Ted DiBiase Believes This WWE New Generation Era Character Flopped

In the grand scheme of things, WWE's New Generation Era in the mid-90s likely falls somewhere between All Japan following the 2000 exodus, and the Chicago Cubs from 2003 through 2014. In other words, it wasn't the best of times for the promotion, as business fell, struggles were made in attempting to create a successor to Hulk Hogan, and some gimmicks thought up by then WWE Chairman Vince McMahon were considered among the worst in history.

Ted DiBiase can confirm this, as the "Million Dollar Man" was still around WWE during this time, a few years before he would jump to WCW and become a member of the nWo. And not only could DiBiase confirm that times were tough for the New Generation during the latest "Everybody's Got a Pod" episode, but he gave his thoughts on which character from the time was the worst. That character is none other than Mantaur, the bull-like gimmick given to wrestler Mike Halac.

"I was never impressed, I really wasn't," Dibiase said. "It's kind of like...even him wearing that silly, monster, whatever that thing was to the ring, that's kind of like...I know that we want to attract and...a lot of, a big part of our audience are younger people. But there's still a large portion of the fans that are full grown adults. I think if you even asked Vince about Mantaur today, he'd say 'Oops!' I just...I don't know. It just wasn't there for me at all."

The gimmick was, in fact, short-lived, with Mantaur only lasting 7 months before the gimmick was dropped and Halac was released. He portrayed Mantaur one last time in his final match at Joey Janela's Spring Break 2019, and later passed away in 2023 at the age of 55.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Everybody's Got a Pod" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription