The Million Dollar Corporation

[Loose Cannon]

This stable never seems to get discussed on here. I would like to hear some opinions on thier run. I thought the stable worked very well and had a pretty decent run. They were responsible for a couple heel turns and they headlined WM 11. The whole "Who would sell out next?" made for great TV. The Volkoff turn was hillarious as he became Dibiase's slave. The Tatanka/Luger angle was so well done and was before its time. I was shocked when Tatanka turn, even though when I look back at it today, you can see the turn coming a mile away. Dibiase was also responsible for the Kid selling out and turning on Razor. This would lead to the infamous Cry Baby Match. Bundy's feud with Taker, which also included Kama melting the urn was pretty classic.

The stable also led to the babyface turn of Bam Bam Bigelow, who got kicked out of the group after his loss to a LT. So yea, even though WWF was at a low point back then, I thought The Corporation brought some bright spots to a shitty wrestling year all around.

[Dave Youell]

That Luger/Tatanka thing was awesome.

DiBiase was basically perfect, like you said it was a low point for the business generally, but that stable was great at the time.

Who were all the members?

[Loose Cannon]

off the top of my head: Dibiase, Volkoff, IRS, Kama, Bundy, Sid, 123 Kid, Tatanka, Bam Bam, Austin (not sure if he was actually part of the stable).

[NeanderCarl]

Conversely, I thought the 'Million Dollar Corporation' was a complete waste of Ted DiBiase's verbal talent.

Aligning him with washed-up bums like Volkoff, I.R.S., Bundy and Kama, or misdirected no-hopers like Bigelow, the Kid, Sid, Underfaker and Xanta Klaus, the WWF took potentially the greatest manager on their books at the time and turned him into the leader of the 'Not Over In The Slightest Club'.

The only two members with any discernable talent remaining were Bigelow and 123 Kid, and even they were victims of the Million Dollar Heat Vacuum.

The interminable feuds with Lex Luger and the Undertaker were about 10 years behind the times, and by the time they had concluded, and DiBiase brought Austin into the WWF, even DiBiase's heat had evaporated.

On top of that, the SummerSlam they headlined had one of the worst main events ever, and WrestleMania XI remains the lowest grossing WrestleMania of all-time (I believe).

A major flop from nearly every perspective.

[Theo Dious]

"Who would sell out next?" made for great TV.

Really, that was a prototype for the McMahon Corporation and nWo concepts. Good stuff, though without DiBiase and IRS it wouldn't have been anywhere near as over as it was.

[thedamndest]

The Million Dollar Corporation was great, but could have been the stuff of legends. Yes, it did contain lots of washed up jobbers, but had they been pushed right Tatanka, Bam Bam, IRS, and Sid could have been mega-heels instead of bad guys who all lost their high profile feuds. This was before the Attitude era though, so still had that old school vibe of "we're the heels, boo us."

[AdrianM]

i hated the million dollar corporation; in that they were so good that I just hated them.

Listen to the reaction that Bam Bam Bigelow gets at the 1994(?) rumble in the opening match, against, hmmm, maybe Razor. It is such awesome heat (altho it may have been canned I suppose.)

Anyway, yeah, I liked the million dollar corporation. I lost an interest in wrestling in about 1995, when the million dollar corporation slowed down, but I think it was mainly due to living in Australia and only having access to WWF magazine and pay per views which came out on video about 6 months after the event.

Boy did I hate tatanka for joining the million dollar corporation :mad:

[NeanderCarl]

It was Bam Bam vs Tatanka, and he didn't join the Million $ Corporation until six months after that.

[KingofOldSchool]

Yeah the only complaint I have was the lack of top tier guys.

But then again at that time in the WWF, those were hard to find.

[Theo Dious]

Stables in WWF were usually the province of the undercard. The closest things I can think of to a stable with a main eventer before the days of DX, the Ministry, and the Corporation were the Heenan family, who had both Andre and Rick Rude in title feuds, and Sgt. Slaughter and his little entourage.

[Juan]

I loved everything the Million Dollar Man did in the WWF...

And yes, that includes Undertaker vs. Undertaker.

But you wanna talk shitty stables, let's talk the DUNGEON OF DOOOOOM!!!!!!

[NeanderCarl]

At least the Dungeon had a memorable feud with the Horsemen, and had a World champion among their members.

Jimmy Hart's First Family (the WCW version) sucked big time.

[Crimson]

I liked the corporation...back in those days the talent was very thin and Vince was trying to put guys over as legitimate heels with Dibiase. Basically that's all that stable was as it never really was a real threat to hold the wwf title. But still very cool.

[NeanderCarl]

I have to say I am astounded at the number of posters so far who actually LIKED the Million Dollar Corporation.

[The One]

It was pretty boring. Undertaker walked through the entire stable every time. That was pretty much the entire legacy of it. And then with the entire stable disbanded, he brings in Austin and despite Austin being one of the best people in history at getting himself over, they stuck him under DiBiase, who wasn't bad, but it was just a terrible fit. All in all, it's a VERY dismissable stable of history.

[XL]

They should so do a NEW Million Dollar Corporation.

I dunno who I'd put in it though...guys like MVP, Orton, Masters perhaps.

Dibiase was gold on the mic and we don't see many male managers nowadays. Plus I love factions!:love:

[Theo Dious]

I have to say I am astounded at the number of posters so far who actually LIKED the Million Dollar Corporation.

The problem was that while it was a good stable, it was booked badly. Basically at that point they had booked the Undertaker in such a way that it took a small army to constitute a viable threat to him. They would have been an excellent stable if they had had any real competition.

[Loose Cannon]

They did have Psycho Sid though, but he was never made to look like the leader. I think most of us enjoyed the stable becuase we were what, 9,10, 11, 12 years old around this time. I know I certainly wasn't looking at the business/inside of wrestling at this point and making judegments on the stable based off that. It was entertaining to me.

[Theo Dious]

They should so do a NEW Million Dollar Corporation.

I dunno who'd I'd put in it though...guys like MVP, Orton, Masters perhaps.

Dibiase was gold on the mic and we don't see many male managers nowadays. Plus I love factions!:love:

It could be the first cross-brand stable. I have a few different ideas for it though. For this to work it would have to begin slightly pre-SummerSlam, and for best results as the whole ECW originals/new breed stuff is winding down.
The stable would consist of MVP, Orton, Nitro and Melina, Marcus Cor Von, CM Punk, Kennedy, and Jillian Hall. All of them align for money and influence. MVP, obviously, wants to remain the highest paid star in sports entertainment. Orton begins to demand that he recieve the due of a 3rd generation superstar and legend killer. Nitro and Melina of course are the Hollywood types. Cor Von and Punk bill themselves as the moneymakers of ECW. Kennedy starts to say that while he is money in the bank, he wants money in his pocket as well. I mostly threw in Jillian because she needs someone "supporting" her "music career."

Now this is where I differ from the "Million Dollar Corporation 2" theme. Instead of DiBiase running the show, teh stable forms under the newly returned to the ring JBL. He claims that he was faking his injury the entire time so that he could have a birds' eye view to hand-pick the members of his new group. Preface this with several weeks worth of wrestlers backstage making references to "someone" who has been making them offers. The group comes together as the odd pairings of Nitro and Kennedy, Cor Von and Orton, MVP and Punk begin appearing and administering beatdowns backstage to people who are revealed to have turned down these "offers." Teases of the nWo are made by Michaels and HHH, who are asked backstage about it and claim ignorance, and maybe even mention some "old friends" who they know aren't anywhere near WWE right now.

At SummerSlam, JBL wrangles himself a US title match against Benoit. Insisting that Benoit is a "filthy cheater," JBL demands a special referee. A match is held to determine a referee, pitting Kennedy against Funaki. (Shut up, he's jobbing and he needs some time on TV.) Kennedy wins and tension proceeds to build as he begins to threaten to call the match down the middle (...middle!)
The match comes. Kennedy and JBL have problems all through it. JBL brings a chair into the ring. Kennedy takes it from him and threatens to DQ him. Benoit takes the chair and makes to level JBL, but misses. Kennedy somewhat lazily tells him to put it down, which he does. JBL and Kennedy get into a shouting match, during which MVP hits the ring and levels Benoit with the chair. Kennedy turns around and sees MVP with it; after a brief staredown JBL dives for the cover and Kennedy speedily counts 3. They celebrate.
The alliance between the three is celebrated on Smackdown, and in a shocking move, JBL proceeds to trade his US title for Kennedy's MitB shot. Angered, Teddy Long threatens to strip them both, but instead is convinced to make a MitB2 match at the next PPV between JBL, Kennedy, Orton, Nitro, the Hardys, Benoit, and Marcus Cor Von. In this match the US title AND the MitB case will be on the line (credit to whoever came up with that idea in some other thread.) But once you claim one, you are gone from the match.
During the match, JBL and Kennedy seem to work together, as do the Hardys. Finally Kennedy and JBL ascend the ladder and attempt to gain their prizes. Kennedy seizes the US title, leaps down and lays out an approaching Benoit. JBL goes for the case but the Hardys knock him off. Orton picks up the ladder and uses it to fend off the Hardys, while behind him, and apparently unknown to him, Cor Von and an interfering MVP lift JBL on their shoulders, from where he plucks down the case, winning the match.
The following Raw, Orton is in the ring, being interviewed (by Edge, probably) about how he was screwed in the MitB, and how things didn't go his way. Orton smugly announces that things went absolutely his way. Edge, incredulous, asks if he means that he has allied himself with JBL.
"Oh no," says Orton. "I was approached by JBL, of course, but he didn't interest me. I'm not interested in being his second fiddle. I'm interested in being a champion." Then he smiles and says "But I've also understood something. If you're going to become a legend, sometimes you have to seek the help of a legend." He then leaves without another word. Reached for comment, Ric Flair says he has no idea what he meant by that.
Meanwhile on Raw, Nitro, having feuded with that new Italian guy, Carlito, and Jeff Hardy for the IC title, is seen talking to Orton about his "legend," and later, talking to someone on the phone on the same subject.
On ECW the following night, Marcus Cor Von is asked about why he helped JBL. He says that JBL is going to help him realize his place a the Alpha Male of ECW. I'm not terribly interested or knowledgable of ECW, so I'm not going to get too in-depth, but this eventually leads to CM Punk joining as well.
On Smackdown, Kennedy and JBL celebrate their accomplishments. When pressed, MVP says that he turned down the chance at championship gold because he prefers green. Gold, he says, is something he has a whole career for. JBL sets his sights on the Undertaker, his MitB case in hand. Kennedy and MVP go up against Benoit.
In something of an aside, JBL is shown apologizing to Jillian for having fired her, marveling at her singing ability, and offering to make her a star, as well as a lot of money.
Over the next few weeks, Orton's "legend" and connection to JBL are debated as Orton guns for the WWE title. At the next PPV, Orton has a shot against the champion (probably still Cena) and comes up just short. Afterwards, JBL cashes in his MitB shot and defeats Cena. The connection between them is revealed on Smackdown when Orton's "legend" is revealed: JBL's secret business partner, Ted DiBiase. They consolidate their groups and form LDI: Leyfield/DiBiase Incorporated.

You now have a stable that can, all at once, challenge for the World, WWE, IC, US, ECW, and Womens titles, and whoever isn't involved in one of those can team up to take on any of the tag champions. Over the following months, add the returning Mark Henry to the group. He serves as the group's watchdog, which keeps him away from the title scene. The group has free run of all brands when Vince is revealed to be an "investor" in LDI, and can get into meaningful feuds with Batista, Undertaker, Edge, HHH, Michaels, Cena, Benoit, Lashley, etc, etc.

It would be great, which is why it won't happen.

[Theo Dious]

God dammit, how come every time I fantasy book something it kills the thread?!?!?!

[311]

I fucking loved the Million Dollar Man. :P The stuff he made people do for money was ace. Plus, I'll never forget him kicking the little kid's basketball while he was trying to dribble. (Not sure if I can find a clip of it, but I know it's on the Raw 10th anniversery DVD for about a second during 'Tell me I did not just see that?' or whatever the section was. I can't remember.) :y:

[AdrianM]

It was Bam Bam vs Tatanka, and he didn't join the Million $ Corporation until six months after that.

i could've sworn he came out to the ring with Ted Debiasse...

[AdrianM]

They did have Psycho Sid though, but he was never made to look like the leader. I think most of us enjoyed the stable becuase we were what, 9,10, 11, 12 years old around this time. I know I certainly wasn't looking at the business/inside of wrestling at this point and making judegments on the stable based off that. It was entertaining to me.

Exactly. I was...hmmm, 11ish I think, and hated them. I didn't know anything about booking or anything at that time