Andre’s title reign is recognized by the WWE, but not DiBiase despite him billed as the champion and defending it.
While it can be argued in the WWE’s favor for not having DiBiase in the record books, considering it was all part of a storyline he should be recognized.
This was part of one of the best storylines in WWE history, and it would ensure that all participating members are fully recognized for their contributions.
The tricky part is the WWE tends not to recognize what happens in house shows unless it’s in Madison Square Garden.
Though there is a way around thing since it’s not like the WWE hasn’t rewritten their own history a million times when it suits them.
Do you think Ted DiBiase’s WWE Championship run should be recognized? Let us know below and head over to the link above to sign the petition.
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