[Interview] Diamond Dallas Page Sounds Off On Working With The NWO, What REALLY Killed WCW
In the conclusion of our two-part interview with Diamond Dallas Page, DDP talks the evolution of the “Diamond Cutter,” ending his feud with Ric Flair, what it was like working with the NWO and what really killed WCW.
TWV: What was it like when you finally got to the top and the people you’re fighting for the belt are Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan and Sting?
DDP: They were at that time…Steve Austin was a humongous name too, but it was really those four guys. Randy Savage, the main guy, for me to be in that match was huge, but for me to win it, with Ric Flair, arguably the best ever. Shawn Michaels may be one of the best ever, but Ric Flair is the very best. For him to take the Diamond Cutter in the middle, no screw finish or whatever, he took the move in the middle. It was humongous.
I put Hogan out. His knee was really bothering him. He needed surgery. He had me put him out with the Bret Hart figure-four you do on the ring post. They carried him back. When I came through the curtain—cause again we know who was gonna win—it was Hulk Hogan that made that decision. Him and [Kevin] Nash said: ‘We should have gave it to you a year ago.’
They should have put it on me when I wrestled Goldberg. That was boom, taken everything to another level, but Eric Bischoff never saw me in that spot. It took Hogan and Nash to go, ‘Dude, this guy is the man.’ I’m one of the top three guys in the company.
I walked through that door and Hogan was sitting there with his knee brace down on the ground, pool of sweat, he looked up at me when I walked in with that world title belt and he said: ‘This is the way our business should be. A guy like you came into the business that no one believed in, and quite frankly thought was a joke, and you not only proved everybody wrong, but to grab the fans in the palm of your hand, then you be awarded the world heavyweight championship, that’s the way business is supposed to be.”
He gave me a big hug. It was awesome coming from him.
TWV: With pro wrestling the way it is now, would it be possible for another DDP today?
DDP: Not at 35, hell no! Never would have been given the opportunity. Never. It is what it is. Right now, all these guys are young coming up. Randy Orton is the old guy now maybe 31 or whatever he is. Jericho, 41, he’s the old-timer in that league. Chris, I don’t care what show he does; he always mentions that he’s doing my DDPYoga, he puts it over because he’s getting a million dollar payoff [laughs].
The quality of some of the matches has gotten better and better and better. These younger guys are getting better, understanding more psychology. It’s still boom-boom-crash-bang at times, but I watched a [CM] Punk match with Daniel Bryan—what a great worker. Those guys told their story. I’ve seen some other guys do it too, but when you have four minutes for a match, it’s tough to tell a story. They give those guys time, so it’s much easier.
