| Mike DiBiase II | |
| Birth Name: | Michael Wills Foreman DiBiase II |
| Birth Date: | 10 September 1977[1] |
| Birth Place: | Clinton, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Family: | Iron Mike DiBiase (grandfather) Helen Hild (grandmother) Ted DiBiase (father) Ted DiBiase Jr. (half-brother) Brett DiBiase (half-brother) Terry Funk (godfather) |
| Names: | Mike DiBiase |
| Weight: | 227lb |
| Trainer: | Ted DiBiase Terry Funk Harley Race Chris Youngblood |
| Debut: | July 8, 2006 |
| Retired: | 2009 |
Michael Wills Foreman DiBiase II (born September 10, 1977)[2] is an American retired professional wrestler.[3] A third generation wrestler, DiBiase is the grandson of Iron Mike DiBiase and Helen Hild and the son of "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase.
DiBiase began his career in early 2006, when he and his younger half brother Ted began training in Amarillo, Texas with Chris Youngblood while gaining experience wrestling in shows for local independent wrestling promotion Professional Wrestling Federation (PWF). While there, DiBiase became the first-ever PWF West Texas Wrestling Legends Heritage Champion. He also won the 2006 Jay Youngblood Memorial Tag Team Tournament Cup alongside "Radical" Ricky Romero III. DiBiase and Romero became the first tag team in professional wrestling that consisted of two third generation superstars, and became known as Team 3G.
In mid-2006, the DiBiase brothers went to train with former NWA World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Hall of Famer Harley Race, and began competing in his World League Wrestling promotion. The DiBiase brothers began working as a tag team, and made their debut in April 2006, beating the then-WLW Tag Team Champions. DiBiase continued his stay in WLW and became one half of The WLW Tag Team Champions with "Wild" Wade Chism. On January 13, 2007, DiBiase returned to PWF for their Wrestlution event, where he defeated Mosh Pit Mike. Both DiBiase and his brother Ted signed contracts with Pro Wrestling Noah in late January, but suffered a knee injury. In February 2007, DiBiase suffered a torn ACL during a training session with Race. DiBiase had immediate surgery and was out of action for over five months. Due to his injury, he and "Wild" Wade Chism were stripped of the WLW Tag Team Titles.
During his injury, DiBiase relocated back to Amarillo, Texas and began scouting matches and offering advice to young wrestlers. He also made several in-ring appearances at the weekly events. On March 3, 2007, he vowed to win the PWF West Texas Wrestling Legends Heritage Championship, after he had returned. His next appearance was on April 28, 2007, when he awarded the 2007 Jay Youngblood Memorial Tag Team Tournament Cup to the team Pain Inc. (Mosh Pit Mike and WidowMaker). DiBiase's first match back after his injury was on July 7, 2007 when Team 3G reunited and became the PWF Tag Team Champions after defeating Pain Inc. and The Texas Heart Throbs (Brice Payne and Shawn Sanders) in a three-way tag team match. On December 8, 2007, DiBiase won the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship by defeating Damien Wayne in Las Vegas, Nevada.[4]
DiBiase added the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship to his collection on August 6, 2008, defeating Chaz Taylor in Amarillo, Texas.[5] He was later stripped of the title, however, for missing a scheduled title defense on October 4. On May 1, 2009, DiBiase lost the NWA North American Championship to Apollo. He retired from professional wrestling later that year.[1]
DiBiase is a third generation professional wrestler; his grandfather, Iron Mike DiBiase, and his grandmother, Helen Hild, were professional wrestlers, and he is the eldest son of Ted DiBiase. Both his younger half brothers Ted Jr. and Brett wrestled professionally.[6] [7] DiBiase is Terry Funk's godson.[8]
DiBiase competed in amateur wrestling, college football, and soccer, before becoming a professional wrestler.[8] He also worked as an account executive for MCI WorldCom.[6]
On January 23, 2014, DiBiase was arrested following a 12-hour standoff with police in Amarillo, Texas. Initially sought by police for a parole violation, a SWAT team used tear gas to arrest DiBiase for both the parole violation and hindering apprehension.[9] [10]