[1990-01-20-WWF-Superstars] Jake Roberts and Ted DiBiase

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

At the conclusion of a Jake squash, DiBiase sends Virgil to reclaim the Million Dollar Belt, which is in the bag with Damian. Virgil takes off running after contact with the snake and DiBiase still doesn't have his belt back. Fun segment.

[PeteF3]

Between DiBiase's abuse of Virgil here and his being upset with Virgil picking #1 for him at the Rumble, it almost seems like they were teasing the babyface turn already. I guess that was something they always planned to keep in the holster until the time was right.

[soup23]

Really neat character development segment that only lasts about two minutes. Dibiase slapping Virgil then whipping out the bills was great. Virgil jumping out of the ring looked very believable as well.

[Kevin Ridge]

DiBiase makes Virgil get in the ring to get the Million Dollar Championship back. Virgil isn’t too thrilled with Damien being in the bag. DiBiase slaps Virgil in the face to motivate him a bit. Wow, they really went slow with Virgil’s turn which wouldn’t happen for another year.

[Cox]

This kind of seems vaguely racist, but I might be a bit oversensitive. At any rate, it's kind of hard to sympathize with a belt thief who may or may not be pure evil, even if DiBiase isn't exactly a bastion of good will.

[PeteF3]

This kind of seems vaguely racist, but I might be a bit oversensitive. At any rate, it's kind of hard to sympathize with a belt thief who may or may not be pure evil, even if DiBiase isn't exactly a bastion of good will.

I picked up on the "black guy = scared of snakes" vibe too, but in the WWF EVERY heel was afraid of snakes. The fact that DiBiase had Virgil in charge of retrieving the belt per se meant that he was included in that category.

[JerryvonKramer]

This was a FULL year before Virgil's actual face turn. I still think that whole storyline doesn't get enough credit for how well it was booked.

 

Jake has some magnificent promos in this particular feud and I'm looking forward to them.

[Laney]

Fun and short segment here. Virgil sprinting backstage after Roberts emptied the bag was entertaining. I didn't see anything racist about this at all unless there is some kind of stereotype that I'm not aware of.

[bradhindsight]

Agree that all heels were afraid of Damien so nothing racist. Give Virgil credit, he created a lot of the anxiousness there in the crowd with some decent acting. Fun - looking forward to the Jake/MDM stuff.

[cheapshot]

I didn't think this was racist at all, like others said. JVK is right as the whole Virgil / DiBiase fallout is not rushed at all and the seeds are planted months before the actual split.

I completely prefer Roberts as a heel but I will try and give this face run and feud with DiBiase a chance.

[garretta]

I'm not sure if you can call this foreshadowing Virgil's turn; Teddy's abused Virgil in one way or another since they came to the WWF, plus he was understandably emotional over the loss of his property.

 

This was fun stuff, but I'm not too keen on the Million Dollar Belt as an idea; Teddy was never the World title contender he should have been after it was created. It was almost like telling the fans straight out (as much as they dared at the time) that he would never be WWF champion. You can put the crown in the same boat, at least before Lawler showed up (since "The King" was, and still is, his personal gimmick more than anyone else's in the sport, at least since he became identified with it in the 1980s).

[Johnny Guitar]

Good segment. Nothing revolutionary. But shows the importance of a mid card feud when fans believe in the characters and are invested in the outcome.

[drew wardlaw]

I'm no big animal rights activist or anything, but every Jake Roberts segment with Damian makes me so sad. I remember Jake saying how many different snakes he used over the years and it was some insane number. The horrors those snakes must have endured....

[Migs]

Agree that all heels were afraid of Damien so nothing racist. Give Virgil credit, he created a lot of the anxiousness there in the crowd with some decent acting. Fun - looking forward to the Jake/MDM stuff.

 

For what it's worth, in reading old Observers from this period, Dave harps a bit on this being racist, although I agree with everyone here that if it is, it's far more subtle than most WWF racism.

[GSR]

The end of a Jake squash and he's about to put the snake on the jobber when Ted Dibiase and Virgil come out to ringside. Dibiase wants Virgil to go and retrieve his Million Dollar Belt from inside the bag with Damian, but Virgil isn't too keen on the idea. Dibiase slaps him, waves some dollar bills in his face and Virgil cautiously gets in the ring. Jake teases him with the bag before emptying it. When Virgil sees the snake he takes a tumble backwards through the ropes to the floor and sprints to the back with Dibiase remonstrating for him to come back and get his belt, whilst Roberts holds both the belt and Damian aloft. Nice fall from Virgil here.

[Stiva]

Another fun little segment from the WWF and nobody ever really did these kind of things as well as them. Great character work, Damien remains the most feared worker in the company. Jake should have entered him at Number 30 in the Rumble and mopped up.