Dallas Page
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the 1930s cricketer, see Dallas Page (cricketer)
| Dallas Page | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | "Handsome" Dallas Page Diamond Dallas Page |
| Billed height | 6 ft 5 in (195 cm) |
| Billed weight | 230 lb (104 kg) |
| Born | April 5, 1956 Point Pleasant, New Jersey |
| Resides | New Jersey |
| Billed from | New Jersey Shore Atlantic City |
| Trained by | Jake Roberts WCW Power Plant |
| Debut | 1988 |
| Retired | 2005 |
Page Joe Falkinburg (born April 5, 1956) is an American former professional wrestler and occasional actor, better known by his stage name, Dallas Page (the name on his current SAG and AFTRA cards).
Page achieved a degree of fame throughout the 1990s and early 2000s as a professional wrestler, competing under the ring name Diamond Dallas Page (often abbreviated to "DDP"). The addition of the word "Diamond" was inspired by Page's admiration of the rhythm of the name of wrestler "Classy" Freddie Blassie. In the course of his wrestling career, which spanned two decades, Page wrestled for World Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and held the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on three occasions.
Contents |
[edit] Wrestling career
[edit] Early Years
Page's first wrestling appearance was in Canada in 1979 as Handsome Dallas Page. Shortly thereafter, he gave up wrestling. His next notable appearance was not until WrestleMania VI, where he drove the Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine to the ring in his pink Cadillac. At this time, he was virtually unknown in the WWF and claims to not have been paid for the event, fondly recalling it on the WrestleMania XIX DVD.
Page served as a manager in 1988 in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), where he managed the tag team of Badd Company, who were often accompanied by a pair of female valets known as the "Diamond Dolls". Page also worked as a color commentator in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) before finally debuting as a professional wrestler.
[edit] World Championship Wrestling (1991–2001)
Page came to World Championship Wrestling in 1991 as manager of Diamond Studd and the tag team of the Fabulous Freebirds. Later in the year, he debuted as a wrestler, almost always losing in his matches. He made his wrestling PPV debut at Starrcade, teaming with Mike Graham in a losing effort to Jushin Liger and Bill Kazmaier. The following year, Page teamed with Vinnie Vegas as the "Vegas Connection."
Page returned to WCW TV in 1994, with his wife, the Diamond Doll Kimberly and got a bodyguard, Maxx Muscle. He held open arm wrestling challenges to win Kimberly but Maxx always helped him win or arm wrestled for him. He also had a long feud with Dave Sullivan because Sullivan gave Kimberly gifts. At Fall Brawl 1995, Page won his first championship when he defeated Renegade for the WCW Television title. In the build-up to his first title defense at the Halloween Havoc PPV, there was growing dissension between Page and Kimberly. Johnny B. Badd would defeat Page for the TV title, and again at the World War 3 PPV on November 26, 1995, winning Kimberly's freedom from DDP.
On May 19, 1996 Page participated in the Lord of the Ring Tournament (Battle Bowl) at Slamboree. The winner was to be the number one contender for the World Title which at that time was held by The Giant. Page was victorious when he defeated The Barbarian with two Diamond Cutters. However, he never received the title shot that he earned that night. Page was feuding with Eddie Guerrero when the nWo was formed. Since Nash & Hall were both former partners of Page, they began assisting him in his matches in the tournament being held for the vacant US Title.
Seeing that their help was not being appreciated, Hall and Nash turned up the heat on Page by attacking him during the tournament finals, therefore, handing the belt to Guerrero. After demonstrating the benefits of the nWo, they asked him to join. He responded by giving them Diamond Cutters, starting a face turn and a feud with the nWo.
Page's career really took off in 1997. As part of the popular nWo storyline, Page began one of WCW's most highly acclaimed feuds of '97 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 spray-painted "nWo" on his back. A few weeks later at the WCW pay-per-view Uncensored, Savage and Miss Elizabeth "broke kayfabe" (a worked shoot) by revealing 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.
Around this time, Page also started fighting nWo leader, Hulk Hogan. Page and Savage battled for the last time at Halloween Havoc. The match was billed as a Las Vegas Sudden Death Match, where anything goes and the only way to win was to beat your opponent so brutally, he could not get to his feet by a count of ten. The match ended when Hogan, dressed as Sting, came out and hit Page with a baseball bat in his already "injured" mid-section, resulting in Savage picking up the win. During this time and for several months after, Page would have his mid-section taped up as he performed.
On an episode of Nitro after shortly Halloween Havoc, Page fought Hogan, but was again beaten down by the nWo.
At StarrCade 1997, Page won the WCW US Heavyweight Championship from Curt Hennig. This capped off what had been a great year for Page; he was voted WCW Magazine's "Wrestler of the Year" for 1997.
In 1998, at Uncensored, Page took on Chris Benoit and Raven in a triple-threat, falls-count-anywhere contest for his US title, putting Raven through a table with a Diamond Cutter to retain the belt. Classic matches, such as the aforementioned triple-threat match, and his walks through the crowd before and after matches solidified Page's reputation as the "People's Champion," a nickname he shared with The Rock; although, DDP was a face in WCW and was the willing People's Champion, while the Rock was a heel in the WWF and called himself the People's Champion in order to disparage the crowd. It is unclear which wrestler was first referred to as the People's Champion, but the Rock undoubtedly ran further with the title, referring to almost everything as "The People's..." (including the entrance ramp as "The People's ramp" and his signature move, "The People's Elbow"). During much of this era, Page was also frequently called "the hardest working man in the business" by commentators and other WCW figures.
Later in the year, Page tagged with Karl Malone against Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman at Bash at the Beach 1998, losing due to interference. Later on, Page tagged with late night talk show host Jay Leno at Road Wild', where they defeated Hogan and Eric Bischoff.
At Fall Brawl 1998, Page won the WarGames main event, and got a World title shot against the undefeated Goldberg at Halloween Havoc. Page did not win the match, but his presence in the World title scene was now certified. Satellite difficulties prevented many viewers from seeing much of the highly anticipated World Championship match, so it was re-aired the following night during Nitro. Despite this setback, it was also voted "Match of the Year" in WCW Magazine.
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, Page pinned Ric Flair after giving Flair the Diamond Cutter. 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 being champion changed him. During his first promo as champion, because of what he perceived to have been an unappreciative crowd reaction, he would refer to the crowd as "a bunch of jackoffs" even though in reality he was receiving a positive reaction. Shortly after gaining the title, Page wrestled Goldberg for his championship. Page turned heel during the match, using everything at his disposal to try and beat down Goldberg (the match eventually ended in a no contest). Throughout the rest of his reign as champion, Page resorted to underhanded tactics to keep his championship.
His first reign as champion lasted all of 15 days. On April 26, 1999, Page was defeated for the World Championship by Sting on WCW Monday Nitro but regained it a little over an hour and a half later during a four way match the same night (thanks to a match set up by a returning Kevin Nash, who challenged Sting, Goldberg, and Page for the title). Page hit Nash with a foreign object to regain the title without actually defeating the reigning champion. Page was defeated by Nash at Slamboree that year, and fell out of the World title picture shortly thereafter.
As 1999 drew on, Page changed his look, and along with Chris Kanyon and Bam Bam Bigelow, he formed the Jersey Triad. The group got its name from all three members being from New Jersey. The Triad held the WCW World Tag Team titles at one point and invoked the Freebird Rule, stating any combination of the three members could defend the titles.
In 2000, with WCW under new control, Page (who had returned to facedom) earned a shot at the vacant World Championship. He would get his shot at Spring Stampede, the same event where one year prior he won the title for the very first time. His opponent would be ex-nWo member, Jeff Jarrett. In a surprise twist, Page's wife Kimberly turned on Page and helped Jarrett become the new World Champion. This also led to Kimberly forcing an unconscious Page to sign divorce papers.
Page would get the better of Jarrett on an episode of Nitro in May, but, in a tag team match against Jarrett and Eric Bischoff in which the belt could change hands, Page would lose the title to his very own tag partner, movie star David Arquette. Page and Jarrett met Arquette in a rematch at the Slamboree PPV in the first triple cage match, but Arquette, who had vowed to stay out of the match and support DDP and help him regain the title, betrayed Page, allowing Jarrett to regain the gold once more. The angle was poorly viewed by fans as one of WCW's biggest mistakes.
Page took some time off shortly after this, but returned in late 2000 as a full time wrestler. He was eventually involved in a real-life fist fight backstage with Scott Steiner, after Steiner did a shoot on Page moments earlier on Nitro. DDP hid behind the curtain and sucker punched Steiner as he entered the backstage area. Steiner then attacked DDP and eventually got the better of him. At the end of the fight, because Page could still move under his own power, he mocked Steiner by yelling at him "I'm still standing!". And much like many of the negative real life issues that encircled the WCW employees in this era, it was turned into an on-camera angle. Even the mocking statement Page made during their altercation was turned into his new catchphrase. Their feud hit a climax at WCW's final PPV in their history, WCW Greed, which saw Page's final match in WCW and a semi-burial type defeat as he passed out in Steiner's finisher, The Steiner Recliner, and was never seen or referred to on WCW television after the match.
In his WCW career, he also had notable feuds with the massive team known as Raven's Flock, due to storyline issues with Raven himself. The two had a notable battle that took place on MTV programing, when Raven gave DDP an Evenflow on a table.
[edit] World Wrestling Federation (2001–2002)
When WCW was purchased by WWF owner Vince McMahon in 2001, Page was one of the few major WCW stars to sign with McMahon. Despite this, he ended up being involved in what many fans considered to be bad storylines, and this led to him being voted WWF Magazine's "Most Misused Talent" of 2001. Page went from the People's Champion (in WCW) to crazed stalker, to a self-help guru in less than a year. He became known for his catchphrase "It's me, it's me, it's DDP," during this time.
Page was originally brought in as the man revealed to be the stalker of Undertaker's wife, Sara. He was the first WCW wrestler brought in as a heel (a little before the Invasion storyline began) and eventually paved the way for the entire WCW roster to turn heel as well. The angle began as him stalking Sara as a way to get The Undertaker's attention, because he believed he could get respect in the WWF by challenging and defeating him. The storyline with Undertaker did little except injure Page's credibility though, being destroyed by the Undertaker in several in-ring encounters. The blow-off of the feud saw Page pinned by Sara herself.
Page would eventually switch gimmicks and become a pseudo-motivational speaker, in what would come to be known as his "Positively Page" character. The name came from the title of his autobiography that was published during his WCW days. The character involved Page constantly smiling and acting optimistic, with his trademark phrase "That's not a bad thing...that's a good thing."
In early 2002, Page became the oldest European Champion in WWE history. At WrestleMania X8, he defeated Christian, a former follower of his positive "philosophy" and retained the title. Despite the moderate amount of success the character was met with, the new "Positively Page" gimmick left a sour taste amongst longtime fans of his, who fondly remembered Page for his furious battles with the nWo and his rough edged character.
In 2002, at the age of 46 and with nagging injuries, including a neck injury he suffered in a match with Bob Holly, his contract was allowed to expire, although he had advised management that he could rehabilitate his injury.
[edit] Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2004–2005)
On April 1, 2004 Diamond Dallas Page announced his return to the ring. After working for several independent promotions, he debuted with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on November 12, 2004, feuding with Raven and Erik Watts.
Page received an NWA World Heavyweight Championship title shot on March 13, 2005 at TNA Destination X 2005 but was defeated by reigning champion Jeff Jarrett. He remained with the company until May, 2005, at which point he left TNA over the booking of a tag match involving himself, and what the finish of the match would be. Page was booked to lose cleanly to Monty Brown during a tag match and Page initially refused to do so. Eventually, Page agreed to job but only if he were allowed to use his Diamond Cutter on his opponents and that two wrestlers would interfere during the match. This scenario became the result, but it led to a lot of resentment towards Page over his extreme reluctance to do a clean job and help elevate Brown. It ultimately led to Page's departure from the company[citation needed].
[edit] Wrestling facts
- Finishing and signature moves
-
- Diamond Cutter (Cutter)
- Diamond Bomb (Sitout powerbomb)
- DDPancake (Belly-to-back inverted mat slam)
- Discus clothesline
- Tilt slam
- Inverted atomic drop
- Side slam
- Managers
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
-
- PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year award in 1995
- PWI Feud of the Year – vs. Randy Savage award in 1997
- PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year award in 1999
- PWI ranked him # 65 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
- Swiss Wrestling Federation
-
- SWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
-
- WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- WCW World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- WCW World Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Kevin Nash (2), Chris Kanyon (1) and Bam Bam Bigelow (1)
- WCW World Television Championship (1 time)
- 1995 WCW Lord of the Ring winner
- 1996 WCW Battlebowl winner
- 1999 WCW MTV Tournament winner
-
- Most Improved Wrestler of 1996
- Best Wrestling Maneuver of 1997 - Diamond Cutter
- Worst Gimmick of 2001 - Bob Patterson Gimmick
[edit] Acting career
- Ready to Rumble
- Jack's Law
- Hood of Horror
- Nice Guys
- Bald
- Splinter
- The Devil's Rejects
- Driftwood
[edit] Trademarks
Page is commonly associated with the "Diamond Cutter" symbol - a hand gesture made by joining the thumbs and index fingers on each hand to form a diamond shape, then parting the two hands in one swift motion. He created the symbol in 1996 and later copyrighted it. In December 2005, Page filed a lawsuit against rapper Jay-Z, who, he claimed, had "illegally adopted his trademark hand gesture." Page accused Jay-Z of trademark and copyright infringement, and sought a prohibitive injunction and monetary damages. The African American Sorority Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated has used a very similar handsign since the 1950's.
Starting running back of the Kansas City Chiefs, Larry Johnson, also uses this symbol as an endzone celebration after scoring a touchdown. Most commonly seen while being lifted in the air by fellow teammates.
[edit] Trivia
- In his autobiography, Have a Nice Day, Mick Foley details an incident that occurred while he and Stone Cold Steve Austin were travelling with Page. Irritated by Page's constantly upbeat attitude, the two determined to make Page lose his composure. After a number of attempts, the two found success by placing ground cookies on Page's hotel room bed, and when Page got into bed, hilarity ensued.
- The name "Dallas" is derived from his love of the Dallas Cowboys.
- His Diamond Cutter finisher is so well known that the move -- a three-quarter facelock bulldog -- is now called the Cutter.
- DDP credits Bobby "The Brain" Heenan for coming up with the Diamond Cutter name.
- DDP entered arenas to a theme similar to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana.
- Page admitted in his autobiography that he is dyslexic.
- Page made an appearance in the music video to the song "Rising" by Stuck Mojo with other WCW wrestlers.
- On July 3, 2004, Page announced that he and Kimberly had amicably separated. Kimberly and DDP officially divorced late in 2005.
- Has taught Karl Malone, Jay Leno and Kevin Eubanks the "secret" of the Diamond Cutter.
- Occasionally referred to by the Internet Wrestling Community as Leatherface. Then-WCW commentator Mark Madden used the terminology as well on his website, which drew him a 1-week suspension from the company [1].
- The pink Cadillac Page drove at WrestleMania VI was from the nightclub "Norma Jean's" that he owned in Ft. Myers, Florida.
- Page had a cameo in the movie Rat Race, but was cut from the movie when test screen audiences failed to give his appearance any reaction. (he is in a deleted scene however)
- At WCW World War 3 1998, Page actually wore the WCW United States Championship belt upside down on his way to the ring.
- DDP made his own Workout called YRG (Yoga for Regular Guys/Girls)its for helping people get in shape and it isnt just a workout its a life style.
- According to the 2002 Pro Wrestling Illustrated Almanac DDP was billed at a weight of 260 lbs.
- The 2002 Pro Wrestling Illustrated Almanac says that he made his professional wrestling debut in 1991.
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500 rankings by year:1991-1994-not ranked;1995 ranking-111;1996 ranking-54;1997 ranking-4;1998 ranking-4;1999 ranking-6;2000 ranking-17;2001 ranking-19;2002-listed on the Farewell to the 500 page as having retired;
[edit] Books
- Genta, Larry and Page, Diamond Dallas (2000) Positively Page, ISBN 0-9679922-0-6
- Aaron, Craig and Page, Diamond Dallas (2005) Yoga for Regular Guys: The Best Damn Workout on the Planet, ISBN 1-59474-079-8
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- DiamondDallasPage.com (Official Website)
- Yoga for Regular Guys site by DDP
- Interview with DDP on Tha O Show
- DDP's official myspace
- Dallas Page at the Internet Movie Database
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | 1956 births | American professional wrestlers | American film actors | American television actors | American Wrestling Association alumni | Living people | People from New Jersey | Professional wrestling managers and valets | Professional wrestling announcers | Total Nonstop Action Wrestling alumni | World Champion professional wrestlers | World Championship Wrestling alumni | World Wrestling Entertainment alumni
