Dallas Page
From Free net encyclopedia
Page Joseph Falkinburg (born April 5, 1956, in Point Pleasant, New Jersey) is an American professional wrestler and occasional actor, better known by his stage name, Dallas Page (the name on his current SAG and AFTRA cards).
The name "Dallas" is derived from his love of the Dallas Cowboys, despite having grown up near the home of the New York Giants and New York Jets.
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 both World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation, and held the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on three occasions.
Contents |
Wrestling career
Page's first wrestling appearance was in Canada in 1979 as Handsome Dallas Page. He wrestled but gave it up shortly thereafter. His next notable appearance was not until WrestleMania VI, where he drove the Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine to the ring in a pink Cadillac.
Page served as a manager in 1987 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.
World Championship Wrestling
Page came to World Championship Wrestling in 1991 as part of a tag team with Diamond Studd called the "Diamond Exchange". The team feuded briefly with the Fabulous Freebirds. The following year, Page teamed with Vinnie Vegas as the "Vegas Connection".
He started to make a name for himself as a heel when he brought his wife, Kimberly, to be his Diamond Doll and got a bodyguard, Maxx Muscle, in 1994. He had open arm wrestling challenges to win Kimberly but Maxx always helped him win or arm wrestled for him. He had a long feud with Dave Sullivan because Dave gave Kimberly gifts and then he and Maxx cheated to win the WCW TV Title. Kimberly did not like his cheating, so Johnny B. Badd decided to free her of Page and won her freedom at World War 3 on November 26, 1995.
He had won the TV Title from Page the previous month (October). 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, they began assisting him in his matches in the tournement 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 benefits of nWo, they asked him to join. He responded with Diamond Cutters to them, starting a face turn and a feud with the nWo.
Page's career really took off in 1997. As part of the hot nWo storyline, Page began a feud 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 sprayed "nWo" on his back. A few weeks later at the WCW pay-per-view Uncensored, Savage and Miss Elizabeth revealed 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. Again, the two put on another excellent show. 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.
On an episode of Nitro after Halloween Havoc, Page fought Hogan, but was beaten down by the nWo.
At StarrCade 1997, Page lifted the WCW US Heavyweight Championship from the late 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 Page took on the likes of Chris Benoit and Raven. Classic matches, such as the triple-threat US title match which took place at Uncensored 1998 and his walks through the crowd before and after matches solidified Page's reputation as the "People's Champion," a phrase that now bears more in common with The Rock.
Page tagged with Karl Malone during this time. The two tagged at Bash At The Beach in 1998, where they faced Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman. Later on, Page tagged with late night talk show host Jay Leno at Road Wild in 1998, where they defeated Hogan and Eric Bischoff.
At Fall Brawl 1998, Page won the War Games, and got a World title shot against Goldberg at Halloween Havoc. Page did not get the belt; but his presence in the World title scene was now certified.
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. 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 he had quite an unusual first month, as he lost the title to Sting on an episode of Nitro, only to gain it back in the show's main event.
As 1999 drew on, Page changed his look, and turned heel. Along with Chris Kanyon and Bam Bam Bigelow, he formed the Jersey Triad, and won his second world title during this time. The Jersey Triad held the WCW World tag team titles at one point — a strange feat for a threesome. The group got its name from all three members being from New Jersey.
In 2000, with WCW under new control, Page earned a shot at the vacant world title. He would get his shot at Spring Stampede, the same event where 1 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.
Page would get the better of Jarrett on an episode of Nitro in May, but, in a tag team match against Jarret 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 Jarret to regain the gold once more.
Page took some time off shortly after this, but returned in late 2000 as a full time wrestler. Page lost 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.
World Wrestling Federation
2001 saw WCW being purchased by WWF owner Vince McMahon. Page was one of the few major WCW stars to sign with McMahon, but despite this, he ended up being part of what many fans considered to be bad storylines, which led to him being voted WWF Magazine's "Most Misused Talent" of 2001. This could be no closer to the truth, as Page went from People's Champion to crazed stalker, to the smiling man, in less than a year.
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 during the Invasion storyline and eventually paved way for the entire WCW roster to turn heel as well. The storyline with Undertaker did little except injure Page's credibility, being destroyed by the Undertaker in several in-ring encounters.
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 gimmick left a sour taste amongst longtime fans of his, who fondly remembered Page for his furious battles with the nWo and his Steve Austin-style character. Fans were not keen on Page's "Positively Page" character.
In 2002, at the age of 46, and with nagging injuries, including a neck injury caused in a match with Bob Holly, he was let go. After telling management he could get surgery and return to in-ring action, they declined and let his contract run out.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
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 to focus on his acting career and motivational speaking career.
Legacy
Diamond Dallas Page was one of the few WCW wrestlers to have made a name for himself in WCW, as the likes of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage had made their names in the WWF. Supporters say Page is proof that WCW was capable of building its own stars. Critics say Page's push had less to do with his talent than with his close friendship with Eric Bischoff.
Wrestling facts
Finishing and signature moves
- Diamond Cutter (Cutter)
- Diamond Dream (Sitout powerbomb)
- Discus clothesline
- Trip To The Diamond Cave (Facebuster from the Piledriver position}
Championships and accomplishments
- PWI ranked him # 65 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
- PWI Most Improved Wrestler Award (1995)
- PWI Feud of the Year Award, versus Randy Savage (1997)
- PWI Most Hated Wrestler Award (1999)
- 3-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion
- 2-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion.
- 1-time WCW World Television Champion
- 4-time WCW World Tag Team Champion (2-time with Chris Kanyon and Bam Bam Bigelow, 2-time with Kevin Nash)
- 1996 WCW Battlebowl winner
- 1999 WCW MTV Tournament winner
- 1-time WWF European Champion
- 1-time WWF World Tag Team Champion (with Kanyon)
- 1996 Most Improved Wrestler
Acting career
- 1999: First Daughter
- 2000: Ready to Rumble
- 2001: Rat Race (deleted scenes on DVD release)
- 2004: The Scam Artist
- 2005: The Devil's Rejects
- 2005: Splinter
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.
Trivia
In his autobiography, Have a Nice Day, Mick Foley details an incident that occured while he and 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 cookies on Page's hotel room bed.
Following the tradition of WCW using generic recuts of popular rock songs, DDP entered arenas to a theme similar to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana.
Page admitted in his autobiography that he is dyslexic.
Books
- Genta, Larry and Page, Diamond Dallas (2000) Positively Page, ISBN: 0967992206
- Aaron, Craig and Page, Diamond Dallas (2005) Yoga for Regular Guys: The Best Damn Workout on the Planet, ISBN 1594740798
References
- Diamond Dallas Page at ObsessedWithWrestling.com
- Diamond Dallas sues Jay-Z over "Diamond Cutter" hand sign
- DDP Interview 2/8/06