| The Mega Bucks | |
|---|---|
| Tag team | |
| Members | Ted DiBiase André the Giant Virgil (manager) |
| Heights | DiBiase: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) André: 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) |
| Combined weight |
780 lb (350 kg) |
| Debut | January 24, 1988 |
| Disbanded | August 29, 1988 |
| Promotions | WWF |
The Mega Bucks was a professional wrestling tag team that competed in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1988. The team, consisting of "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and André the Giant, was formed in a storyline that saw DiBiase purchase André's contract from fellow manager Bobby Heenan. André was to win the WWF Championship from Hulk Hogan, but then he attempted to sell the belt to DiBiase. The title was vacated, but DiBiase and André were then scheduled to face Hogan and Randy Savage in a match at SummerSlam 1988, which Hogan and Savage won. After the match, DiBiase and André went their separate ways and the team was dissolved.
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Prior to the formation of the team, André the Giant had been engaged in a feud with Hulk Hogan. According to the storyline, André was tired of Hogan being the top wrestler in the WWF and was jealous of Hogan's reign as WWF Champion.[1] On an episode of Piper's Pit, André turned on Hogan by attacking him and challenging him to a match for the championship.[2] Hogan and André faced each other in the main event of WrestleMania III on March 29, 1987. Hogan won the match, but the feud remained unsettled.[3]
In November 1987, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase announced his intention to buy the WWF Championship from reigning champion Hulk Hogan.[4] Hogan refused and faced DiBiase in a series of matches instead. After DiBiase lost these matches, he purchased the contract of André the Giant from Bobby "The Brain" Heenan in January 1988. He planned to help André win the title, after which André would present the belt to DiBiase as a gift.[5]
André faced Hogan for the title on the February 5, 1988 broadcast of The Main Event, with Dave Hebner as the scheduled referee. André pinned Hogan to win the championship and handed the belt to DiBiase.[6] The pinfall was controversial, however, as Hogan's shoulders were not on the mat when the referee made the three count. After the match, the real Dave Hebner, who looked identical to referee that had officiated the match, ran to the ring to attack the impostor referee. Hulk Hogan then threw the impostor out of the ring onto DiBiase and his bodyguard Virgil. According to the storyline, DiBiase had paid an unnamed referee to get plastic surgery to look exactly like Dave Hebner. In reality, the second referee was Dave's twin brother Earl Hebner, who was making his on-screen debut with the WWF.[2][7]
The controversy resulted in WWF President Jack Tunney declaring the WWF Championship vacant and booking a 14-man tournament at WrestleMania IV to determine the new champion.[8] In the tournament, André and Hogan were booked to face each other. Their match ended in a double disqualification, and both men were eliminated from the tournament.[9] Meanwhile, André interfered in DiBiase's matches, which helped DiBiase make it to the final match, in which he faced "Macho Man" Randy Savage.[10] After André got involved to help DiBiase, Hogan came to the ring to even the odds. Savage won the match and the championship,[10] and the rivalry led to a match being booked between The Mega Powers (Hogan and Savage) and The Mega Bucks (DiBiase and André).
At the inaugural SummerSlam, the two teams faced off. Jesse "The Body" Ventura had been appointed as a supposedly impartial guest referee by Jack Tunney.[11] It was strongly hinted leading up the event that Ventura, who provided commentary for many WWF events and was a strong critic of Hulk Hogan, had been paid an undisclosed amount by DiBiase.[12] Near the end of the SummerSlam match, Elizabeth, the manager of The Mega Powers, got involved to help her team. She stripped off her skirt to expose her skimpy panties to the stunned Mega Bucks, which allowed The Mega Powers to make a comeback and win the match.[13] While counting the pinfall, Ventura stopped counting at two and hesitated until Savage pushed Ventura's hand to the mat to complete the three count.[12]
This match marked the end of the feud between Hulk Hogan and André The Giant that had dominated WWF programming for over 18 months. In the weeks after the match, André returned to The Heenan Family, with the explanation that Heenan had quietly purchased his contract back at a large profit,[14] and feuded with other upper-card wrestlers such as Savage and Jake Roberts.[6] Hogan and Savage continued to feud with DiBiase for the remainder of the year.[6]
Although the tag team of The Mega Bucks was short-lived, DiBiase and André appeared in the 1989 Arcade game WWF Superstars as the game's boss tag team.[15]