Title History
- NWA (Chicago/Indianapolis) World Tag Team titles w/Danny Pleachas defeating Joe Tangara & Guy Brunetti (Febuary 18, 1956);
- NWA Central States Heavyweight title defeating ????? (April ??, 1956);
- NWA Texas Tag Team titles w/Danny Pleachas defeating ?????? (May ??, 1956);
- NWA Texas Tag Team titles w/Danny Pleachas won a tournament (July 6, 1956);
- NWA (Amarillo) North American Heavyweight title defeating Bob Geigal (August 15, 1957);
- NWA Southwest Tag Team titles w/Danny Pleachas defeating Leo Garibaldi & Sonny Myers (December 12, 1957);
- NWA (Amarillo) North American Heavyweight title defeating Dory Funk Sr. (????, 1958);
- (New Mexico) Rocky Mountain Tag Team titles w/Juan Garcia defeating Rip Hawk & Danny Pleachas (November 24, 1958);
- NWA Texas Brass Knuckles title defeating Danny McShain (????, 1959);
- NWA (Amarillo) Southwest Junior Heavyweight title defeating Dory Funk Sr. (????, 1959);
- NWA (Amarillo) International Tag Team titles w/Danny Pleachas defeating Roy Heffernan & Al Costello (Febuary 19, 1959);
- NWA World Junior Heavyweight title defeating Angelo Savoldi (May 29, 1959);
- NWA (Florida) Southern Heavyweight title defeating Red Raider (January 19, 1960);
- NWA Florida Brass Knuckles title defeating Eddie Graham (April 19, 1960);
- NWA Southwest Tag Team titles w/Dr. X defeating Art Neilson & Nick Roberts (July ??, 1960);
- NWA (Amarillo) North American Heavyweight title defeating Pancho Lopez (October 27, 1960);
- NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight title defeating Herb Freeman (March 31, 1961);
- NWA Central States Heavyweight title defeating ???????? (December ??, 1964);
- NWA Southwest Tag Team titles w/Fritz Von Erich defeating Ricky Romero & Dory Funk Sr. (????, 1965);
- NWA Central States Heavyweight title defeating The Viking (December 16, 1966);
- WWA (Los Angeles) World Tag Team titles w/Killer Karl Kox defeating Ricky Romero & Pedro Morales (????, 1967);
- WWA (Los Angeles) World Tag Team titles w/Karl Gotch defeating Kim Il & Mr. Moto (????, 1967);
- AWA Midwest Tag Team titles w/Bob Orton Sr. defeating Doug Gilbert & Reggie Parks (????, 1967);
- WWA (Los Angeles) Americas Heavyweight title defeating Pampero Firpo (June 16, 1967);
- WWA (Los Angeles) World Heavyweight title defeating Kim Il (July 28, 1967);
- AWA Midwest Heavyweight title defeating Mighty Igor Vodik (January 6, 1968);
- AWA Midwest Heavyweight title defeating Bob Ellis (August ??, 1968);
- AWA Midwest Tag Team titles w/Bob Orton Sr. defeating Dale Lewis & Stan Pulaski (October ??, 1968);
- AWA Midwest Heavyweight title defeating Bob Ellis (October 26, 1968);
Career Highlights
- Mike DiBiase was a National collegiate wrestling champion at The University of Nebraska..
- Mike DiBiase was the adopted father of wrestling legend “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase..
- Mike DiBiase once had a 1 hour, 44 minute Texas Death Match with Dory Funk Sr. (with 16 falls)..
- July 2, 1969: Mike DiBiase tragically passed away due to a heart attack in the ring (near Amarillo)..
- ~~~His heart attack was NOT related to the match; he had a huge cholesterol build-up;
- ~~~(before his death, he had been wrestling against pro-wrestler Man Mountain Mike);
- July 15, 2006: Mike DiBiase was inducted into the International Wrestling Museum Hall of Fame by Ted DiBiase..
- Mike DiBiase has a three grandsons who are professional wrestlers; Ted DiBiase Jr., Michael DiBiase, and Brett DiBiase..
Josh Kimm wrote: On March 15, 1963 Archie Moore (Boxing All-Time KO King with 134 KO’s and an overall record of 186-24-10-134 KOs) defeated Mike Dibiase via TKO in Round 3. This match was Moore’s last boxing match and by all accounts and Dibiase’s also. The fight was also a huge disappointment by promoter standards, it was thought with the hate wrestling fans in Phoenix, Arizona had for wrestler Dibiase and with the fame Moore had gained as a light-heavyweight champion from 1953-1956 that this would draw a sellout. Well when the time came only 800 people showed up to watch. The fight was a rather short one only lasting three rounds. The first round saw Archie bust open Dibiase’s eye with a left hook . The match wasn’t much, Dibiase tried to turn it into a wrestling match until the ref stopped the one sided assault in the third round. The winner was Archie Moore by TKO.
JBF wrote: Just skipping thru the Web, wondering what was new, and WOW…. a new bunch of DiBiases – Michael & Ted Jr. – SUPER. To explain, back in the early 60’s I was a top-rated DJ in Phoenix, and then was asked to be a ring announcer for Clint Starr’s programs at the (then) “Madison Square Garden” when Iron Mike was State Champion, Ken Lucas was around, Superstar Billy Graham, Dr. Jerry Graham, the Baby Blimp, and a few others. Had a few beers with Freddie Blassie when he came through…….. Moral of the story — they paid me good money for what I’d’ve done free! We filled a few ballparks for special events, business was good – – – – and the primary reason was the singly Greatest ProWrestler I ever saw (and a genuinely nice guy when nobody was looking) Mike DiBiase. Booker Huffman is proud of his eight minute entrance (last year as King Booker) to an event – – – one night Mike and some babyface opponent (Rocket Monroe maybe) were in the ring, Mike doing his nasty, villainous threatening gestures (then stepping out), sneaking up surreptitiously (then stepping out), replacing that “foreign object” in his tights (and stepping out) for TWENTY MINUTES, BEFORE THEY EVEN DID MORE THAN SLIGHTLY TOUCH EACH OTHER — the greatest single performance I ever saw, ever! Good luck to the kids — they have a super legend to follow, Iron Mike was a legitimate Superstar, best I ever saw. Period.
(Part 2) Really, there are very few people I’ve been privileged to admire, or respect for their professionalism in my almost 73 years (but I’m “going on 25”)… one politician, a few artists, some writers – – – that kind of thing. But, in the field of entertainment (although the audience sure didn’t see Iron Mike DiBiase as “entertainment”), he was able to draw more raw emotion out of a crowd than ANYONE I’ve ever seen, before or since — my God, the ringsiders hated him with such a passion! They saw Mike as the embodiment of evil – – – – and, didn’t he own a Pizza place down in Bisbee, Arizona? Nobody with a pizza joint can be that bad, can they? Like the Jack Nicholson “Herrrre’s Johnny!” character, or Christopher Walken in his creepy movies — but “LIVE,” and in more than “just-a-scene” — that was One Class Act, and a nice guy — and I’ve never seen a performer to match him! The Iron Sheik kinda came close, and Captain Lou Albano; Freddie Blassie too. But Iron Mike DiBiase was the Pavarotti, Sir John Geilgud, Maria Callas, Charlie Parker, Georgia O’Keiffe, John Houston, Jack Nicholson of his profession. –(if Randy Orton keeps advancing and the story line allows him to continue this Legend-Killer stuff, maybe, someday, he could become almost as detested as Mike used to be, lo, those many years ago — and Randy has huge TV exposure; Mike only had his immediate audience!)–