Diamond Dallas Page is a former WCW Champion and current WWE Hall of Famer.
Despite not starting wrestling until he was 35, his hard work and charisma took him to the top of the mountain, winning multiple world titles and having some incredible moments.
However, even though he was the top star in WCW, DDP never got a fair shot in the WWE.
Despite debuting to some big fanfare, his career soon took a nosedive, and within a year his time in wrestling was effectively over.
DDP Debuted In WWE Against The Undertaker
After the WWF purchased WCW, some of the biggest stars in the company declined to sign with the company.
Instead, they sat at home and continued to be paid their huge deals by AOL Time Warner, with the bulk of them eventually joining the company years later.
However, two top stars from WCW did take the WWE buyout and sign for the company for the disastrous Invasion storyline.
These two men were Booker T and the subject of this article – Diamond Dallas Page, or DDP.
DDP made his debut in the WWE on the 18th June, 2001 episode of Monday Night Raw.
This came after weeks of creepy videos showing somebody stalking Sarah, the ex-wife of The Undertaker. This stalker was finally revealed as DDP, getting one of the biggest pops in Raw history.
This introduced DDP, one of the most popular baby faces in WCW history, as a creepy heel who wanted to stalk the Deadman’s wife.
It was a complete mischaracterisation of DDP, and one he would never recover from. He lost every match against The Undertaker, even being pinned by his wife in a handicap match, and never came close to that high on the card again.
Clearly, Vince McMahon had a vendetta against the WCW talent coming into the company, with DDP just being a symptom of that.
However, this was not technically DDP’s WWE debut. He drove Rhythm & Blues (Greg Valentine and The Honky Tonk Man) to the ring at WrestleMania VI, in his Pink Cadillac.
“Well, I didn’t know if that was going to be my only opportunity ever,” DDP said. “So just being a part of WrestleMania was a big deal. I didn’t get the gig because I was Diamond Dallas Page. I got the gig because Luke, the Bushwhacker, is a friend of mine, and he would come to my nightclub. He saw I had this 62 pink Cadillac convertible and he ended up calling Pat Patterson with me there. This car is why I got the gig.”
Diamond Dallas Page vs The Undertaker should not have been the big match for that summer.
Instead, the WWE should have gone for a People’s Champion vs People’s Champion rivalry, between DDP and The Rock.
It Should Have Been DDP vs The Rock
Everyboyd and their dog wanted to see Diamond Dallas Page take on The Rock in the WWE.
DDP had been the every man hero in WCW, battling the NWO and big stars like Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan and Bill Goldberg.
He may have started his career late, but made up for it by his insane amount of charisma and likeability, which the fans latched onto.
Even DDP wanted the match with The Rock, seeing money in the People’s Champion vs People’s Champion match.
DDP revealed in an interview with The Angle Podcast why the match was turned down by Vince despite him really wanting to step into the ring with The Rock.
He revealed it was pushed aside due to McMahon wanting to beat down WCW even more and not wanting to glorifying the company he had just destroyed.
“I tell people all the time just don’t think it ink it, burn it into your brain. Write it down, own it.
And every single thing that I’ve ever said, has happened, except for when I came up with the idea of People’s Champion [DDP] versus People’s Champion [The Rock], that’s what should have happened.
And, Vince wanted me in that stalker thing because they wanted to beat WCW, wanted to beat the company down.
I never thought that because, you know, it’s money like we’re gonna draw huge money me and The Rock, you know, but it wasn’t about that it was like, you guys bitch slapped us for at three weeks straight.
Now we’re not gonna, we’re not gonna put you over. And I get it, it was really just business, I took it personally in the beginning, but later on when I removed myself, I realised it wasn’t me. It was whoever that guy was and I was the guy.”
Instead of facing The Rock, DDP was given the gimmick of a stalker and feuded with The Undertaker.
Who do you think would have won the match between DDP and The Rock? Let us know what you think, in the comments section below.