Show: The Interactive Interview
Guest: Diamond Dallas Page
Date: 9th December 2004
Your Hosts: Daniel Edler & James Walsh
Recap by: James Walsh & Eric Clancy
[NOTE: You need the Real One Player to hear the show, which you can download by Clicking Here]
He’s been called the “King of Badabing.” He has been called “positively inspirational.” He’s a former 3 time, 3 time, 3 time WCW Heavyweight Champion of the World. And, he’s this weeks guest on the Interactive Interview. As he’d put it, “It’s me! It’s me! It’s DDP!”
In one of the most in depth and entertaining interviews Page has granted in quite some time, James and Daniel get Page’s thoughts on being back in the ring with TNA, how he got started in this wild game we call wrestling, his answer to critics who say Eric Bischoff is the only reason he made it, his less than favorable opinion of Ric Flair, and so much more!
Spend 46 minutes with the one and only Diamond Dallas Page courtesy of your friends at The Interactive Interview!
Diamond Dallas Page
— The show opens up with DDP’s “Self High Five” theme from WCW as James introduces the man of the hour, or at least 46 minutes, Diamond Dallas Page.
— James starts off by saying how DDP came back to the ring at Turning Point and Page starts talking about how well he thinks the pay-per-view turned out. He feels it was better than anything the WWE has put on in the past few years. He talks about how insane the main event with America’s Most Wanted was inside the cage and how impressed he was with the young guys of TNA. James agrees saying he doesn’t feel anything the WWE has can touch that show and mentions how barren the upcoming Armageddon event seems to be shaping up.
— Page says he is going to stick around for a little while in TNA. “It’s the first time I’ve had fun in wrestling since 1998.”
— Daniel asks about why Page started to wrestle as opposed to continuing to manage as he had been doing. Page says it was a forced issue because his managerial services were taken away from him when the office told him that he was overshadowing the talent like The Diamond Studd (Scott Hall) and The Fabulous Freebirds. He feels that since he was only a fourth string color commentator with Eric Bischoff that he needed to learn how to wrestle, so with six months left on his contract he started to look for a trainer.
— “Jake, to me, is the man.” DDP gives Jake Roberts much credit for training him. Jake taught him a lot about psychology. He also says Dusty Rhodes and Jody Hamilton were instrumental in helping mould Page Falkenburg into Diamond Dallas Page.
— When Page started training, he was training with Erik Watts. They started about the same time.
– Page mentions a phone call he got from Jake Roberts. Jake said, “congratulations.” Page said, “for what?” Jake replied, “for reinventing the DDT.” Page considers that compliment as important as being awarded the Heavyweight title. Page then jokes saying Jake doesn’t throw compliments around much. James and Daniel agree after having the honor of interviewing Jake last year. That multi-part interview is available in the archives to download to this day.
— James asks Page how he feels about the numerous Diamond Cutter finishers being used by other stars. Page says that he called Randy Orton and told him he could use it. Orton replied, “That’s yours!” Page feels that was very respectful but insisted that Orton use it as Page thinks he is one of the best young workers in the business. He feels Orton has made it his own but mentions that even when Randy does it, the fans flash the Diamond Cuter symbol in the crowd.
— As for the others, “immolation is the greatest form of flattery.” Page mentions seeing Bubba Ray Dudley do the Diamond Cutter after lifting the guy in the air. Page admits to stealing that idea from him.
-James asks how he answers critics who claim that he would’ve never made it as a star without Eric Bischoff’s help. Page goes off on a rampage with this question. He talks about how the TNA fans react to him and Bischoff isn’t running that company. “You can’t make fans chant DDP or do the Diamond Cutter sign.” He claimed Bischoff “protected him” from guys like Flair, Sullivan, and Anderson who never saw him as a top guy. He puts over Flair as a great legend and says he thought they patched things up. Page cites an incident after wrestling David Flair who, “can’t tie his own boots,” Page feels he made the match with David watchable. Ric came up to him and hugged him after the match and said “Thank you.” And then he goes and buries Page in his book. DDP says that that makes Flair “two-faced.”
-DDP talks about how in late 1994 Hulk Hogan pulled him aside and asked about Page and what he was doing to constantly get better in the ring. Page talked about how he works out at the Power Plant constantly. Hogan didn’t know what the Power Plant was so Page explained it. Hogan said “Someday down the line, we’re gonna draw big money together.”
— Page discusses the push he was getting from WCW. He cites how he won “Jabroni Bowl” and the only top guy in the bowl was The Barbarian. He talks about how when Dusty and Sting won Battle Bowl, all the top guys of the time were involved.
— Page, voice noticeably raised, is interrupted by James saying, “hey, hey, hey.” Page understood James was trying to make sure he didn’t subscribe to the idea that Page would not have made it. Page then continues making his point. James talks about how he first thought Page had “it” when the feud with Randy Savage occurred. Page tells James that it was Savage’s idea to put Page over. He says that Savage had always told him to lose the gimmicks and once he meshed his personality with his character he became much more successful. He says that Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, and Ric Flair did similar things to get to the top.
— DDP talks about his days in the WWE and his opinions on his match with Christian at WrestleMania X8. He says that he feels he can still go with the younger guys and then takes an indirect shot at Flair’s poor physical conditioning saying he looks terrible. “Of course, my body ain’t jiggling as I run across the ring like some guys. God, does he look bad!” Of course Page never mentions Flair by name as Page feels he is taking the “high ground.”
— Page goes on to talk about his Regular Guy Yoga which you can check out on his web site www.ddpbang.com. He mentions that he is writing a book and is working on an infomercial for it. He says its Yoga meets the Man Show explaining that his Yoga isn’t meditation and chants but about focus. He expects the book will be out for next Christmas.
— When asked about David Arquette’s title reign he instantly laughs. He mentions that when Russo confronted him about the idea, he thought Russo was kidding. Page feels it was a PR stunt dropped in his lap. He also talks about how nice David Arquette was and how he donated all the money he made wrestling to Brian Pillman’s “old lady.”
— He also talks about how the Jay Leno incident got more fans interested in pro wrestling and in retrospect was a good thing. He feels it is much the same as what Austin did with Tyson.
— The show rolls into a short commercial break. When they come back, James and Daniel give a new spin to a holiday classic. “Chipmunks roasting on an Open Fire.” have a Merry and Twisted Christmas from your friends at The Interactive Interview!
— Back to the interview, Sting told TII he felt the beginning of the end for WCW was the Wolfpack. Page feels it stopped being fun for him after he got back from filming Ready to Rumble. He feels the stories were not all that good and “back stabbing was out of control.” But, he mentions he was not about to walk away when he was making $1,000,000 plus a year. “But, I’ll tell you what. I had a lot more fun then than I had the first six months in the WWE. *Big laugh* Oh God, that almost broke me, man. Well, actually, it did break me a few times.”
— “The thousand people at the TNA tapings, they’re as hardcore as they get, dude. You know what I mean? If you can actually get them chanting and to cheer you like a baby face, you’re doing something right! They just bust everybody’s chops.” James agrees and says the TNA audience always loves parody between face and heel.
— “They all know I’m 48. They all know I’m doing it… They don’t believe it! I just got back from Iraq. I was there for 2 weeks. The movement that I got from talking to these guys. It really made me know I made a difference in a lot of people’s lives. That’s moving! That’s powerful! The speaking end… That’s where I’m going to go. To me, Tony Robins, watch out! That’s like saying “watch out” to Hulk Hogan in 1989.” Page then mentions that Hulk told him in late 1994 that they would make money together.
— Page mentions that he just found out that “Superstar” Billy Graham is a fan of his which means a lot to him. He mentions that he will be doing a Q&A featuring himself, Dusty Rhodes, and “The Superstar” at Wrestle Reunion, www.wrestlereunion.com. Page says it’s going to be “huge” and goes on to list some of the mega stars that this unique event will feature. Page mentions the price may sound like a lot but you are getting so much, the price is actually low. Daniel and James agree and put over the idea as they help list some of the stars at this once in a lifetime event. Some of those names include Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, Roddy Piper, Bob Orton Jr, Ted DiBiase, Bruno Sammartino, and so many other great wrestling legends. Also, Jeff Jarrett is defending the NWA title against Tully Blanchard and so much more. Check it out, www.wrestlereunion.com for all details!
— DDP plugs his web site, www.ddpbang.com and www.diamonddallaspage.com and recommends his fans to check it out. He says the sit is doing incredibly well of late. He mentions there is clips of his TNA appearances on there as well as segments from his Best Damn Sports Show appearance with another former TII guest, Bruno Sammartino. He also mentions that the site features 4 big parts of his life today — Yoga, wrestling, acting, and inspirational speaking. Page mentions the inspirational speaking section is special because, “if you constantly read things by people that inspire you, you’ll be inspired to greatness.” Do check it out, www.ddpbang.com or www.diamonddallaspage.com.
— “Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it.”
-The word association includes Ric Flair, Steve Austin (who Page has been living with), Scott Hall, Bam Bam Bigelow, Kanyon, Vince McMahon a great story about Dave Sullivan, Hulk Hogan, and more. These word associations are a blast as Page opens up and shares stories about most of the above mentioned stars.
— James and Dan then run a commercial for Turning Point as they return to wrap up the show. The boys talk about everything from the Page interview, Turning Point, RAW, The Rise and Fall of ECW, www.missyhyattandfrancinetv.com, Randy Savage quitting TNA yet again, Motley Crue getting back together, and so much more! James then rounds out the show with a little “Primal Scream” by Motley Crue. This is one interview you don’t want to miss!
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