Dot Net reader Cody Endres attended Ted DiBiase's speaking engagement at the Boys and Girls Club in Tomah, Wisc. on Friday and filed the following report.

Ted arrived promptly at 3:00 p.m. and he had the floor for about an hour. He talked about his struggles as a youth such as his father dying in the ring and his mother becoming an alcoholic as a result. He went into further detail living with his grandparents in a small Arizona town before he went to Texas to play football at a university and learn to wrestle (with The Funks, although he never mentioned them). Ted warned the kids about peer pressure involving drugs and alcohol and gave examples from his youth. Religion was talked about a bit, but nothing that was overbearing or controversial. He noted that in 1992 he found Jesus Christ and that was what he had been missing in his life.

Next, Ted took questions from the kids, which was easily the most entertaining aspect of his appearance. Before taking questions, Ted wanted to point out (probably because he's sick of always answering these questions) that the blood in wrestling is real and done with razor blades, but that the WWE won't be doing that anymore. He also pointed out that you can't fake getting hit with a steel chair.

I'll do my best to remember some of what was said:

-At first, all the children just wanted to ask him one question: "Do you know John Cena?....Rey Mysterio? The Undertaker? Triple H?" Ted diffused the situation by saying that he knows pretty much everybody. One kid asked if he knew Scotty 2 Hotty. Ted laughed and said he wasn't expecting that name to come up. Another kid asked about Kane's eye and Ted has to explain that it was just a contact.

-When a kid asked about John Cena, Ted really put him over big time as an excellent role model and a genuinely nice guy.

-Some of the children seem perplexed that Ted DiBiase was such a nice guy while his son was a member of Legacy. Ted explained to them that they are just playing television characters and Randy Orton, his son Teddy, and Cody Rhodes are all nice guys in real life. Cute moment.

-When Randy Orton was brought up again, Ted recalled a conversation he had with him a few years ago. Ted said he told Randy that he was a better wrestler than Cena and asked him why he didn't have the title. Ted said that Randy looked towards the ground because he knew the answer. Without giving any examples, Ted said that Randy had personal problems in the past, but now he has a wife, a child, and has started to ask Ted about Jesus Christ. Later, while talking about Cena again, Ted mentioned that Cena has the title because he has Vince McMahon's trust. "He (Vince) is never going to get a call in the middle of the night about his wrestler being kicked out of a hotel or something like that."

-Ted talked about his son Teddy in Legacy and also mentioned that another son, Brett, was in WWE developmental and that we'll all see him down the line. Interestingly enough, Ted never mentioned his son Mike. Ted mentioned that this coming fall or sometime before Christmas that Teddy would be turning face to promote "The Marine 2" film. Since Teddy and Brett are both involved with WWE, Ted said he doesn't rule out a return to the company.

-At some point during the engagement, Ted mentioned that he lost a lot of friends to alcohol and drug addiction. A kid asked if Ted would support someone becoming a professional wrestler. Ted said that during his time in the business, he wouldn't have recommended it. However, now Ted supports the decision of getting into the business because of all the changes. Ted talked about the WWE Wellness Policy and recited the three strikes rule. He said that today guys work four days a week and then get to spend three days at home. Ted said when he was wrestling, he'd sometimes work for three weeks at a time and then get a couple days at home before going back on the road. This was about the only topic I was disappointed about for obvious reasons.

Following questions, the children escorted Ted on a tour of the Boys & Girl's Club. Ted left shortly after as he stated that he was speaking at a prison later that afternoon.

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