In Defense of… 05.10.06: DDP (Part 2 of 3)
Posted by JP Prag on 05.10.2006
Part two isn’t a bad thing… it’s a good thing!
In Defense of…
By JP Prag
Issue #54
DDP (Part 2 of 3)
Intro
Hello people who are going to be in 18 states in 6 days (no joke!), and welcome back to In Defense Of…! Before we get too far, I have to give props to Manu Bumb for calling me out for my atrocious grammar last issue. I totally wrote that entire issue in about three hours on no sleep, so that's close enough to drunk. Still, me sucking at grammar is no excuse for a mistrial! The show much go on! What show? Go back and read Part 1 of this case.
Actually, better yet, you need to get your votes in for THE GREAT POSITIVITY DEBATE II: THE REVENGE!!! I totally threw Andy Clark and Bayani Domingo a bunch of curveballs. Remember: voting ends on Saturday May 13th, so let's get rolling!
Ok, back to what you came here for. For those new to the concept, this article has a pretty simple premise:
Certain people, events, organizations, and storylines in wrestling history have gotten a bum wrap. Some writers have presented overtly critical comments and outright lies as fact, and others have followed suit. Well no more! "In Defense of…" has one reason: to bring the truth to the wrestling fan!
And that's what I intend to do.
Me? I'm the One and Only JP, and I'm being promoted to Manager of Operating Support Services. That's right: I'm the MOSS!!!
Stenography
Before I go on too much an ego trip, Stenographer, why don't you tell us what we already know?
Sure thing JP. Last time we started the life of DDP, growing up on the Jersey Shore. He only had his grandmother to raise him, has dyslexia, has ADD, and got hit by a car. Man, that was a great start!
But this became the first example of the man who would later become "positively" Page (can you tell why I like him?). Despite every setback given, the man who would later become DDP focused his energy and strength and went to live out his dreams. He actually tried (once) to be a professional wrestler, but wasn't ready to make the commitment at that point (and also had no training). So instead, he got involved in the club promotion business. And actually, he did quite well, owning several venues and being featured as a local celebrity before finally relocating to Florida to do it all over again.
Page was always a wrestling fan, and when he saw the Rock ‘n Wrestling Connection forming on TV, he felt he could have been there, too! Page ended up making a promo video and got a call back, but his lack of experience ended up working against him. But when Paul Heyman left the AWA, Page was given an opportunity… if he paid his own way, brought his own Diamond Girl, and worked for peanuts. And you know what? Page did it! You see, he could have just kept working in the clubs and making good money, but Page wanted to live out his dream, at his own expense.
And in his 15 months in the AWA, Page actually appeared on TV 14 times. Due to the taping schedule and the shows as they were laid out, Page got very little actual exposure. So Page returned to Florida and began working with FCW/PWF under Dusty Rhodes. Over two and half years, Page learned to bump, make a presence on the mic, and do commentary, all taught by some of the best ever. And through it all he was lucky if he was making $150 a night. To say Page was burning money would be an understatement.
As the PWF came to an end, Page actually got to try out as an announcer for the then WWF, a spot that rival and fellow former AWA talent Eric Bischoff was also vying for. Although he didn't land the role, he did manage to drive his pink Cadillac at Wrestlemania VI, his last WWF/E appearance in over a decade. Page then went back to the club scene for a while, but in 1991 found his way into the new WCW. Page then helped Scott Hall land a role in WCW as the Diamond Stud, and helped Eric Bischoff get a job as an announcer, although they were not friends then. Anyway, Page was managing Hall, but WCW felt no need for Page since he overshadowed wrestlers. That was when Page decided to train for real in the Power Plant.
Except for one problem: Page was 35! Just for context, Mick Foley retired at 35. Also, no one had actually gone from manager to wrestler before (and really only Trish Stratus has it done it since). Sure, DDP gets a lot of slack for being an old champion, but he started so late in life, it should really be testament to his ability, not held against him.
So Page began wrestling in 1991, and was named PWI Rookie of the Year in 1992. But while teaming with Kevin Nash (as Vinnie Vegas), DDP tore his rotator cuff and he was fired by Bill Watts.
Well, 35, injured, and only two years of experience. It seemed like everything was over already.
Not if you are positively Page… and you bring Jake "The Snake" Roberts into your home.
Thanks Stenographer, and it is with that little innuendo that we continue!
So that's why they consider him a trainer!
From Derek Burgan's review of DDP's shoot interview:
Back in Florida, Page got a call from Jake "the Snake" Roberts, who had just separated from his wife Cheryl. Page let Jake stay in his house and learned from the Snake… Jake told Page that he already knew all the wrestling holds he would ever need to know and that Page needed to work on the psychology of a wrestling match if he was ever to become a star. Jake helped Page work on his character and also got Page booked on all the indie shows that booked Jake. "If you're gonna be a top guy, you gotta learn how to handle the heat," said Roberts, explaining that when Page became a top guy his friends would become jealous.
What? You were expecting something seedy? Maybe sharing and/or double teaming Kimberly?
What do you take me for?!
And besides, whatever sexual activities DDP may or may not be in to is none of my business as it has no bearing on his wrestling career. Now, if DDP whored Kimberly out to get a push, then we would cover it. And we'll get to that very comment later.
Anyway, the point is DDP was not just a nice guy to Roberts, but also used the opportunity to learn from him. Roberts taught DDP everything he would need to know about psychology and controlling the heat. DDP would put that to good use later on. And although Roberts told him he had all the hold he would ever need to know, DDP still strived to better himself in the ring.
So with a couple of years of seasoning (and even less money to show for it), DDP felt he was ready to return to the big league. But not before some trouble. From the shoot review:
Page had supplemented himself up to 280 pounds, but Kimberly was convinced being a wrestler was not in the cards for Page and told him to get a real job. Page told Kimberly to hit the bricks if she didn't believe in him.
That's pretty amazing. From all accounts, Page would do anything for Kimberly, yet he still felt getting into wrestling was worth it. Even though at that point he was 37, had injuries, had no notoriety, and had hemorrhaged money for a decade, he still worked to make it in the industry. And that's when an opportunity came a'kockin'! From the shoot:
Fortunately for Page, Bill Watts was fired and Eric Bischoff was given Watts' job. Bischoff brought Page back in and Page asked for 150,000 a year contract. Bischoff said he couldn't do that and countered with 85,000, which was what Page was making when he got let go. Page said that after food and travel, 85,000 isn't much money at all and I can certainly believe that. Page claimed that Bischoff used "reverse nepotism" and made it tougher on Page than he would other wrestlers. Bischoff wanted Page to sign a two year contract, but Page refused and instead went back the Power Plant to train. Page laid out three months of storylines to WCW booker Dusty Rhodes, and once Rhodes saw Page in the ring he said, "you got it."
All right, let's do this:
(1) Yes, Bischoff helped DDP, his friend and then neighbor, get back into WCW. BUT…
I. DDP had already worked for WCW
II. DDP help Bischoff get into WCW originally
III. Bischoff did not try to get DDP back earlier
IV. DDP had seasoned up and paid even more dues
(2) Although Bischoff got him a job, he did not get preferential treatment. As a matter of fact, Bischoff treated him worse. And again, this goes back to our Eric Bischoff case, but anyone who said Bischoff just threw money at people has no idea what they are talking about. Bischoff was generous, and did eventually give contracts that worked against WCW, but he was ALWAYS looking out for the bottom line. That included a nothing wrestler like Page, friend or not.
(3) Bischoff's offer was so low that Page decided to just keep training and then lay out a long storyline so he could be a real part of the show and make some scratch.
(4) Even when Page was brought in, he was not going to the main event. And it was actually Dusty Rhodes who brought him up, not Bischoff.
And when Rhodes brought him in, it seemed good… for a couple of weeks. Back to our shoot:
Page was back on TV with an angle where he would pick an opponent's name out of a fishbowl, and the person would always be a jobber. Four weeks into the angle, Dusty Rhodes was let go, Ric Flair was brought in as booker and the angle was dropped cold.
Can this guy not catch a break?!?! He finally had a storyline, TV time, and a job, yet it was all taken away in a month!
Still, DDP made the best of it, and he and body guard Madd Max went about losing to the midcard some through 1994 and into 1995. But then he won the Television Title from the Renegade! And then he lost it to Johnny B. Badd. He was named PWI "Most Improved Wrestler of the Year" in 1995! And then he "lost" all his money in storylines and became a pauper, lost Kimberly to Johnny B. Badd, and lost a Loser Leaves Town Match to the Booty Man in 1996.
Damn, storyline or not, things looked to be going nowhere for Page. Actually, someone else felt that as well.
WCW grows and grows and Page… gets released?!?
From the shoot:
When WCW hit it big, Page was there to ride the wave. Page gave credit to his Power Plant training. Page wanted to be able to wrestler guys as diverse as Rey Mysterio and the Big Show. Hulk Hogan ended up putting Page over to Bischoff strong, but Bischoff didn't see it happening and offered Page his release. Page said he would talk about this in that damn audio book. Page does admit that Bischoff did help him in not getting screwed with by the wrestlers or outright fired by the company.
Did you read that right? Bischoff actually told Page, his friend, neighbor, and whatever, that he should leave the company. Even Hulk Hogan, who Eric Bischoff holds in the highest regard, could not convince Bischoff of Page's worth. So once again, Bischoff did not push Page to the moon… he was ready to fire him!
DDP, 40 years old at this point, decided to stick around. And he was about to find some creativity:
The Monday Night War started and Page stayed in WCW. Ron Reis, who you may remember as the big goof from Raven's Flock in WCW, gave Page the idea for the Diamond Sign, which Page had trademarked. Page said he was growing on the WCW fans while adding they were chanting "D-D-P" in the same way they used to chant "D-D-T" for Jake Roberts. Page would tell the fans to "shut up" while playing the heel, but Scott Hall, who was now back in WCW as part of the New World Order, told Page to never do that again and just let the crowd react naturally.
What's that? Just reacting naturally to the crowd and letting them boo and cheer what they want? What a novel concept!
So DDP had the diamond cutter that he could hit out of anywhere, a cool symbol, a chant-able name, and a NATURAL growing fanbase. I don't know how much I can hammer this home, so I'll do it some more. DDP was not getting the push of a lifetime! Before this, he had managed to win Battle Bowl in what was considered an incredible fluke at the time, and from there had gone on to feud with Eddie Guerrero, a feud Guerrero eventually won for the vacant US Title. It was during that time from Battle Bowl through Eddie Guerrero that he really developed the diamond cutter. From Obsessed with Wrestling:
Diamond Dallas Page credits Bobby Heenan for naming his finisher, "The Diamond Cutter" - which is a modified Ace Crusher..
So yet another person DDP learned from and used to get better, not some grand push.
What finally solidified DDP as a face was when he was offered membership in the nWo, and became the first man to turn down the Outsiders. From Obsessed with Wrestling:
Early 1997: The Outsiders (Kevin Nash & Scott Hall) began approaching DDP and offering him a place in the nWo..
January 25, 1997 - Souled Out: Scott Norton defeated Diamond Dallas Page by COUNT OUT..
~~~The Outsiders once again tried to recruit DDP, but he gave them Diamond Cutters and escaped through the crowd!
~~~This was the night DDP became a Megastar, surrounded by the fans and looked down at the nWo in the ring..
Yes, this was the first time DDP exited through the crowd, which would become his trademark. This was yet another example of how DDP connected with the audience, how he became the "people's champion". But this was not what made him a megastar. Oh no, that would be what happened next…
Snap into him! Oooooooooh yeeeeaaaaahhhh!!!
Wikipedia will tell you this:
Page's career really took off in 1997. As part of the hot nWo storyline, Page began a feud with the nWo's "Macho Man" Randy Savage. On an episode of WCW Monday Nitro, Savage, aided by fellow nWo members Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, attacked DDP and sprayed "nWo" on his back. A few weeks later at the WCW pay-per-view Uncensored, Savage and Miss Elizabeth revealed to the world that Page and Nitro Girl Kimberly, were in fact married. Savage then proceeded to beat up Page, ensuring a future match between the two.
At the 1997 Spring Stampede, Page and Savage battled in a memorable match where Page emerged victorious, but it was the not the end of conflict between the two. A few months later at The Great American Bash, they squared off again in an anything goes,lights out match what was dubbed "Savage-Page II." This match was far more brutal than their first encounter, and ended with Savage defeating Page with help from (then) Tag Team Champion Scott Hall. Savage and Page would continue their rivalry from there on. Page even dressed up as masked wrestler La Parka and beat Savage.
And while this is also statistically true, it does not capture the actual rise of DDP from mid-card to plausible main eventer. It also does not cover how this series came about.
Now I know what you are thinking. "Obviously, Bischoff wanted to push his best friend, even though you keep presenting evidence that that's not what happened. But this time it's different!"
Sorry my friends, this time it's not. From the shoot:
Randy Savage said that he wanted to work with Page. Savage wanted to take the Diamond Cutter and Page said the fans blew the roof off when he nailed Randy with the move, first at a house show to test it out, than at the Spring Stampede PPV.
So once again, it was not Bischoff pushing Page, but other wrestlers wanting to work with him. Say what you want for Randy Savage's sanity, even then, the man was still a legend and a huge draw. If he wanted to work with someone, you knew that person had to be damn good. And page proved it, too. By the way, this won PWI's "Feud of the Year" for 1997.
As time went on, Page would continue feuding with the nWo, took a sidetrip to win the US title from Curt Hennig, defend the title against Chris Benoit and Raven, drop the title to Raven, and then get back to the nWo.
It was at this point that he got involved in the big storylines. It was here that he and Karl Malone fought Hogan and Rodman, and that he and Jay Leno fought Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff. And don't forget: it was not Bischoff pushing for DDP to have this spot, it was Hogan. Hogan trusted DDP enough to be involved in the biggest angles in WCW. No amount of nepotism is going to get a 40+ year old guy a spot like that without having the trust of the bookers, the brass, the wrestlers, and the guests. DDP had proven his worth.
After this and some war games, DDP put over Goldberg in what is widely considered Goldberg's best match at Halloween Havoc 1998. From there he returned to the US title feuding with the nebulous Bret Hart. It was 1999, five years since retuning to WCW, five years of winning over the fans and being in huge main events, yet Bischoff did not want to pull the trigger on a title run.
As 1999 rolled on, Bischoff's responsibilities were slowly stripped from him and he was asked to stay home more often. It was only in this chaos that the trigger was finally pulled at Spring Stampede 1999. From Wikipedia:
Page finally became World Champion in April, 1999, at Spring Stampede when he defeated Sting, Hogan, and Ric Flair in a 4-way dance for the title. This match was ironic for Page, as it featured Randy Savage as the special-guest referee, and also saw Hogan eliminated early when Page seriously damaged Hogan's leg with a submission hold.
Page was finally champion, and he had quite an unusual first month, as he lost the title to Sting on an episode of Nitro, only to gain it back in the show's main event.
Bischoff was at home and was soon to be fired (September 1999, to be exact), so who put the title on Page? From the shoot:
Page said that many people credit Bischoff for putting the WCW world title on Page, but Scott Hall and Nash were the ones that pushed for that.
Oh, and let's get this out of the way now. Page's last run with the title in April 2000 had nothing to do with Bischoff either. For the last time: Bischoff did not make Page a champion—Page made Page a champion.
The End of WCW
With Bischoff on his way out and gone from WCW, Page took a new direction, turned heel, and formed the Jersey Triad with Bam Bam Bigelow and Chris Kanyon, and experience used mostly to give Kanyon some exposure. But the triad quickly disbanded in the quickly shifting WCW as new directions became the norm. DDP would then spend the end of 1999 and the beginning of 2000 putting over Jeff Jarrett, Buff Bagwel, and Mike Awesome. DDP knew his days as an active wrestler were coming to an end (as late as they began), and he used the opportunity to give the rub to another generation.
As WCW started winding down, he and Nash teamed up as the "Insiders" to feud with the Natural Born Thrillers and what was left of the New Blood. He then main evented the last WCW PPV Greed, putting over new champion Scott Steiner to help solidify Steiner's main event status.
Two days later the WWF bought WCW.
The next week was the last Nitro.
From DDT Digest:
Earlier Today, DDP speaks positively about his WCW experience. DDP thanks all the fans for letting him make it. DDP says that it's not the promoters that decide who's over, it's the fans. DDP then brings up the forbidden name of Kimberly before closing.
And that was the end of DDP in WCW. But it would not be the end of DDP in wrestling…
RECESS!
Sorry to cut you off here kids. Things are cRaZy on my end, so I must get running. And by running, I mean sleeping. And by sleeping, I mean napping. And by napping, I mean packing for the next state.
Anyway, when we return it's the last of DDP's wrestling career in the WWE and TNA, it's that he's up to now, it's some measurements of his drawing power, and it's the vote! What more could you want? Oh… right… sure, we'll talk about THAT!
So tune in next week for our diamond studded conclusion of In Defense of… DDP (Part 3 of 3)!!
Be sure to check out Hidden Highlights in the meantime! Don't forget to send JT and I your Hidden Highlights for RAW, SmackDown!, Heat, Velocity, iMPACT, or any other show you saw this week (that includes house shows and indy events, you know)!
Until then, the defense rests!
Know a particular person, event, organization, storyline, etc… in wrestling history that needs a defense? E-mail the One and Only JP at lookforme@mikefine.com, and I'll be glad to hear your case.
