Dallas Page on the night he became a wrestling immortal
Dallas Page on the night he became a wrestling immortal
DDP also talks about the new WWE 2K24 DLC Pack that features WCW icons
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The Week in Wrestling is published every week and provides beneath the surface coverage of the business of pro wrestling.
Dallas Page: “Cody is a visionary”
This past Friday on SmackDown, Sami Zayn sent Solo Sikoa straight to the mat with a Helluva Kick.
As Zayn rejoined the original Bloodline, the crowd erupted. Memories are unpredictable, but that is one that should stand the test of time.
In pro wrestling, one moment can change everything. Decades ago, when WCW ruled the wrestling world, a similar fate smiled upon “Diamond” Dallas Page.
By the mid-90’s, many bookers believed Page had already reached his peak. He could manage, occasionally wrestle on the lower tier of the card, but he was never going to be a star.
Page knew all of that. He just opted not to listen.
“If you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right,” said Page. “That’s a quote from Henry Ford–but who’d he ever beat?”
Flashing his signature grin, Page smiled with the confidence of a man who overcame the odds. He is one of the few in the annals of pro wrestling history to rewrite his narrative.
“The people who said I’d never make it, they were wrong,” said Page, who has dedicated the past 20 years of his life to building DDPY, his yoga-based workout designed to heal and strengthen the body. “The people who said I’d never be in the main event, they were wrong, too.”
Page worked and grinded at the WCW Power Plant, a forgotten precursor to WWE’s Performance Center, becoming a valuable resource for WCW President Eric Bischoff. If Page wasn’t on the road, he was training at the PowerPlant. It was a common sight to see him leaving the building with ice wrapped around his aching knees. But he refused to stop, knowing he needed to be able to work a great match with The Giant–or against Rey Mysterio. By mid-1996, Page reached that point.
His career catapulted to new heights in 1997 when he feuded with “Macho Man” Randy Savage, who went out of his way to ensure that Page be presented as a star.
Before the angle with Savage kicked into high gear, Page got the attention of the New World Order–specifically Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. The NWO was in the process of forever changing wrestling, embedding an edge and air of cool that still resonate nearly 30 years later.
Nash and Hall were untouchable, and in a new way. People wanted to watch them destroy whoever stood in the path.
Until, on a Nitro in January of 1997, DDP turned on them.
“Let me tell the behind-the-scenes story,” said Page. “I was so down about the booking committee not seeing me past the bottom to the middle of the mid-card. I was bummed. It was time for me to leave. I told myself, ‘It’s time to go.’ Then I came up with that idea, and I went straight to the big man.”
The big man was–and still is–Kevin Nash. He immediately liked the idea, one where Page would get recruited by Hall and Nash, only to turn them down and hit Hall with the Diamond Cutter.
“I was about to leave the building and head to Asheville, North Carolina with Ice Train when I ran the idea past Kevin,” said Page. “Kev says, ‘I love it. I want to take the Diamond Cutter, too.’”
That was the first major step for Page in his climb toward wrestling immortality. He then needed to get the approval from Scott Hall, who he had managed years prior–1991 to be specific–back when Hall was The Diamond Studd and struggling to get booked.
Nash felt comfortable speaking on Hall’s behalf. He said Hall would have no hesitation about taking the Diamond Cutter, especially considering it represented a chance to repay Page for all he’d done for him.
“I still remember Nash looking at me and saying, ‘You don’t think Scott wants to pay you back?’” recalled Page. “Then he goes, ‘You created his look. You got him a job and talked to him when nobody would return his call. His wife was pregnant with his kid. You don’t think he wants to return that to you?’
“I still asked Scott if it was OK. Scott said he loved it, too.”
For those interested in revisiting Page’s brilliance in WCW, there is a chance to revisit the past. The newest WWE 2K24 DLC Pack will feature WCW icons, including Lex Luger, The Great Muta, Curt Hennig, and DDP.
“Lex Luger finally being recognized again makes me so grateful,” said Page. “The Great Muta, one of the greatest on any continent, and Curt Hennig, who I managed in the AWA. A decade later, we’re wrestling at Starrcade ’97–and Hennig put me over. That’s the night Sting beat Hogan, which is what the people wanted. Wrestling was so hot. We were number one.”
Cody Rhodes is the cover star of WWE 2K24. He is also a close friend of Page, and he learned from Page’s improbable rise to the top. Not too long ago, Rhodes was also deemed just-another-guy by wrestling’s most renowned power brokers. Like Page a generation prior, Rhodes didn’t listen.
“Cody had the vision,” said Page. “He saw it. People who say, ’I’ll see it when I believe it,’ they don’t see shit. The people who say, ‘I believe it because I see it,’ they’re the visionaries.
“When I look at 2K24 with Cody Rhodes on the cover, and it’s the hottest video game in a world dominated by video games, I think of 10 years ago when Cody was seeing a vision of himself holding that world title.
“Cody is a visionary. I love being part of this with him.”
Page is honored to be part of the fifth and final DLC pack. It includes new moves, MyFACTION content, and the WCW Fall Brawl WarGames Arena. Out of all the new characters, no one captures the spirit of WCW better than DDP.
A disciple of Dusty Rhodes, this game is Page’s opportunity to team with Dusty and Cody–and do what they do best: take on all customers.
“Now you can see the true People’s Champions tag together,” said Page. “It’s me, Dusty, and Cody Rhodes. He never calls himself that, but he is. None of it is bullshit, he’s the real deal.”
This past week…
… Courtesy of a Helluva Kick from Sami Zayn, the original Bloodline is running it back and teaming together at Survivor Series for WarGames.
… Orange Cassidy will challenge Jon Moxley for the AEW title at Full Gear. Mox always offers a real, genuine perspective in his interviews, which was on display in this one with The New York Post.
… Kevin Owens injured Randy Orton on SmackDown, setting up a showdown with Cody Rhodes.
… WWE is introducing a new women’s United States championship, opening up plenty of new possibilities for the women’s division.
… New Japan is building to Wrestle Kingdom, where Shota Umino will challenge Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
… The women’s WarGames match is starting to come together.
CM Punk makes intriguing option for WarGames
Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Sami Zayn need a fifth partner for their WarGames match.
Fortunately for them, CM Punk is available.
There are other options, but none anywhere near as electric as Punk. He has been out of action since defeating Drew McIntyre last month in a classic bout inside Hell in a Cell, and if Paul Heyman is reintroduced to The Bloodline saga, then it would make sense for Heyman to guide Punk to Reigns’ team.
Plus, the repartee between Heyman and Punk is always highly entertaining. It would also allow Punk to lay the groundwork for a feud with Reigns, as well as intensify his program with Seth Rollins.
Rollins was recruited by Zayn on Raw to be the fifth man, but he refused to team with Reigns. Solo Sikoa also asked Rollins to join his team, and Rollins gave another exceptional response–explaining that the next time he is in the ring with Reigns, it will be one-on-one, and that he has no interest in teaming with a Reigns knockoff like Sikoa.
It instantly became one of my favorite post-WrestleMania segments. Rollins and Reigns have history that dates back to The Shield. More recently, Rollins sacrificed his own title run as World Heavyweight Champion to ensure that Reigns lost the WWE title. He hasn’t forgotten Reigns’ insults, especially referring to his own title run as a “loser bracket champion”.
Survivor Series will also mark the one-year anniversary of Punk’s shocking WWE return. A year later, he can now surprise us again with a return at WarGames, a move that would infuriate Rollins.
Tweet of the Week
Roman Reigns and Alex Pereira acknowledged one another this past Friday at SmackDown.