Ross and DiBiase talk about the influence that ‘Cowboy’ Bill Watts had on both of their careers early on. DiBiase points out that Watts was also a visionary by making Junk Yard Dog their top star at a time when black professional wrestlers were few and far between. JYD got over huge on the top of the card and this led to more black wrestlers getting a chance.
Ross says that although it’s sad to say and the old bookers would never admit it, they had a quota of how many black wrestlers they needed on their roster at that time. Once they had those one or two spots filled they didn’t see the need of hiring more.
As DiBiase was continuing his career working for Watts he was told to keep an eye out for new top heels as he traveled around the Country. DiBiase was invested in finding new, exciting heels to face as well because the more tickets he sold, the more he got paid. Ross says that today’s talents may not be motivated to sell tickets like wrestlers did during Dibiase’s era because of all the guaranteed contracts.
DiBiase informs that you had to love what you did back then or you simply wouldn’t have done it. Performing as a professional wrestler back then was incredibly tough because there were no days off and they were working twice on Sundays. He says he considered it a day off if he was able to work a show in the town where his apartment was, at least he could sleep in his own bed on those nights.
