Customer Reviews

Every Man Has His Price: The True Story of Wrestling's Million-Dollar Man

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I grew up watching professional wrestling with men like Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales, Ric Flair, Harley Race, Nick Bockwinkle and so many others. I watched the WWF, NWA, AWA and WCW, Ted Dibiase was a part of this.

Every Man Has a Price is more than story about Dibiase's life in wrestling. It is a private look at a man who has been cheered by the fans as Ted Dibiase; Hated as the "Million Dollar Man", and through it all remained true to his faith.

Dibiase takes the reader on a journey from his beginnings in the sport to his life outside the sport. Follow his personal dealings with the WWF and Vince McMahon to the NOW of the WCW and Eric Bishoff.

Dibiase has also remained faithful to God and his life outside of wrestling show another side of a man who is caring and loving and devoted family man. The book is more than wrestling; it is a real story about a real man.

Being a wrestler myself, I can asscociate with what Ted has gone through. A wrestlers life, is a very lonely one, and we do it because we love it. Ted is very open about his child hood life, about his school and college years all the way through to his tenture in WCW.. I'm very protective of this bussiness, and Ted tells all in the most respectful way I've ever seen it explained. He does it with a certain type of class that only Ted Dibiase posses. After reading the book, I thanked God that my life prior and during wrestling was and is not as rough as Ted's was, but at the same time, it makes you realise that when things look good, you don't stop your faith, you try to make it stronger. Thanks Ted for writing such a wonderful and inspiring book. Whether you love him or hate him," Every Man Has His Price" will give you a new found respect for Ted, wrestling, and the works of the Lord. I give the book 4 stars cause I thought pictures of his career should have been added, then it would have been 5. ---God Bless All

Being a huge wrestling fan and a fan of the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase (one of wrestling's premiere stars over the past two decades), I was naturally drawn to read his autobiography. Having read this and a majority of the other wrestler autobiographies of recent years, I can easily say that DiBiase's "Every Man Has His Price" is clearly in a league of its own. While most of his colleagues detail there in-ring careers DiBiase's, while doing just that, actually goes FAR BEYOND the mere scopes of his wrestling career. "Every Man Has His Price" truly is the man's life story. It is the story of how he overcame personal demons to find the glory of the Lord.

This book was a true joy to read. It was brutally honest and you see the true side of Ted DiBiase. He literally is NOTHING like the character he portrayed on WWF television for nearly a decade. The book basically breaks up the story into three parts:

1. The first half of the book discusses his childhood and his relationship with his dad. It also describes his love of football and how he "grew up in the wrestling business." You become strongly aware of just how strong a family man he is. Over half of the book talks about his love for his dad, his grandmother and his family.

2. A quarter of the book talks about his wrestling career. You'll find out how he broke into the wrestling business and how he "paid his dues" working throughout the Mid-South, Texas, Kansas City, the East Coast and Georgia territories and how he became the "Million Dollar Man."

3. The rest of the book talks about how life on the road and its temptations nearly destroyed himself and his family and how he received redemption by finding God and Christ. The religious overtones of this book were obvious throughout its entirety but the story of how Jesus saved his life was a VERY powerful story and image throughout the ending of the book.

Overall, I would call this book a "Chicken Soup for the Christian's Soul." This book is a very powerful testament to the power of Christ, just as DiBiase had hoped it would be. It you are a wrestling fan looking for a little inside scoop or a little history to the wrestling business, or if you are a big DiBiase fan looking to learn a little more about him this book DOES deliver that. However, in the scheme of things that is just a mere side note to the book. The real message of the book is about finding salvation and repentance in the Lord.

DiBiase's story is really powerful, brutal, honest and emotional. I read this book in ONE sitting, total reading time about 5 hours. I literally did not put it down. You will enjoy this book.

Highly recommended.

If you are a wrestling fan, especially one who watched DiBiase wrestle, this is probably a worthwhile read. I wish there had been more wrestling content, but there are some good stories in there, such as the development of the Million Dollar Man character and his meetings with Vince McMahon. There's some other interesting stuff in there such as stories from the road, and the time he was filming a movie with Sylvester Stallone. I appreciated the fact that the story went back to his childhood, and I really felt that by reading this, it helped me get to know the man behind that great Million Dollar Man character. I was somewhat disappointed with the writing, as I found it amateurish at times. However, it wasn't so bad that I couldn't enjoy the book. One other thing that should be mentioned, this book deals a lot with Ted's Christianity. I was personally fine with that--I think it's great that he was reborn and all that, but early on in the story (his younger years) the religious stuff seems forced at times. However, I do believe that he is sincere when he talks about his Christianity, and overall it is a good book for a wrestling fan. (or probably those looking for an inspirational Christian story as well).

'Every Man Has His Price: The True Story of Wrestling's Million Dollar Man' is an interesting read if you are interested in one man's journey to becoming a born again Christian. If, like myself, you purchased this book in hopes that you might get some insights into the 'behind-the-scenes' world of professional wrestling, you will be thoroughly disappointed.

The book is not very daring or expansive in its scope and can be read in a couple of hours. As an adult who was obsessed with professional wrestling as a youngster, I remember Ted DiBiase from all of the wrestling magazines that I read (This was fifteen or so years ago when not everyone had cable). I was hoping to read about some of his expereinces in the ring and about some of the friendships he had. More often then not, however, DiBiase's description of these times read something like: 'I wrestled for the Georgia Championship Wrestling organization in 1983' He does give a good idea of the grind that regional wrestlers must endure, endless hours of driving and living out of cheap hotel rooms,etc.,and that does provide some background. The central theme for his story is mostly how he has come to be the born again Christian that he now is, set against the backdrop of his life experiences. The fact is that this book could have been written by anyone, regardless of the career field they are in, and it would have read much the same. If you are interested in reading a somewhat inspiring story of how a man was ultimately able to resist the temptations of fame, this might be the book for you. I warn you that it will require wading through literally dozens and dozens of religious platitudes and never does give you any real insight into the wrestling game. As such, if you are at all interested in getting some inside dish on the world of professional wrestling, this book will not fulfill your expectations. In the end, that is what is really disappointing about this book. DiBiase could have included all of the wrestling dirt AND the story of his inner turmoil and eventually triumph. For whatever reason, he chose not to and it makes, for the most part, a rather dull and unsatisfying read.

Every Man Has His Price is not the best wrestling autobiography out there, but it's one of the best, second under Have A Nice Day!, in my opinion. For one, Mr. DiBiase wrote it himself. DiBiase doesn't pretend to be a writer, so he produces a simple, straightforward account of his life and career.

In reallity, this isn't a book about wrestling as it is a book about a man's turn to God, a man who happened to be a pro wrestler, and one of wrestling's greatest heels.

The books's major flaw is that it's too short, and many details could have been added to supplement the book's story. There are a few factual errors, the one I remember was when he described the Wrestlemania 8 match with he and Mike Rotundo against the Natural Diasters has a great match. In reality, Money Inc. took the belts and ran, losing by count out. Not a great match.

Ted DiBiase was probably my favorite "vilain" in pro-wrestling but when you've read this book you realize that the man is the complete opposite in real life. I'll never look the man the same again, I now have a great deal of respect for what he has done in the ring and outside.

This book is more about Ted's personal lifestory as it
is about pro wrestling. This book gives us the account
of how his father died in the ring, and his ambition
towards football in his teen years. He also discusses
the tough times he had when he was starting out, and
his faith in religion. He also talks about his time
spent away from his family and how he wanted to spend
more time with his family and less time on the road.
This book is more like an autobiography than just
about pro wrestling, even though it is mentioned. He
also mentions the influence of his grandmother, and
what a positive role model she was for him, growing up.
He is a Christian for people who are wondering about
which religion he follows. He doesn't preach or try to
convert anyone to his religion. He just mentions in the
context of the book. He also talks about working for
various bookers in the WWF, WCW, MidSouth and other
locales during his career in the industry. I enjoyed
reading it.

Wrestling has been a lot of fun for me over the years and Ted was one of the best entertainers. This book is more of a spiritual journey for a man that I have come to know and admire. He takes you behind the scenes of his own experience and shows his heart. He pulls no punches about his failures and shortcomings, but ultimately, it's a story about a prodigal who came home! This will be a blessing to you!

Professional wrestler provides perspective about what's important in life

Jake the Snake, Macho Man Randy Savage, Sting, Lex Luger, and Hulk Hogan are best known for their antics in the ring. Professional wrestling is as popular in some countries as any major sporting events in the United States. And one of the best known "heels" in professional wrestling is Ted DiBiase, better known as "The Million Dollar Man."

DiBiase wrestled in front of hundreds of thousands of fans, becoming known as one of the truly "bad boys" of the professional wrestling circuit. The life of a professional wrestler is not much different from that of any professional athlete: constant travel, temptation, and strain on the family. Like other athletes, the pressure of wrestling in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) finally took its toll on DiBiase. Now retired from the ring, DiBiase recounts his own struggles as one of the sports better known figures in his new book Every Man Has His Price.

DiBiase says, "To be a professional wrestler you need the winning combination of being an athlete as well as an entertainer." He still bristles when asked if professional wrestling is real or fake. "To be skilled enough to be Main Event talent, it usually takes five to seven years of working before a crowd night after night," say DiBiase.

DiBiase is no longer the arrogant, hardhearted villain portrayed on television. His nasty image has given way to a tender side. When kids ask him about the toughest match he ever had, DiBiase says, "I tell them that my toughest match was with God." He says, "God was smiling down at me even when I had foolishly come to a place where I wasn't looking up at Him."

Every Man Has a Price is more than story about Ted Dibiase's life in wrestling. It is a private look at a man who has been cheered and Hated as the "Million Dollar Man", and through it all remained true to his faith.