The reason for said confusion was due to how great of shape DiBiase was in. In fact, in wrestling circles, DiBiase was well known for keeping himself in peak physical condition, to the point that he once wrestled a Texas Death Match against Terry Funk that lasted four hours and ten minutes. That is not a typo; DiBiase and Funk legit wrestled four hours and ten minutes, and not just in any type of match, but an old school Texas Death match. While not as violent as some of the Texas Death matches seen in AEW today, the match up was still grueling, and under old school Texas Death rules, forced the wrestler to win a match by not only getting a pinfall, but keeping their opponent down for a ten count afterward.

While DiBiase was a few years removed from the match, and in his mid-40s, it still seemed hard to believe that a man who wrestled a four hour match once could succumb to a heart attack. The mystery was later solved years later by his stepson, when Ted gave an interview and revealed that DiBiase had a cholesterol build up in his heart. Because of this, DiBiase was predisposed to both heart disease and potential heart attacks, though it’s unclear whether he was aware of this at the time of his death. Still, despite the new information, it does little to change that Iron Mike DiBiase’s death in the ring was among the most jarring at the time, mainly because no wrestling fan thought it was possible that someone in as good of shape as DiBiase could die in the ring.