Ted DiBiase health: WWE's Million Dollar Man brain trauma comments explained

Wrestling veteran Ted Dibiase has admitted that he is still coping with the fallout from his career on the most recent episode of his "Everybody's Got A Pod" podcast.

The 69-year old stopped competing regularly in 1993, hanging up his boots earlier than many of his contemporaries in order to try and live a long and comfortable life, and has only appeared in matches twice since. "I don't have Alzheimer's and I don't have dementia," DiBiase said.

"But they said, 'Ted, you have something - we just simply call it severe brain trauma.' I only wrestled maybe almost 20 years, so I'm not surprised I might have a little brain trauma. What it affects is my memory, and they say it'd be easier for [me] to remember something [I] did 40 or 50 years ago, but the short-term memory - some of the stuff like now - it's bits and pieces."

DiBiase is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), now known as WWE, where he had a successful career in professional wrestling and achieved several notable accomplishments.

His catchphrase, "Everybody's got a price," and his arrogant, wealthy gimmick made him a notable figure in the 1980s and 1990s wrestling scene, and he was rarely seen without his Million Dollar Championship, the belt he created and which became synonymous with his persona.

He formed a highly successful tag team called The Mega Bucks with Andre the Giant, who challenged Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage for the WWF Tag Team Championship at the inaugural SummerSlam event in 1988, and had a memorable feud with Jake "The Snake" Roberts, a rivalry which culminated in a match at WrestleMania VI in 1990, where DiBiase defeated Roberts.

In 2010, Ted DiBiase was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in recognition of his contributions to the wrestling industry. His Million Dollar Man character is considered one of the most iconic and memorable personas in professional wrestling history. Despite being known as the Million Dollar Man, CelebrityNetWorth.com estimates his net worth to be double the figure.

Despite the scripted nature of professional wrestling, the performers often engage in physically demanding and high-impact manoeuvres While they aim to minimise the risk of injury, accidents can happen, and performers can sustain concussions or other head injuries. Repeated exposure to head trauma, even in a controlled environment, can have long-term effects on the brain.

Over time, the cumulative effect of multiple head injuries can have a detrimental impact on a wrestler's brain health. Even if individual injuries may not seem severe, the repetitive nature of the sport and the accumulation of smaller traumas can contribute to long-term brain problems.

Perhaps most infamously, Chris Benoit, a highly regarded professional wrestler known for his technical skills, committed a murder-suicide involving his wife and son before taking his own life in 2007. A subsequent examination of his brain revealed severe damage consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), likely resulting from his years of wrestling and numerous head traumas.

Outside of the wrestling world, DiBiase and his family are currently the subject of a political scandal after accusations that members of the DiBiase family stole millions of dollars in federal aid funds intended for low-income families.

Both of DiBiase's sons, Ted Jr. and Brett, are heavily involved; Brett admitted guilt in the welfare fraud case earlier this year, and Ted Jr.'s trial was originally scheduled to start in June but now seems to have been postponed.

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