On the latest episode of the Everybody’s Got a Pod, WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase talked about the passing of Virgil, their relationship as Virgil was his valet in WWE, and more. You can check out some highlights below:
On Virgil’s passing: “I was really sad to hear that. Mike Jones is Virgil’s real name. And we met in the WWE office when this whole thing with the Million Dollar Man started. And you know, back then Mike had — oh my gosh, you know, he had this tremendous body and kept himself in shape. And basically, that was his role. He was like the bodyguard. I would run my mouth, and if somebody wanted to say something I’d back up and say, ‘Virgil, take over.’ But we did a thing where basically as Virgil, Mike gets tired of all my crap, right? And just says, ‘I’m not doing it anymore.’ And so, we ended up having a one-off and had a match. And doggone it, you know, Mike was a great guy, nice guy. And like I said, to keep your body in that kind of shape takes a lot of discipline. And he was very good at that, he was much better at doing that than I obviously was in terms of keeping his body in great shape. I just wish that he had been more wrestling savvy, I don’t know how to put it any other way. Because if he could have really wrestled, we could have had a good run.
“But basically, it was on and it was over, pretty quick. Good old Virgil, he didn’t have the charisma. And so you know, it was probably over before it really started. But you know, we continue to be friends, and I would see him at some of the comic cons from time to time. And I told him going forward, I said, ‘If you get booked on any of the comic cons and we end up there together, then please come and sit with me.’ And I did that much. But the reason that I stopped doing that was things that Virgil had said to some fans that just — you know, it wasn’t right. But I’m looking back at it from where I am now, and I’m going — and see, he never would say that to me. He didn’t want anybody to know that he was struggling. Aand later, I find out. I couldn’t remember the guy’s name that was his caretaker, but it was the seeing to it that he was taking care of a little bit better. And I just don’t know. It’s mind-boggling to me because, you know, I don’t know who he was living with or how he was living. But I know that it was not good. It’s just — it’s just a sad story.”
On Virgil’s time in WCW: “As a matter of fact, when I went to WCW that’s one of the things I did is — like, they had all these people that were coming over. And it was kind of like [the storyline was] the wrestlers were taking over. So if you’re taking over, then obviously you need security. And I said, ‘What better security could I have been the guy who was my security for all those years?’ And so I got Virgil booked with WCW.”
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Everybody’s Got a Pod with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.
