WWE Legend Ted DiBiase Recalls Crazy Fan Reaction After He Turned On Junkyard Dog

Back in the '80s, Ted DiBiase cheated his close friend, the late Junkyard Dog, out of the Mid-South North American Championship. DiBiase spoke about the fan reaction to his heel turn on his "Everybody's Got A Pod" podcast.

"I had been a babyface in Mid-South from the very beginning," DiBiase said. "And I had left Mid-South and come back to Mid-South — I was still a babyface. But when I turned heel on Junkyard Dog, that was probably, in terms of drawing and money-making for territorial wrestling, that was the best. My heel turn on JYD ... The crowd in New Orleans was about 90 percent black, and they loved JYD, right? Up until then, they had loved me."

DiBiase went on to say that he told the late Grizzly Smith, who was working behind the scenes for Mid-South at the time, that he wasn't going to drive his car to New Orleans for the show because it would get vandalized after his heel turn. The former Million Dollar Champion ended up riding with Smith to the event, but after DiBiase captured the Mid-South North American Championship by knocking out Dog with a loaded glove, Smith informed the WWE Hall of Famer that some fans had slashed all his car tires.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Everybody's Got A Pod" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription