During the late 80s and early 90s, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase was arguably WWE's top heel. DiBiase was a gifted performer who played the role of "The Million Dollar Man" to perfection. Eventually, though, DiBiase would hang up his boots and find another way to contribute to the WWE product.
He would go on to form The Million Dollar Corporation and terrorize WWE's New Generation era. Including DiBiase, The Million Dollar Corporation boasted three performers who main-evented WrestleMania at one point or another. Furthermore, the stable included some of the top heels of the time. Since disbanding in early 1996, the former members of the group have all had interesting lives and careers.
10 Nikolai Volkoff
During the 70s and 80s, Nikolai Volkoff was a great contributor to WWE. Volkoff was a solid worker and by the 80s, his character was beginning to fully develop. Volkoff enjoyed great success as a tag team competitor alongside The Iron Sheik in the early 80s. He would also find moderate success in the singles division, challenging Hulk Hogan for the WWE Championship occasionally in 1985 and 1986.
In the early 90s, Volkoff would be in and out of WWE until finally returning full-time in 1994. Upon returning, Volkoff jumped into a storyline that saw him become an employee of Ted DiBiase and a member of The Million Dollar Corporation. Volkoff wouldn't last too long in that role and he'd be gone from WWE by 1995. Volkoff passed away in July 2018 at the age of 70.
9 King Kong Bundy
In the 80s, King Kong Bundy was one of the most recognizable heels on WWE's roster. After main eventing WrestleMania 2 opposite Hulk Hogan, Bundy was a bit of a household name to casual wrestling fans. By 1988 though, Bundy was wrapping up his time with WWE and preparing to enter semi-retirement.
In late 1994, Bundy surprised many wrestling fans when he suddenly reappeared and joined Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation. Bundy even managed to land one more marquee WrestleMania match against The Undertaker. After losing to The Undertaker, Bundy started sliding down the card once again in WWE. He would leave the company in October 1995. He continued wrestling occasionally until 2007 when he officially retired. Unfortunately, Bundy passed away in March 2019 at the age of 63.
8 Sycho Sid
When Ted DiBiase first started recruiting talent to be part of his Million Dollar Corporation, fans weren't sure exactly how many top guys would join him. By 1995 however, DiBiase would have some of WWE's top heels in his camp. After WrestleMania 11, DiBiase added yet another impressive competitor to his stable, Sycho Sid.
Sid was fresh off a break-up with Shawn Michaels and looking for a new direction. After joining The Million Dollar Corporation, Sid found himself challenging Diesel for the WWE Championship on a few occasions, but coming up short. After breaking away from the group, Sid would go on to win the WWE Championship twice. Today, Sid is enjoying his retired life. He hasn't competed since his final match in 2017 and hasn't appeared on WWE programming since 2012.
7 Kama
In the early 90s, Charles Wright hit the WWE scene as Papa Shango. The character was supposed to be a Voodoo Priest who also wrestled. Understandably, that character ran its course rather quickly. After Papa Shango, Wright stepped into the role of "The Supreme Fighting Machine" Kama.
Kama quickly found himself as part of The Million Dollar Corporation. His biggest feud while being a member of DiBiase's stable came against The Undertaker. The pair had a high-profile match at SummerSlam 1995 which The Undertaker won. After his role as Kama ended, Wright stepped into the role of The Godfather, which he rode to the WWE Hall Of Fame. Today, Wright manages a gentleman's club in Las Vegas.
6 The 1-2-3 Kid
Every era has a competitor in it that isn't exactly a top guy but that fans just resonate with for some reason. During The New Generation era, that performer was The 1-2-3 Kid. The Kid rose to prominence after an upset win against Razor Ramon on an early episode of Monday Night Raw. After that, he became a fan favorite and slowly crept up the card in WWE.
In 1995 though, The Kid surprisingly turned heel and joined The Million Dollar Corporation. The move had mixed results. The Kid would eventually leave WWE and jump ship to WCW. He'd be back in WWE in 1998 as X-Pac. Today, Sean Waltman is enjoying his Hall Of Fame status. He retired from wrestling in 2019 following a match where he wrestled alongside Hurricane Helms and Jushin "Thunder" Liger.
5 The Fake Undertaker
Some members of a stable serve their purpose early on, then, become useless. That was the case with The Fake Undertaker. Some fans might even argue that much like Xanta Claus, The Fake Undertaker wasn't even a full-fledged member of The Million Dollar Corporation. Regardless, the role was played by Brian Lee and the storyline was front and center for WWE during the Summer of 1994.
At SummerSlam 1994, Ted DiBiase led his imposter Undertaker into a match against the real Undertaker. Needless to say, the imposter was defeated. After the storyline wrapped up, there wasn't much use for another Undertaker. Lee would pop up in WWE again in 1998 as DOA member, Chainz. Today, Lee is enjoying his life out of the public eye. He retired from wrestling in 2014.
4 Bam Bam Bigelow
The Million Dollar Corporation is unique in the sense that its leader and most important member, Ted DiBiase, wasn't an active wrestler. Even Bobby "The Brain" Heenan would step in the ring and compete during the early days of The Heenan Family. Still, DiBiase had plenty of hired guns to handle his business. Perhaps DiBiase's most destructive weapon was Bam Bam Bigelow.
As a part of DiBiase's Corporation, Bigelow found great success. He would even main event WrestleMania 11 against Lawrence Taylor in 1995. Unfortunately, after breaking away from the group, Bigelow struggled to find his footing. He'd leave WWE in late 1995 and go on to work for ECW and WCW for the remainder of the decade. Sadly, Bigelow died in January 2007 at the young age of 45.
3 Tatanka
In Early 1992, Tatanka debuted in WWE and received one of the strongest pushes in company history. Tatanka would start his WWE career by remaining unbeaten for nearly two years. Regrettably, though, he didn't climb too far up the card during that winning streak. Even more regrettable was the decline Tatanka began experiencing after his streak ended.
Luckily for Tatanka, he would turn heel and join Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation at SummerSlam 1994. The turn helped refresh his character for a bit but WWE failed to capitalize on the move. Tatanka would leave WWE in 1996. He'd return to the company in 2005 and again in 2010. Tatanka still makes sporadic appearances for WWE. His most recent one was in January 2021.
2 Irwin R. Schyster
Two names are associated closely with "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. The first is his manservant, Virgil. The second is IRS, also known as Irwin R. Schyster. The IRS character started as his separate entity but naturally gravitated towards DiBiase, considering both men's characters.
DiBiase and IRS would go on to be known as Money Inc. and would win the WWE Tag Team Championships three times. After DiBiase retired, IRS remained loyal and joined his stable. Today, IRS is retired from wrestling although his sons, Bo Dallas and Bray Wyatt, worked for WWE as recently as 2021.
1 Ted DiBiase
Longevity doesn't come easily in the pro wrestling business. That's why Ted DiBiase's run as "The Million Dollar Man" has been so impressive. Despite leaving WWE in 1996 and joining WCW, DiBiase never really changed his gimmick much. In the eyes of the fans, he never stopped being "The Million Dollar Man."
Today, DiBiase's character still resonates strongly with many wrestling fans. He hasn't wrestled since 1993, but he still appears on WWE programming sporadically. His most recent string of appearances came in 2021 when he worked a program with NXT performers LA Knight and Cameron Grimes centered around the Million Dollar Championship.