The Million Dollar Man, whose career was so intertwined with Virgil’s in the WWE, commented publicly today about his passing.
On Ted DiBiase’s own Everybody’s Got A Podcast show, he spoke about the death of his colleague and friend.
“We continued to be friends. I would see him at some of the Comic-Cons from time to time. 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.’ I did that much but the reason that I stopped doing it was things that Virgil had said to some fans weren’t right but I’m looking back at it from where I am now and I’m going: See, he never would say that to me, he didn’t want anybody to know that he was struggling. Later, I did find out. I can’t remember the guy’s name that was his caretaker, but he was seeing to it that he was taken care of a little bit better. I just don’t know. It’s mind-boggling to me because 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 a sad story,” he said.
Dibiase remembered them starting the Million Dollar Man gimmick as if it were just yesterday.
“Back then, Mike (Virgil) Jones had this tremendous body and kept himself in shape and eventually that was his role. He was like the bodyguard,” said DiBiase stating that his evil persona used Virgil as a cowardly shield.
Eventually, Virgil grew tired of being treated poorly and dumped the Million Dollar Man in a great angle.
“Mike was a great guy, nice guy an to keep your body in that kind of shape takes a lot of discipline. 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 but I just wish that he had had 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 ol’ Virgil. He didn’t have the charisma, you know. It was probably over before it really started,” said DiBiase.
Jones passed away on Wednesday. He was 72.
RELATED LINKS
- Mar. 6, 2024: Jones family grateful for outpouring of love for little brother Virgil
- Feb. 28, 2024: ‘Virgil’ Mike Jones dies
- Feb. 28, 2024: Wrestling world remembers Virgil
- July 22, 2023: Mat Matters: Setting the record straight on Virgil’s current circumstances
- Jan. 19, 2022: Guest Column: Virgil runs through my wrestling fandom
- July 14, 2021: Virgil’s new game, Meatsauce Madness, an ode to the Olive Garden
- DiBiase story archive – ‘Million Dollar Man’ and Ted DiBiase Jr.
