During a recent episode of his podcast, “Everybody’s Got A Pod,” WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase Sr. shared his thoughts on various topics including the Papa Shango character and RoboCop’s appearance in WCW.
DiBiase Jr., on his own experience and thoughts about wrestling, highlighted how important storylines and character protection were in wresting. Given his father’s experience, he placed a strong emphasis on preserving the integrity of the story. He used an analogy to express his point – though everyone knows a magic trick is not real, the audience would want to know how it was executed. He feels the same sense of curiosity is what draws people into wrestling. He also noted how important the business’s protection is and how he ensured he was not seen with Dusty Rhodes, the American Dream, outside of their scenes, as it helps the audience invest in the story.
The WWE legend further shared his views on cross-promotions between wrestling companies and movies. He believes there’s no inherent harm in such integrations but stresses the importance of executing it tactfully.
On the subject of RoboCop’s involvement in WCW, Dibase Sr. had mixed feelings. While he admitted he wasn’t fully privy to the storyline and it’s execution, he agreed it could have gone a bit too far. Dibase Sr. also noted the potential risk such instances pose to the wrestling world’s realism. For him, tranfering a pure film character like a robot or a Superman into wrestling could risk breaking the illusion for fans.