why did ddp leave wwe?

Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr., April 5, 1956), better known by his ring name Diamond Dallas Page (often shortened to DDP), is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. In the course of his wrestling career Page has wrestled for mainstream wrestling promotions World Championship Wrestling (WCW),[1] the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE),[1] Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

Page first broke into the wrestling business in 1988, as a manager in the American Wrestling Association,[1] where he worked for nine months before signing with WCW in 1991. There, he continued as a manager until late 1991, when he became a wrestler.[1] Over a decade in WCW, Falkinburg became a three-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion,[1] two-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion,[1] four-time WCW World Tag Team Champion[1] and one-time WCW World Television Champion. He is the fourth WCW Triple Crown Champion,[1] and the only United States Heavyweight Champion to defend the title in a pay-per-view main event, defeating Bret Hart at the 1998 World War 3.

After WCW was sold in 2001, Page signed with the WWF where he made his pay-per-view debut in the main event of July's Invasion show, and went on to become a one-time WWF European Champion and one-time WWF World Tag Team Champion. Due to a series of injuries, he allowed his contract with the company to expire in 2002.[1] He worked for TNA from 2004 to 2005, challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of Destination X 2005. On March 31, 2017, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Eric Bischoff. He is considered "one of the finest WCW legends in history."[4]

Since 2012, Page has run a mail order and online fitness video business called DDP Yoga, based on yoga and dynamic self-resistance.

Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr., the eldest of three children, was born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, the son of Sylvia (née Seigel) and Page Falkinburg Sr.[5][6] He was raised by his father during his early years after his parents divorced. He stated that he is of German, Irish, and Dutch origin. Falkinburg/Falkenburg is also the name of multiple German villages and at least three German castles. The name "Dallas" came from his love of the Dallas Cowboys.[7]

His brother Rory and sister Sally were raised by their maternal grandmother.[7] Falkinburg lived with his father from age three to eight. His father took him, at eight years old, to live with his grandmother, who raised him. Falkinburg admitted in his autobiography he is dyslexic.[5] He had many challenges hit him throughout his childhood and educational years.[7]

He attended St. Joseph's High School (now Donovan Catholic High School) in Toms River, New Jersey, for his freshman and second years, spending his first season on the JV basketball team and making the varsity squad as a sophomore.[8] He transferred to Point Pleasant Borough High School in Point Pleasant, where he was a star basketball player with the Point Pleasant Boro High School Panthers.[6] He attended Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina briefly before leaving school to work full-time.[citation needed]

Page ran a nightclub in Fort Myers, Florida called Norma Jeans (known for its pink Cadillac) while he was working as a wrestling manager in the American Wrestling Association (AWA).[citation needed] He started managing in 1988, where he handled Badd Company (Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka), a team he led to the AWA World Tag Team Championship on March 19.[9] Badd Company, was often accompanied by female valets known as the "Diamond Dolls" (Tonya, Jennifer and Torri). During his time in the AWA, Page also managed Colonel DeBeers,[10] Curt Hennig and Madusa Miceli as the leader of the Diamond Exchange stable.[1] He worked for the AWA at 12 dates over a period of nine months, where they filmed all the television shows in one day.

Page also worked as a color commentator in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), soon renamed Professional Wrestling Federation (PWF), where he worked alongside Gordon Solie, before finally debuting as a professional wrestler. Page's first pro match occurred in May 1989 against Dick Slater.

In 1990, Dallas received a tryout with the WWF as an announcer, but wasn't offered a job.[11] At WrestleMania VI, he drove Rhythm and Blues (The Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine) to the ring in his pink Cadillac.[1] At this time, he was virtually unknown in the World Wrestling Federation.[12] When FCW went out of business, Page was still involved in the club business until Dusty Rhodes returned to World Championship Wrestling. Rhodes started booking and brought him in on a small contract in early 1991.[1]

Page came to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in January 1991 to become the manager of The Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin and Michael P.S. Hayes).[1][13] He made his debut on Feb 3, 1991 on The Main Event, when Paul E. Dangerously introduced Page to the audience in an interview on the show's wrestling news segment The Danger Zone. Page managed the Freebirds to a shot at the NWA World Tag Team Championship where they defeated Doom (Butch Reed and Ron Simmons) on February 24. Before that match took place, Page unveiled the stable's new road manager, Big Daddy Dink, formerly known as Oliver Humperdink, who interfered in the match. During this match, Page introduced the Diamond Dolls. In April 1991 he added Scott Hall to the stable under the name of Diamond Studd.[1] Page also worked as a color commentator for WCW with Eric Bischoff.[1] With rumors that the WCW wanted to take the Diamond Studd away from Page,[11] he decided to take the advice of Magnum T. A. and begin to wrestle himself. He headed to the WCW Power Plant where Buddy Lee Parker, The Assassin, and Dusty Rhodes trained the 35-year-old rookie. The advice was fruitful, as on the August 31, 1991 episode it was announced by commentators that the Studd and Page had indeed parted ways.

Dallas Page would make his debut as a wrestler on August 22, 1991, at a house show in Jacksonville, FL, losing to Tom Zenk in 90 seconds.[14] As he continued his training Page became a commentator for WCW programming. He also resumed managing Scott Hall; however, he would not return to the ring until November 25, 1991, when he teamed with The Diamond Studd to defeat Chris Sullivan and Brian Lee on WCW World Championship Wrestling (the future WCW Saturday Night). At the same taping, but in a match airing on December 21, 1991, on WCW Pro, Studd and Page would gain their first significant victory when they defeated PN News and Johnny B. Badd. On the house show circuit, Page and Studd suffered their first defeat when they fell to the WCW Patriots in Balitmore, MD on November 27.[15] On the December 21st edition of "World Championship Wrestling", Dallas accomplished his first single victory, defeating Johnny Rich. Later that month he faced former clients Michael Hayes and Jim Garvin in house show matches, losing each encounter.[16]

He made his wrestling pay-per-view debut at Starrcade in 1991, teaming with Mike Graham in a losing effort to Jushin Thunder Liger and Bill Kazmaier.[1] In regards to this period, he stated: "Bischoff gave me the job as I was a good example of work ethic, passion and someone that cares about the business. Since they wouldn't really book me, I went down to the WCW Power Plant every day I wasn't working. That's how you adapt to adversity. Even when I started to make it, I still kept going back. Until I was on the road 260 days a year-plus, I was still going to that Power Plant. For five years I went there, because that's how long it took me to get to the top."[17]

Page opened 1992 with a house show victory over Brad Anderson in Atlanta, GA, making his wrestling debut at The Omni. This would be his only victory for some time, as the former manager began to wrestle full-time but quickly found himself relegated to the "jobber" list. Page would make his debut at Clash of the Champions, losing to PN News at Clash of the Champions XVIII. He would also lose matches to Ron Simmons, The Steiner Brothers, Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes, Van Hammer, The Freebirds, Nikita Koloff and Tom Zenk. On February 29, 1992, he was defeated by Big Josh in the opening dark match at the SuperBrawl II PPV.

In April 1992 he began teaming with Richard Morton (Ricky Morton) following the dissolution of The York Foundation. The duo faced Ron Simmons & The Junkyard Dog, The Steiner Brothers and The Freebirds on the house show circuit but were unsuccessful. On the April 25, 1992 episode of WCW Worldwide it was announced that Kip Frey had banned Page from any non-wrestling appearances in WCW, and ultimately eliminated his wrestling license. Meanwhile, on April 30, 1992, he garnered his first significant singles victory of his nascent career when he pinned Marcus Alexander Bagwell at a house show in West Palm Beach, Fl.[18]

World Championship Wrestling announced a tournament to crown the NWA World Tag Team Champions on May 2, 1992; Dallas Page proceeded to crash the event and brought bags of letters of support for overturning his ban. Kip Frey relented, and Page had his TV time and wrestling license restored. He teamed with Thomas Rich to defeat Firebreaker Chip and Bob Cook in the dark match of WrestleWar '92 on May 17, 1992. On the June 13, 1992 edition of WCW Saturday Night he faced WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sting in a non-title matchup and was defeated. On June 20, he teamed with Tracy Smothers and Richard Morton in a losing effort to The Junkyard Dog, Tom Zenk, and Big Josh in the dark match of Beach Blast 92.

Page continued to wrestle and gradually brought other wrestlers into his stable, The Diamond Mine, such as Scotty Flamingo (Raven) and Vinnie Vegas (Kevin Nash).[19][20] The relationships between DDP, Flamingo, and Vegas were used in many angles over the following months. Page went in the corner of Scotty Flamingo, at Clash of the Champions XXI on November 18, 1992, when Flamingo fought Johnny B. Badd in a worked boxing match. Flamingo won this bout with a little help from Page who filled Flamingo's glove with water. The following year, after Studd and Flamingo left the stable, Page teamed with Vinnie Vegas as the Vegas Connection.[19] The team was disbanded shortly after its debut when Page tore a rotator cuff in a match against Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce toward the end of 1992 and was later fired, while Nash left WCW for the World Wrestling Federation.[11][13][21]

Page, determined to continue improving his character, sought the help of Jake Roberts who advised him on the psychological aspects of the business.[13] After his injury had healed and following a tour of Germany for World Wrestling Superstars in the summer of 1993,[22] Page re-signed with World Championship Wrestling. He made his return on the December 19, 1993 edition of The Main Event, losing to Scott D'Amore via countout. He closed the year by defeating "Jungle" Jim Steele at a house show in Kennesaw, GA [23][21]

Page had returned with his wife Kimberly[13] as the Diamond Doll, and an on-screen bodyguard,[13] Max Muscle. He held open arm wrestling challenges to win Kimberly, but Max always helped him win or arm wrestled for him. He was also involved in an angle where he was said to have amassed $13 million through victories in arm wrestling competitions, then lost it. In summer 1995, he feuded with Dave Sullivan because Sullivan gave Kimberly gifts (and largely because Page was defeated by Sullivan in one of the arm wrestling contests, which earned him a date with Kimberly).[1] At Fall Brawl, Page won his first championship when he defeated Renegade for the WCW World Television Championship.[1] In the build-up to his first title defence at Halloween Havoc, there was growing dissension between Page and Kimberly. Johnny B. Badd defeated Page for the TV title and again at World War 3 on November 26, winning Kimberly's freedom from DDP.[1] At Uncensored on March 24, 1996 The Booty Man with Kimberly as The Booty Babe defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a Loser Leaves Town match.[1]

Page returned on the May 18, 1996, episode of WCW Saturday Night as a tweener defeating Billy Kidman. On May 19, Page participated in the Lord of the Ring Tournament (Battle Bowl) at Slamboree. Falkinburg was victorious when he defeated The Barbarian with two Diamond Cutters. The winner was to be the number one contender for the World Title which at that time was held by The Giant.[1] He never received the title shot that he earned that night. Page was feuding with Eddie Guerrero when the New World Order (nWo) was formed. Since Nash and Hall were both former partners of Page, they assisted him in his matches in the tournament being held for the vacant United States Heavyweight Championship. Believing their assistance was not appreciated, Hall and Nash attacked him during the tournament final, allowing Guerrero to win.[1] After demonstrating the benefits of the nWo, they asked him to join. He responded by giving them Diamond Cutters on January 25, 1997, at Souled Out, starting a face turn and a feud with the nWo.[1] Soon after, Page began a feud with recent nWo recruit "Macho Man" Randy Savage.[1] On an episode of Nitro, Savage, aided by Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, attacked Page and spray-painted "nWo" on his back. A few weeks later at Uncensored, Savage and Miss Elizabeth "broke" (a worked shoot) by revealing to the world that Page and Kimberly were, in fact, married. Savage then proceeded to beat up Page, ensuring a future match between the two. At Spring Stampede, in Page's first pay-per-view main event, he and Savage battled in a match where Page emerged victorious, but it was not the end of conflict between the two.[1] A few months later at The Great American Bash, they squared off again in an anything goes, lights out match. The match ended with Savage defeating Page with help from (then) Tag Team Champion Scott Hall.[1] At Bash at the Beach, Scott Hall and Randy Savage defeated Diamond Dallas Page and Curt Hennig. Curt Hennig, who Diamond Dallas Page had recruited personally to join WCW and team with him, turned on DDP during the match.[1] Hennig defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a grudge match at Road Wild.[1] At Fall Brawl, Page teamed with Lex Luger to defeat Scott Hall and Randy Savage in a No Disqualification match.[1] Page even dressed up as masked wrestler La Parka and beat Savage on the July 7 edition of Monday Nitro. Around this time, Page also started fighting nWo leader, Hollywood Hogan. Page and Savage battled for the last time at Halloween Havoc. The match was billed as a Las Vegas sudden-death match, where Savage pinned Page after Hogan, dressed as Sting, came out and hit Page with a baseball bat in his already "injured" midsection, resulting in Savage picking up the win.[1] On an episode of Nitro shortly after Halloween Havoc, Page fought Hogan, but was again beaten down by the nWo.

At Starrcade, Page won the United States Heavyweight Championship from Curt Hennig.[1] The following year at Uncensored, Page defended the title in a Triple Threat, Falls Count Anywhere contest against Chris Benoit and Raven, putting Raven through a table with a Diamond Cutter to retain the belt. Page later lost the title to Raven at Spring Stampede.[1] Later in the year, Page tagged with Karl Malone against Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman at Bash at the Beach, losing due to interference.[1] Page tagged with late night talk show host Jay Leno at Road Wild, where they defeated Hogan and Eric Bischoff.[1]

Page, along with Raven and the Flock, were featured in the music video for the song Rising by the band Stuck Mojo. At Fall Brawl, 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,[1] but the match was voted WCW Magazine's "Match of the Year" 1998. Halloween Havoc ran slightly longer than expected resulting in a number of cable companies blacking out the end of the Hogan versus Warrior match and all of the DDP versus Goldberg contest. WCW decided to air the Goldberg versus DDP title bout in its entirety on the October 26 episode of Nitro, which proved immensely popular in the ratings and resulted in a ratings win for Nitro over Raw – the last win Nitro ever had. Despite this setback in the World title picture, Page rebounded this same following night of Halloween Havoc, on the October 26 episode of Nitro, with a win over Bret Hart to capture the United States Heavyweight Title. The two headlined the following month's World War 3, in a title match which Page won.[24] Page lost the title to Hart on the November 30 episode of Nitro in a No Disqualification match, when he was assaulted by The Giant.[25]

Page became WCW World Heavyweight Champion in April 1999, at Spring Stampede when he defeated Sting, Hogan, and Ric Flair for the title in a Four Way Dance with "Macho Man" Randy Savage as Special Guest Referee. Page pinned Flair after giving Flair the Diamond Cutter.[1] Around this time some fans were starting to boo Page at various WCW events, so shortly after Spring Stampede a decision was made to turn Page heel for the first time in three years. The turn played out slowly at first, with Page undergoing a change in attitude. Then, on April 19, Page defended his title against Goldberg, where he cemented the turn by first knocking Goldberg out with brass knuckles and then propping his leg up against the ring stairs and repeatedly smashing it with a steel chair, all while taunting the fans with repeated utterances of "boo me now". Page only stopped when Kevin Nash, an ally of Hogan's who was angry at Page for (kayfabe) injuring Hogan's knee during the match at Spring Stampede, came back from injury and chased him away.

On April 26, 1999, Page lost and regained his title in the span of two hours. Sting challenged him to defend his title in the first hour of that night's Nitro and defeated him to regain the title he had lost a year earlier. This ended Page's reign at 15 days, but he gained an opportunity to get the title back ninety minutes later. Nash came to the ring and made a challenge for a four-way match for the title, and the just-dethroned Page joined defending champion Sting and Goldberg in the match. Page regained the WCW World Heavyweight Championship by using a foreign object to hit Nash and take the win and regain the title without actually defeating the reigning champion.[1] Nash became the number one contender shortly after and vowed to get revenge on Page for his friend Hogan, culminating in a match at Slamboree in May. Page originally retained the WCW World Heavyweight Championship after Savage interfered and hit Nash, but the match was ordered to continue by Eric Bischoff and Nash pinned Page to win the title after a powerbomb.[1] Page dropped out of the title picture shortly thereafter.

Shortly after Slamboree, Page entered into an alliance with fellow New Jerseyan Bam Bam Bigelow and won the WCW World Tag Team Championship from then champions Perry Saturn and Raven on May 31, thanks to Chris Kanyon turning heel on former ally Raven and costing the team the championships. Page, Bigelow, and Kanyon became known as the Jersey Triad and through their alliance with WCW "President for Life" Ric Flair took advantage of the Freebird Rule in their subsequent matches (meaning any combination of the three could defend the championship). The Triad held the titles until June 10, when Saturn and Chris Benoit (now stablemates in The Revolution) took the title from them. They regained the belts at The Great American Bash three days later, and lost them to Harlem Heat at Road Wild in August.[1] Later that night, Chris Benoit defeated Diamond Dallas Page to retain the United States title.[1] The group broke up shortly thereafter and Page began feuding with Hogan again, joining Sid Vicious and Rick Steiner in a team effort to take on Hogan, Sting, and Goldberg. Soon after that feud ended Page turned into a hero again and feuded with both Kanyon and Bigelow before the year ended.

In 2000, with WCW under new management, Page earned a shot at the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Spring Stampede against Jeff Jarrett. In a surprise twist, Page's wife, Kimberly, turned on Page and helped Jarrett become the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion.[1] Page got the better of Jarrett on the April 24 episode of Nitro, where he defeated Jarrett in a steel cage match to become WCW World Heavyweight Champion for the third time, then lost the title to his tag partner, actor David Arquette, three days later on Thunder; the rules stated that whoever got the pin would win the title, and Arquette pinned Jarrett's partner, Eric Bischoff. Page attempted to win the title back at Slamboree later that month in a triple cage match against Arquette and Jarrett, but lost after Arquette hit him with a guitar. Page then entered a feud with Mike Awesome, who defeated him in an Ambulance Match at The Great American Bash after Kanyon turned on Page.[1]

Page took some time off shortly after this, but returned in late 2000 as a full-time wrestler. After Page came back he formed a tag team with Kevin Nash called The Insiders, and the team won the WCW World Tag Team Championship on November 26 at Mayhem by defeating Perfect Event (Shawn Stasiak and Chuck Palumbo).[1] The team was temporarily stripped of the titles but won them back at Starrcade defeating Stasiak and Palumbo again. Page and Nash lost the titles to Palumbo and Sean O'Haire at Sin in January and broke up shortly thereafter. After his tag team run Page briefly feuded with the returning Kanyon, which saw Kanyon defeat Page at SuperBrawl Revenge, and Page defeating Kanyon the following night on Nitro, ending their feud. Page then moved into the World Championship picture again by facing Scott Steiner. Their feud hit a climax at WCW's final PPV Greed, saw Page's final match in WCW as he passed out in Steiner's finisher, The Steiner Recliner, after refusing to tap out.[26]

When WCW was purchased by WWF owner Vince McMahon in 2001, Page was one of the few major WCW stars (along with Booker T and Buff Bagwell) who accepted buyouts of their AOL Time Warner contracts in order to immediately sign with McMahon. He debuted in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on the June 18, 2001, episode of Raw when he unveiled himself as the stalker of The Undertaker's wife, Sara.[27] Page revealed he didn't care about Sara; he only did it to make an impact and wanted to take on the "biggest dog in the yard".[27] At King of the Ring, he fought The Undertaker in an unsanctioned brawl that was never announced as an official match.[28] On the July 5 episode of SmackDown!, Page competed against WCW Champion Booker T, but failed to win the title after a distraction from the Undertaker.[29] On the July 9 episode of Raw, WCW owner Shane McMahon and ECW owner Paul Heyman joined to create The Alliance, with former WCW and ECW alumni joining forces in an attempt to take control of the WWF.[30] At the Invasion pay-per-view, Page formed part of Team Alliance alongside Booker T, Rhyno and The Dudley Boyz, defeating Team WWF, after Team WWF member Stone Cold Steve Austin turned on his team members mid-match.[31]

Page and Chris Kanyon reunited on the August 6 episode of Raw when Kanyon helped Page attack The Undertaker backstage.[32] Three days later on the August 9 taping of SmackDown!, Page and Kanyon defeated the APA to win the WWF Tag Team Championship.[33]

His feud with the Undertaker culminated when Undertaker and Kane defeated Page and Kanyon at SummerSlam on August 19, 2001, in a Steel cage match for the WWF Tag Team Championship. During the match, Page was injured, keeping him out of action until late October 2001.[34] While Page was injured, he developed a new gimmick in which he became a motivational speaker. The character involved Page constantly smiling and acting optimistic, with his trademark phrase "That's not a bad thing... that's... a good thing".

His return televised match was on November 3 at Rebellion losing to Big Show.[35] After the Alliance lost at Survivor Series, Page, along with the rest of the Alliance members, kayfabe lost their jobs.[36]

Page eventually returned as a face and won his job back by defeating Big Boss Man on the January 17, 2002, episode of SmackDown!.[37] Page competed in the Royal Rumble match at the titular event on January 20 but did not win.[38]

Page became the WWF European Champion on the January 31, 2002, episode of SmackDown!, when he defeated Christian, a former follower of his positive "philosophy."[39] At WrestleMania X8, Page successfully retained in a rematch against Christian.[40] He lost the title to William Regal on an episode of SmackDown! that aired March 21.[41] On March 25, Page was drafted to the SmackDown! brand as part of the 2002 WWF draft lottery.[42]

On the April 18 episode of SmackDown!, he sustained a serious neck injury during a match with Hardcore Holly, after botching a superplex.[43] After receiving opinions from multiple doctors, Page announced his retirement in June 2002.[44] He left the promotion soon after.

In 2004, Page made his in-ring return by wrestling for several independent promotions.[44] His first match was on April 21, 2004, teaming with Satoshi Kojima as they lost to former WCW star Sting and The Great Muta for HCW Battle Hawaii.

He signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He debuted for the company on the November 12 taping of Impact!, where he attacked Raven, beginning a feud between the two.[45] At Turning Point on December 5, DDP defeated Raven.[46] and at Final Resolution in January 2005, Page competed in a three-way elimination match to determine the number one contender for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship also involving Monty Brown and Kevin Nash, which was won by Brown.[47] Page and Brown subsequently formed a tag team. The following month at Against All Odds, Page and Brown defeated Team Canada (Bobby Roode and Eric Young).[48] Page received an NWA World Heavyweight Championship title shot on March 13 at Destination X, but was defeated by reigning champion Jeff Jarrett when Brown turned heel and hit Page with the Pounce.[49] At Lockdown, Page teamed with B.G. James and Waltman to defeat Jeff Jarrett, Monty Brown and The Outlaw in a Lethal Lockdown match.[50] At Hard Justice on May 15, Page and Ron Killings faced Monty Brown and The Outlaw where they were defeated in what was Page's final match in TNA.[51] Page left TNA shortly thereafter in order to pursue an acting career.[44]

After TNA, Page returned to the independent circuit. He lost to Larry Zbyszko at WrestleReunion. DDP had Bruno Sammartino in his corner during the match. Then Page defeated Buff Bagwell on December 9, 2005, at GLCW Blizzard Brawl. In 2006, Page defeated his former Jersey Triad partner Chris Kanyon twice before retiring once again.

On August 9, 2009, Diamond Dallas Page made a special appearance for Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) at their Bloodymania III event, aligning himself with the jWo. He hit his trademark Diamond Cutter finisher on Trent Acid.[52]

DDP returned to wrestling on January 2, 2010, teaming with Air Paris to defeat Bobby Hayes and Alexander the Great at PICW event. On October 15, 2011, DDP teamed with Kevin Nash as they defeated The Rock 'n' Roll Express at AWE Night Of The Legends.

In late 2010, Page agreed to work on a DVD for WWE, titled The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro, after being approached on the project due to his ties to WCW. Page hosted the DVD, which was released on June 7, 2011. On the June 27 episode of Raw, Page made an appearance promoting this DVD with Booker T.[53]

In 2012, Page appeared on WWE Classics on Demand in Legends of Wrestling Roundtable: Renegades along with Jim Ross, Michael P.S. Hayes, Roddy Piper, and Gene Okerlund. Page also appeared alongside Kevin Nash and X-Pac at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony on March 31, 2012. On July 2, 2012, Page made an appearance on Raw, where he hit a Diamond Cutter on Heath Slater. He also appeared at Raw 1000, accompanied by other WWE Legends, during Slater's match with Lita.[54]

On the January 6, 2014, episode of Raw, Page, along with a number of other legends, appeared on the show as part of its "Old School" theme. On April 5, Page inducted his wrestling mentor and noted DDP Yoga practitioner Jake Roberts into the WWE Hall of Fame.[55]

On January 25, 2015, at Royal Rumble, Page was a surprise entrant in the Rumble match, entering at number 14 and hitting his finishing move, the Diamond Cutter, on Stardust, Bray Wyatt and Fandango from the top rope, before being eliminated by Rusev.[56] At WrestleMania 32, Page competed in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but was eliminated by Konnor.[57]

On March 31, 2017, Page was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in Orlando, Florida.[58]

At All In on September 1, 2018, Page accompanied Cody Rhodes in his match against NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis.[59]

On May 25, 2019, during their inaugural pay-per-view Double or Nothing, Page escorted Brandi Rhodes away from the ring after she refused to leave the match between Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes after match referee Earl Hebner ejected her from the match.[60] On the October 23, 2019, episode of AEW Dynamite, Page returned to TNT programming for the first time in over 18 years, and helped Cody attack Chris Jericho and his stable The Inner Circle. On November 27, 2019, Page returned to Dynamite to present MJF with the first ever Dynamite Diamond Ring as a prize for defeating Adam Page.[61][62] On January 15, 2020, at Bash at the Beach, Page had his last match, teaming with Dustin Rhodes and Q. T. Marshall to take on MJF and The Butcher and The Blade in a losing effort.

Page developed a yoga fitness program initially called Yoga for Regular Guys Workout (YRG), after discovering the health benefits of yoga through his then-wife Kimberly while he recovered from ruptures to his L4/L5 discs in 1998.[63] His favorite kind of yoga (according to his "Yoga for Regular Guys" book published in 2005) is "Power Yoga", an American-style version of "Ashtanga Style" yoga. Page worked with chiropractor Dr. Craig Aaron,[64] and developed the Yoga for Regular Guys Workout.[1]

Page developed the book into a series of workout videos titled DDP Yoga (formerly YRG). DDP Yoga was featured in a video about Arthur Boorman in May 2012.[65] The story was picked up by the mainstream media,[66][67][68] including Good Morning America.[69] The video describes the journey of Arthur Boorman, a disabled veteran who was told by doctors he would never walk again. After spending fifteen years on crutches,[70] Boorman followed Page's yoga plan for ten months and documented his progress on home video. He lost 140 pounds and regained the strength and flexibility to walk and run without his crutches, back braces or leg braces.[71]

On February 21, 2014, Page appeared on the ABC series Shark Tank, where he was seeking $200,200 for a 5% share in the DDP Yoga company. He declined to sell a 50% share for that same amount to Kevin O'Leary. Page had hoped to use the money to develop a mobile app. The other investors were impressed by Boorman's improvement but believed the home exercise market was too competitive and also predicted net profits ($800,000 in the previous year) would fall.[72][unreliable source] Page later said he sold more than $1 million worth of products in the first six days after his appearance.[73][74]

In 2015, he was a main subject in the documentary The Resurrection of Jake the Snake, which chronicled Page helping Jake Roberts through rehabilitation.

In 2016, Page was featured on the Nine Legends Expansion Pack to talk about his friend Bill Goldberg.[75]

Page currently hosts a radio show titled DDP Radio.[76] Since January 4, 2022, Page has taken part in a podcast with Jake Roberts and Conrad Thompson titled DDP Snakepit.[77]

Page has been depicted in several licensed wrestling video games.

Page is commonly associated with the "Self High Five" as well as 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 trademarked 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 infringement and sought a prohibitive injunction and monetary damages.[78][79] It resulted in Page dropping the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount of money. On August 31, 2010, Page filed a lawsuit against American electronica musical duo 3OH!3 for infringement of his trademarked "Diamond Cutter" hand gesture.[80][81][82]

Page's WCW entrance music, "Self High-Five", intentionally contained similarities to the 1991 Nirvana song "Smells Like Teen Spirit", as composer Jimmy Hart and Page felt it exemplified the "sound of the '90s".[83] According to Page, Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl in turn claimed that "WCW owes us [the band] money", but before any further actions or lawsuits took place, the track was altered to "sound like it was it, but wasn't".[83]

Page released his autobiography, Positively Page: The Diamond Dallas Page Journey, on February 1, 2000.[84]

In 2003, he had his name legally changed to Dallas Page.[85]

On December 1, 1991, Page married Kimberly Page. On July 3, 2004, they announced their amicable separation, before divorcing in 2005.[86]

In 2015, Page married Brenda Nair. They separated in 2019. The divorce was finalized in 2020.[87]

In 2021, Page married Payge McMahon.[88]

Page has two daughters, Brittany Page (born 1987) and Kimberly Page (born 1994),[89] and two stepdaughters, (Alexandra) Lexy Nair (born 1996) and Rachel Nair (born 2001). Lexy currently works with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a backstage interviewer.[90]

On January 15, 2019, Page released another book, Positively Unstoppable: The Art of Owning It, through Rodale Books. The book includes a foreword by Mick Foley.[91]

Over a decade in WCW, Page became a three-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, two-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion, four-time WCW World Tag Team Champion and one-time WCW World Television Champion. He is the fourth WCW Triple Crown Champion.

After WCW was sold in 2001, Page signed with the WWF, where he became a one-time WWF European Champion and one-time WWF World Tag Team Champion.

Page Joseph Falkenburg, the oldest of three children, was born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, the son of Sylvia (née Seigel) and Page Joseph Falkenburg, Sr. Page was raised by his father during his early years, after his parents divorced. The name "Dallas" came from his love of the Dallas Cowboys. His brother and sister were raised by their maternal grandmother. Page lived with his father from the ages of three to eight. His father took him, at eight years old, to live with his grandmother, who raised him. Page admitted in his autobiography he is dyslexic. He had many challenges hit him throughout his childhood and educational years. DDP attended St. Joseph's High School (now Monsignor Donovan High School) in Toms River, New Jersey) for his freshman and sophomore years, spending his first season on the JV basketball team and making the varsity squad as a sophomore. He transferred to Point Pleasant Boro High School in Point Pleasant, where he was a star basketball player with the Point Pleasant Boro High School Panthers.

Page's first wrestling appearance was in Canada in 1979. However, due to poor initial training and a subsequent bad knee injury he gave up wrestling shortly afterward.

Page ran a nightclub in Fort Myers, Florida called "Norma Jeans" (known for its Pink Cadillac) while he was working as a wrestling manager in the American Wrestling Association (AWA). He started managing in 1988, where he handled Badd Company (Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka), a team he led to the AWA World Tag Team Championship on March 19. Badd Company, was often accompanied by female valets known as the "Diamond Dolls" (Tonya, Jennifer and Torri). During his time in the AWA, Page also managed Col. DeBeers, Curt Hennig and Madusa Miceli as the leader of the Diamond Exchange stable. He worked for the AWA at 12 dates over a period of nine months, where they filmed all the television shows in one day. He also worked as a color commentator in Championship Wrestling from Florida where he worked alongside Gordon Solie, before finally debuting as a professional wrestler.

In 1990, Dallas received a tryout with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as an announcer, but never got the job. At WrestleMania VI, he drove Rhythm and Blues (The Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine) to the ring in his pink Cadillac. At this time, he was virtually unknown in the WWF. When Championship Wrestling from Florida closed, Page was still involved in the club business until Dusty Rhodes returned to World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Rhodes started booking and brought Page in on a small contract in early 1991.

Page came to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1991 as manager of The Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin and Michael P.S. Hayes). Page managed the Freebirds to a shot at the NWA World Tag Team Championship where they defeated Doom (Butch Reed and Ron Simmons) on February 24. Before that match took place, Page unveiled the stable's new road manager, Big Daddy Dink, formerly known as Oliver Humperdink, who interfered in the match. During this match, Page introduced the Diamond Dolls. Page added Scott Hall to the stable under the name of Diamond Studd. Page also worked as a color commentator for WCW with Eric Bischoff. With rumors that the WCW wanted to take the Diamond Studd away from Page, he decided to take the advice of Magnum T.A. and begin to wrestle himself. He headed to the WCW Power Plant where Buddy Lee Parker, The Assassin, and Dusty Rhodes trained the 35 year old rookie. He debuted as a wrestler in a tag team match later that year. With the Diamond Studd, he faced Kevin Sullivan and his partner. He was relegated to the "jobber" list. He made his wrestling pay-per-view debut at Starrcade in 1991, teaming with Mike Graham in a losing effort to Jushin Liger and Bill Kazmaier. In regards to this period, he stated:

Page continued wrestling and brought other wrestlers into his stable, The Diamond Mine, such as Scotty Flamingo (Raven) and Vinnie Vegas (Kevin Nash). The relationships between DDP, Flamingo, and Vegas were used in many angles over the following months. Page went in the corner of Scotty Flamingo, at Clash of the Champions XXI on November 18, 1992, when Flamingo fought Johnny B. Badd in a worked boxing match. Flamingo won this bout with a little help from Page who filled Flamingo's glove with water. The following year, after Studd and Flamingo left the stable, Page teamed with Vinnie Vegas as the Vegas Connection. However, the team was disbanded shortly after its debut when Page suffered a torn rotator cuff in a match against Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce toward the end of 1992 and was later fired, while Nash left WCW for the World Wrestling Federation.

Page determined to continue improving his character, sought the help of Jake Roberts who advised him on the psychological aspects of the business. After his injury had healed, Page returned to WCW television in 1994, with his wife Kimberly as the Diamond Doll, and an on-screen bodyguard, Max Muscle. He held open arm wrestling challenges to win Kimberly but Max always helped him win or arm wrestled for him. He also had a long feud with Dave Sullivan because Sullivan gave Kimberly gifts (and largely because Page was defeated by Sullivan in one of the arm wrestling contests, which earned him a date with Kimberly). At Fall Brawl, Page won his first championship when he defeated Renegade for the WCW World Television Championship. In the build-up to his first title defense at Halloween Havoc, there was growing dissension between Page and Kimberly. Johnny B. Badd defeated Page for the TV title and again at World War 3 on November 26, winning Kimberly's freedom from DDP. At Uncensored on March 24, 1996 The Booty Man with Kimberly as The Booty Babe defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a Loser Leaves Town match.

Page returned on the May 18, 1996 edition of WCW Saturday Night as a tweener defeating Billy Kidman. On May 19, Page participated in the Lord of the Ring Tournament (Battle Bowl) at Slamboree. Page was victorious when he defeated The Barbarian with two Diamond Cutters. The winner was to be the number one contender for the World Title which at that time was held by The Giant. However, he never received the title shot that he earned that night. Page was feuding with Eddie Guerrero when the New World Order (nWo) was formed. Since Nash and Hall were both former partners of Page, they assisted him in his matches in the tournament being held for the vacant US Title. Believing their help was not appreciated, however, Hall and Nash attacked 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 on January 25, 1997 at Souled Out, starting a face turn and a feud with the nWo. Page began a feud with "Macho Man" Randy Savage in 1997. On an episode of WCW Monday Nitro, Savage, aided by Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, attacked Page and spray-painted "nWo" on his back. A few weeks later at Uncensored, Savage and Miss Elizabeth "broke" (a worked shoot) by revealing to the world that Page and Kimberly were, in fact, married. Savage then proceeded to beat up Page, ensuring a future match between the two. At Spring Stampede, in Page's first pay-per-view main event, he and Savage battled in a 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. This match ended with Savage defeating Page with help from (then) Tag Team Champion Scott Hall. At Bash at the Beach, Scott Hall and Randy Savage defeated Diamond Dallas Page and Curt Hennig. Curt Hennig, who Diamond Dallas Page had recruited personally to join WCW and team with him, turned on DDP during the match. Hennig defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a Grudge Match at Road Wild. At Fall Brawl, Page teamed with Lex Luger to defeat Scott Hall and Randy Savage in a NO DQ match. Page even dressed up as masked wrestler La Parka and beat Savage. Around this time, Page also started fighting nWo leader, Hollywood 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 Savage pinned Page after Hogan, dressed as Sting, came out and hit Page with a baseball bat in his already "injured" midsection, resulting in Savage picking up the win. On an episode of Nitro shortly after Halloween Havoc, Page fought Hogan, but was again beaten down by the nWo.

At Starrcade, Page won the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship from Curt Hennig. The following year at Uncensored, Page defended the title in a Triple Threat, Falls Count Anywhere contest against Chris Benoit and Raven, putting Raven through a table with a Diamond Cutter to retain the belt. Page later lost the title to Raven at Spring Stampede. Later in the year, Page tagged with Karl Malone against Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman at Bash at the Beach, losing due to interference. Page tagged with late night talk show host Jay Leno at Road Wild, where they defeated Hogan and Eric Bischoff.

At Fall Brawl, 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 the match was voted WCW Magazine's "Match of the Year" 1998. Halloween Havoc ran slightly longer than expected resulting in a number of cable companies blacking out the end of the Hogan versus Warrior match and all of the DDP versus Goldberg contest. WCW decided to air the Goldberg versus DDP title bout in its entirety on the October 26 edition of Nitro, which proved immensely popular in the ratings and resulted in a ratings win for Nitro over Raw — the last win Nitro ever had. Despite this setback in the World title picture, Page rebounded this same following night of Halloween Havoc, on the October 26 edition of Nitro, with a win over Bret Hart to capture the United States Heavyweight Title. The two headlined the following month's World War 3, in a title match which Page won. Page lost the title to Hart on the November 30 edition of Nitro in a No Disqualification match, when he was assaulted by The Giant.

Page became WCW World Heavyweight Champion in April 1999, at Spring Stampede when he defeated Sting, Hogan, and Ric Flair for the title in a Four Way Dance with "Macho Man" Randy Savage as Special Guest Referee. Page pinned Flair after giving Flair the Diamond Cutter. Page's attitude changed drastically following his title win, as the fans had started to grow tired of his hero character and he began hearing more and more boos than he had heard since his turn in 1996. The decision was made to turn Page heel, and the turn took place on the Nitro following his title win in a match against Goldberg. During the match, Page knocked Goldberg out with brass knuckles and repeatedly struck his leg with a steel chair as it was propped against the ring stairs, then taunted the fans by saying "boo me now" repeatedly. He only stopped when Kevin Nash, an ally of Hogan's who was angry at Page for (kayfabe) injuring Hogan's knee during the match at Spring Stampede, came back from injury and chased him away.

On April 26, 1999, Page lost and regained his title in the span of two hours. Sting challenged him to defend his title in the first hour of that night's Nitro and defeated him to regain the title he had last had a year earlier. This ended Page's reign at 15 days, but he gained an opportunity to get the title back ninety minutes later. Nash came to the ring and made a challenge for a four-way match for the title, and the just-dethroned Page joined defending champion Sting and Goldberg in the match. Page regained the world title by using a foreign object to hit Nash and take the win and regain the title without actually defeating the reigning champion. Nash became the number one contender shortly after and vowed to get revenge on Page for his friend Hogan, culminating in a match at Slamboree in May. Page originally retained the world championship after Savage interfered and hit Nash, but the match was ordered to continue by Eric Bischoff and Nash pinned Page to win the title after a powerbomb. Page dropped out of the title picture shortly thereafter.

Shortly after Slamboree, Page entered into an alliance with fellow New Jersey native Bam Bam Bigelow and won the WCW World Tag Team Championship from then champions Perry Saturn and Raven on May 31, thanks to Chris Kanyon turning heel on former ally Raven and costing the team the championships. Page, Bigelow, and Kanyon became known as the Jersey Triad and through their alliance with WCW "President for Life" Ric Flair took advantage of the Freebird Rule in their subsequent matches (meaning any combination of the three could defend the championship). The Triad held the titles until June 10, when Saturn and Chris Benoit (now stablemates in Revolution) took the title from them. They regained the belts at The Great American Bash three days later, and lost them to Harlem Heat at Road Wild in August. Later that night, Chris Benoit defeated Diamond Dallas Page to retain the United States title. The group broke up shortly thereafter and Page began feuding with Hogan again, joining Sid Vicious and Rick Steiner in a team effort to take on Hogan, Sting, and Goldberg. Soon after that feud ended Page turned into a hero again and feuded with both Kanyon and Bigelow before the year ended.

In 2000, with WCW under new management, Page earned a shot at the vacant WCW World Championship Belt at Spring Stampede against Jeff Jarrett. In a surprise twist, Page's wife, Kimberly, turned on Page and helped Jarrett become the new WCW World Champion. Page got the better of Jarrett on the April 24 edition of Nitro, where he defeated Jarrett in a steel cage match to become WCW World Heavyweight Champion for the third time, then lost the title to his tag partner, actor David Arquette, three days later on Thunder; the rules stated that whoever got the pin would win the title, and Arquette pinned Jarrett's partner, Eric Bischoff. Page attempted to win the title back at Slamboree later that month in a triple cage match against Arquette and Jarrett, but lost after Arquette hit him with a guitar. Page then entered a feud with Mike Awesome, who defeated him in an Ambulance Match at The Great American Bash after Kanyon turned on Page.

Page took some time off shortly after this, but returned in late 2000 as a full-time wrestler. After Page returned, he formed a tag team with Kevin Nash called The Insiders, and the team won the tag team championship on November 26 at Mayhem by defeating Perfect Event (Shawn Stasiak and Chuck Palumbo). The team was temporarily stripped of the titles but won them back at Starrcade defeating Stasiak and Palumbo again. Page and Nash lost the titles to Palumbo and Sean O'Haire at Sin in January and broke up shortly thereafter. After his tag team run Page briefly feuded with the returning Kanyon, which saw Kanyon defeat Page at SuperBrawl Revenge, and Page defeating Kanyon the following night on Nitro, ending their feud. Page then moved into the World Championship picture again by facing Scott Steiner. Their feud hit a climax at WCW's final PPV Greed, saw Page's final match in WCW and a semi-burial type defeat as he passed out in Steiner's finisher, The Steiner Recliner.

When WCW was purchased by WWF owner Vince McMahon in 2001, Page was one of the few major WCW stars (along with Booker T and Buff Bagwell) who accepted buyouts of their AOL Time Warner contracts in order to immediately sign with McMahon. He debuted in the WWF on the June 18, 2001 edition of Raw when he unveiled himself as the stalker of The Undertaker's wife, Sara. Page revealed he didn't care about Sara; he only did it to make an impact and wanted to take on the biggest dog in the yard. Page soon joined the Alliance during the WCW Invasion. At King of the Ring, he fought The Undertaker in an unsanctioned brawl that was never announced as an official match.

Page and Chris Kanyon reunited on the August 6, 2001 edition of Raw when Kanyon helped Page attack The Undertaker backstage. Three days later on August 9, 2001 edition of SmackDown, Page and Kanyon defeated the APA to win the WWF Tag Team Championship.

The feud with the Undertaker went on for the best part of three months and ended when Undertaker and Kane defeated Page and Kanyon at WWF SummerSlam 2001 on August 19, 2001 in a Steel cage match for the WWF Tag Team Championship, where Page got injured which kept him out of action until late October 2001.

He became known for his catchphrase "Yo! It's me, it's me, it's DDP!" While Page was injured he developed a new gimmick in September 2001 to become a motivational speaker, something he did in real life, in what came 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, who Page developed after attending the Tony Robbins Results 2000 seminar in October 2000, involved Page constantly smiling and acting optimistic, with his trademark phrase "That's not a bad thing...that's...a good thing."

His return televised match was on November 3, 2001 at Rebellion losing to The Big Show. After the Alliance lost at Survivor Series DDP along with the rest of the alliance members kayfabe lost their jobs. Page eventually won his job back by defeating The Big Boss Man on the January 17th, 2002 edition of SmackDown! and also competed in the Royal Rumble Match on January 20, 2002 but did not win it.

Page became the European Champion on the January 31, 2002 edition of SmackDown, when he defeated Christian, a former follower of his positive "philosophy." At WrestleMania X8, Page retained the title in a rematch. However, he lost the title to William Regal on an episode of SmackDown that aired March 19. At age 46, he had nagging injuries, including a neck injury he suffered in a match with Hardcore Holly on the April 18, 2002 episode of SmackDown, so his WWE contract was allowed to expire.

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, feuding with Raven and Erik Watts. Page received an NWA World Heavyweight Championship title shot on March 13, 2005 at Destination X but was defeated by reigning champion Jeff Jarrett when Monty Brown turned heel and hit Page with the Pounce. Page left TNA shortly thereafter.

On August 9, 2009, Diamond Dallas Page made a special appearance with JCW aligning himself with the jWo. He hit his trademark Diamond Cutter finisher on Trent Acid late in the match. Page retired from the ring shortly thereafter.

In late 2010, Page agreed to work on a DVD for WWE, titled The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro, after being approached on the project due to his ties to WCW. Page hosted the DVD, which was released on June 7, 2011. On the June 27 edition of Raw, Page made an appearance promoting this DVD with Booker T. In 2012, Page appeared on WWE Classics on Demand in Legends of Wrestling Roundtable: Renegades along with Jim Ross, Michael P.S. Hayes, Roddy Piper, and Gene Okerlund. Page also appeared alongside Kevin Nash and X-Pac at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony on March 31, 2012.

On July 2, 2012, Page made an appearance on Raw, where he hit a Diamond Cutter on Heath Slater. He also appeared at Raw 1000, accompanied by other WWE Legends, during Slater's match with Lita.

On January 25, 2015 DDP competed in the Royal Rumble.

On April 3, 2016 DDP competed in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32.

Wrasslin Wednesday Rewind is a video series put out by Dallas Page where Page goes back in time and shares some of his most memorable angles throughout his career.

DDPtv is the most current video series put out by Page. It brings you into the home of DDP, where he has guests such as Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Glacier.

DDPYoga is a fitness system developed by Diamond Dallas Page. Page developed DDPYoga after a devastating injury which lead into his retirement.

Page released his autobiography, Positively Page: The Diamond Dallas Page Journey, on February 1, 2000.

In 2003, he had his name legally changed to Dallas Page.

On December 1, 1991, Page married Kimberly Page. On July 3, 2004, they announced their amicable separation, before divorcing in 2005.

In 2015, Page married Brenda Nair. They separated in 2019. The divorce was finalized in 2020.

Page has two daughters, Brittany Page (born 1987) and Kimberly Page (born 1994), and two stepdaughters, Alexandra "Lexy" Nair (born 1996) and Rachel Nair (born 2001). Lexy currently works with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a backstage interviewer.

On January 15, 2019, Page released another book, Positively Unstoppable: The Art of Owning It, through Rodale Books. The book includes a foreword by Mick Foley.

On December 9, 2021 Page married his girlfriend of two years Payge McMahon in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The three-time WCW World Champion wanted to face The Rock after signing with WWE in 2001. Instead, he was immediately booked in a much-criticized stalker storyline with The Undertaker’s ex-wife, Sara.

Speaking on The Angle Podcast, DDP said WWE wanted to “bury” WCW during the ‘Invasion’ angle. While some former WCW stars had issues with their booking in WWE, DDP chose not to speak up about his storyline grievances:

DDP worked with superstars including The Undertaker, The Big Show, and Christian during his 12-month spell in WWE. Although he later returned to in-ring action, the former WCW star initially retired in 2002 and left WWE due to a neck injury.

WWE Hall of Fame inductees are usually informed about their inductions a couple of months before the ceremony. In DDP’s case, he was taken by surprise when Triple H phoned him five months before the 2017 ceremony to give him the good news.

Former WCW President Eric Bischoff inducted DDP into the WWE Hall of Fame. DDP said his long-time mentor, Dusty Rhodes, would have inducted him had he not passed away in 2015.

Please credit The Angle Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.

The end of Diamond Dallas Page's WWE career actually came due to an injury. Page's final match in WWE during the 2001 run featured him facing Hardcore Holly and suffering a neck injury to take him off television. Multiple doctors convinced DDP to retire since the severity of the injury seemed bad at the time.

So when Diamond Dallas Page talks about how the legendary “American Dream” offered him the break that would propel his wrestling career at age 35 and ultimately make him a WWE Hall of Famer, he of course bursts into the “Dusty voice.”

Page had been viewed mainly as an announcer, a manager, a producer in the early 1990s. He tore a rotator cuff at the end of 1992 during a match and decided to leave World Championship Wrestling – rather than being fired — to work on the independents, get more ring experience and learn more of his craft from mentor Jake “The Snake” Roberts.

Shortly after new WCW boss Eric Bischoff gave him his job back, Page was at the Power Plant, WCW’s training center in Atlanta when Rhodes asked Page to help with a tryout for a potential new performer.

“We got in there for about 20 minutes and I did my thing,” Page says. “I go in the next day to see Dusty and we make small talk and then he says – start Dusty voice — ‘What do you got?’

“I told him my ideas and he said” – Page resumes the Dusty voice — “You know, D, I know you always see yourself as a top performer in our bidness, but I gotta be honest I have never seen that until yesterday. So keep doing what you’re doing.”

He returns to his own voice — “I was like, wow, now he believes in me as a wrestler.”

“Without Dusty Rhodes, there is no Diamond Dallas Page. Without Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts, there is no three-time world champion. Without them both, there definitely isn’t a WWE Hall of Famer.”

The WWE Hall of Fame is where Page will be Friday night in Orlando (8 p.m. ET, WWE Network) when he is inducted as part of the Class of 2017. Page will be inducted by Bischoff.

Roberts, a WWE Hall of Famer whose amazing reclamation from years of drug use thanks to Page, will be there, too. Rhodes died in June 2015.

“Dusty Rhodes would have inducted me. No question,” Page said. “It’s bittersweet. I’m going to have to do a lot of breathing during the section when I talk about him. I’m going to have to make the stories funny (to keep from getting too emotional).

“Dusty had an incredible way of making me believe in me. I would watch him do it with so many other people, and the thinking has to become nobody believes in me more than me.”

Starting his wrestling career in his mid-30s, Page was somewhat of an anomaly. With WCW, he went on to become a three-time world champion, two-time United States champion, four-time tag team champion and the world television champion. Along the way, he worked with some of the biggest names in wrestling history and also became one of the primary foils for the NWO, when they were the hottest act in the wrestling business.

While his wrestling career will be at the heart of the weekend, Page has gained fame as the entrepreneur behind DDP Yoga. A Shark Tank appearance increased his business substantially and helped fund a DDP Performance Center in Georgia, he said.

At a recent autograph signing in Kentucky, he said 50 percent of those who approached him were wrestling fans and 50 percent were DDP Yoga devotees.

“There have been people asking for (his Hall of Fame induction) for a long time, but there are people now who don’t even know Diamond Dallas Page the wrestler,” he said. “To them, it’s secondary to what DDP Yoga is all about.”

In advance of his Hall of Fame induction, Page, who turns 61 next week, spoke to For The Win about his career, his hopes for People’s Champion vs. People’s Champion match against Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson that never happened and DDP Yoga.

A new three-disc DVD set called “Diamond Dallas Page: Positively Living” is also set to be released. The bio of his DVD features the call from Paul “Triple H” Levesque alerting Page to his Hall of Fame selection with cameras on Page and Levesque. It is the first time WWE has recorded the call to the Hall.

I told my wife and my business partner and then I told my daughters because I knew they would want to shop for gowns (laughing). Then I told my ex-wife and her husband because we are close with them. I kept it pretty quiet and then all the rumors started blaring that I was going in so I told my crew at the DDP Yoga Performance Center because they were saying, ‘Dude you’re going in, you’re going in.’ There have been rumors for the last couple of years but not like this year. To get the call was awesome.

It was in October in Point Pleasant, N.J. I thought it was just a callback. I called him like three times and there is nobody busier than he is and Stephanie (McMahon) is. When he called, I couldn’t remember what I wanted to ask him.

We started talking about my career. Then I realized that he’s really putting me over. We’re pretty tight so I know he’s not going to just say stuff like that. I thought, is this the call?

I realized that they were filming it and I’m a pretty emotional guy and they caught it. At the end of it, the producer asked about the call. I said, ‘I wish you were filming it because he said some amazing stuff.’ He said, ‘I am. We were filming him, too.’ He told me right there, ‘This is the end of your biopic.’ I was like, ‘Wow. There couldn’t be a better ending.’

No one had ever done it the way Diamond Dallas Page did it. It took one person at a time to believe in me. It’s just like DDP Yoga. I not only had to find one person to believe in me, I had to find one person to heal. That’s where it all came from. I had to help heal one person after another after another after another.

Einstein once said it’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stick with the problem longer. That’s the story of my whole wrestling career and also with DDP Yoga. I try to get people who are really beat up or really overweight and remind them, ‘It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon and it’s a lifestyle.’ I’ve seen people lose hundreds of pounds and gain it back because they didn’t make it part of their lifestyle.

Everyone thinks it’s who you know or who knows you, but I think it’s all about who is willing to say they know you. Who’s willing to put their name on the line for you? That’s what Dusty did for me. That’s what Eric Bischoff did it for me. Hulk Hogan did it for me, Randy Savage did it for me. And that what Scott Hall and Kevin Nash did for me.

If I don’t drop the NWO, I never have the rocket that I got. Nobody had dropped those guys. If Kevin and Scott didn’t believe it, it never happens. They were like, ‘He’s ready.’ I helped both of those guys so much earlier. We helped each other. When I really needed them, they were there. I was ready to them.

The booking committee did not believe it. I said to (WCW), I’m outta here. (Bleep) you. I’m going to try New York (the WWE). I don’t want to be here anymore. They’re never going to give me an opportunity.

That happened and then Savage asked to work with me. … You can bet it was Randy’s choice to put me over because I was ready. I’ve got a story about that which will have tears rolling down people’s cheeks, but you’ll have to wait until the Hall of Fame.

My contract was $1.2 million dollars and it was with Turner, which means it was with Time Warner. That’s as good as money in the bank as you’ll ever find. But I needed to go. I was almost 46 years old. I knew how beat up I was. … I thought I could go another three years strong on adrenaline and then had to crash out. I’m a Ferrari, but I had 987,000 miles on me. I knew I had to go. To get Turner to negotiate with me, I had to leave $487,000 on the table.

Nash said to me, ‘The job’s going to be there when you’re done. We’ll all going to leave together.’ Dusty would have said, ‘Take the money.’ I didn’t listen to either one of them. Maybe I should have. I learned so many lessons. I don’t think anything is more valuable than to learn lessons through things that look like they’re the worst thing that happened to you. How do you figure out what to do next time when you say, ‘OK that didn’t work out for me coming in there’?

I wanted to do People’s Champion vs. People’s Champion. You know who the People’s Champion is today? The biggest star in the world. In. The. World. I don’t think any one of the boys could be happier than I am for Rock. I would have loved to have worked for him. I went a different way. I should have understood  — no matter what age you are or where you are in your life – you have to walk away from the table if you believe in that goal.

I had this goal two years before I ever was at this table. I told Kimberly at the time. The Rock will be making a movie or he’ll be injured, but he won’t be on TV. I will shove it down their throats, say I am the real People’s Champion. I saw it all. I didn’t go with it. I went with the other angle, which is nowhere near as good. I realized you’ve got to get up sometimes and turn away. If I don’t learn that lesson there is no DDP Yoga today. So many times I got up from the table with different deals.

As a youngster, DDP spoke – a lot, and as he grew, continued to talk – a lot. It was a trait that would lend him to becoming perfect for the pro wrestling game; he just wouldn’t know it for many, many years.

Page Joseph Falkinburg, a child who would one day win the professional wrestling world over as Diamond Dallas Page. [Photo: Diamond Dallas Page, ThePlayersTribune.com]Equal to his gift of the gab was a work ethic that would help him achieve everything Page aspired to be. Eric Bischoff once spoke of the fact that he would work 24 hours, 7 days a week, if it were possible.

At twelve-years-old, he was hit by a car, where he flew 40-feet in the air and suffered a debilitating injury to one of his kneecaps. There was damage to his knee that might’ve stopped others from attaining the sporting levels in life that they might be capable of, but not Page. After serious begging to his mother, New York City’s Dr. Nicholas, a big-deal orthopedic surgeon for the Jets and the Giants, worked wonders on his shredded knee, setting him off to not become his first dream of being a football player but a professional wrestler.

In his 20s, the flamboyant young man from Point Pleasant, New Jersey, was now a player in Florida’s nightclub business. This line of work would turn out to be his eventual route into wrestling. He started to meet and befriend wrestling personalities such as Terry Taylor and Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts, who would often frequent the Florida club scene. Gaining those connections would prove invaluable.

DDP’s genesis in the business began as an exuberant manager in the AWA, establishing The Diamond Exchange in 1988.

The Diamond Exchange: DDP (manager), Curt Hennig, and Diamond Doll Tonya in 1988. [Photo: Wikipedia]At times, with his charisma, garish outfits, and curly blonde hair, he would often unintentionally overshadow those he was managing. It was evident that Page stood out from the crowd and was here to stay for the long term.

He’d continue to garner success as manager of The Fabulous Freebirds in the early ’90s, but he wanted to be more than just a manager on the outside looking in. He wanted to fulfill a dream and partake in the actual in-ring wrestling himself.

The Fabulous Freebirds: Jimmy Garvin and Michael ‘PS’ Hayes with their manager DDP (middle) in WCW in 1991. [Photo: Sporcle.com]At thirty-five-years-old, he arrived at WCW’s Power Plant training facility. The real journey had begun.

DDP was doubted and laughed at by his peers. A deep desire to attain success in the squared circle burned brightly. It seemed a million miles away in 1991, but he would stop at nothing to reach the top of the WCW roster.

Within just three weeks, he worked a match on television and improved at a rapid rate. He knew the clock was ticking, and he possessed limited time to create the career he had dreamed about.

In an interview on the PWB Podcast in February 2008, DDP reflected on his career with myself and my co-host.

“I did the impossible. They referred to me as the anomaly,” he said. “I was never supposed to happen. That just shows you what kind of dreams can actually come true if you’re willing to work for it.”

The anomaly was in the fast lane on the road to glory. His finishing move, the Diamond Cutter (an RKO before the RKO existed), was a massive hit with fans. Pro Wrestling Illustrated bestowed the Most Improved Wrestler award upon Page in 1995, and his feud with Randy Savage was their Feud of the Year for 1997. Double-crossing the white-hot nWo in the same year saw his stock and popularity hit new mountainous heights.

Those lofty levels of superstardom saw DDP work with Hulk Hogan, Savage, Goldberg, Chris Jericho, Bret Hart, Ric Flair, Sting, and even NBA legend Dennis Rodman. DDP wrestled them all during his tenure in WCW.

He captured his maiden WCW World Heavyweight Championship in 1999, pinning Ric Flair. He had beaten ‘The Man.’

Two more reigns with the strap meant he left as three-time world champion when WCW folded. He was beginning to be known as ‘The People’s Champion.’

But, there was already another People’s Champion in the sports-entertainment world, his name was The Rock.

“I really had a vision of it being People’s Champion vs. People’s Champion two years before joining the WWF because I had just met The Rock in Canada,” DDP explained to me in 2008. “Big Show had brought me in there to meet him. He was very humble. I was already a mark for him because Jake Roberts told me he was going to be a big star, and he said the same thing about me when I was a nobody. He said the same thing about Stone Cold Steve Austin when he was a nobody. So, I really paid attention to The Rock’s character.”

“He was very humble. As I was leaving, though, I hear, ‘Hey Diamond.’ I turn around, and Big Show gets out of my way, which is like a wall moving out of your way. I see him in the back corner and The Rock’s putting on one of his $1500 Versace shirts, and I could see him roll into character. He goes, ‘You know there’s only one People’s Champion.’ Big Show was like ‘Ohhhh,’ and I just picked that pregnant pause and I said, ‘You know Rock, you’re right and you, well bro, you’re looking at him.'”

Unfortunately, Vince McMahon had other ideas.

Instead of fast-tracking to a feud with the biggest star in the then-WWF, Page was shockingly given the role of being a stalker of The Undertaker’s then-wife, Sara. It was a sad fall-from-grace for a star who warranted a vastly better gimmick.

“I thought it sucked, but all my goals were to be in the WWE/WWF since being a little kid when it was WWWF,” he revealed.

“He (Vince) gave me an idea, and I said, ‘Okay.’ I did tell him about the People’s Champion vs. People’s Champion angle, and he said, ‘It’s good, but we really want to do this stalker thing.'”

Undertaker‘s then-wife Sara was not how he envisioned his debut in the WWE going.” width=”1200″ height=”1200″ data-pin-description=”Masked DDP makes his first appearance in the WWF after Vince McMahon acquired WCW in 2001. Portraying a stalker of The Undertaker’s then-wife Sara was not how he envisioned his debut in the WWE going.” /> Masked DDP makes his first appearance in the WWF after Vince McMahon acquired WCW in 2001. Portraying a stalker of The Undertaker’s then-wife Sara was not how he envisioned his debut in the WWE going. [Photo: WWE.com]DDP admitted it was probably his fault for not attempting to stifle Vince’s flawed idea of the stalker gimmick. In hindsight, he believed he should have taken a step back, considered it, and rebuked it. His eagerness to please the new boss was evident, and he wished to make the most of his shot at the big time, especially as time remained his biggest enemy.

“As time went on, I could see that Vince was never really going to do anything with a guy from WCW,” he admitted.

Reality had hit. The stalker angle fell as flat as everyone expected it to. He’d conquered WCW but wouldn’t be allowed to hit the same heights in the WWF. He even explained his dream of how his WWF debut would pan out:

The lights would go out, and his voice would proclaim, “Who’s the real People’s Champion?” The spotlight would hit him; he’d throw up the diamond cutter hand signal, then cue a promo battle for the ages with The Rock. Who doesn’t like the sound of that?

It sadly never came to fruition.

After the stalker angle with Undertaker and Sara was complete, he then gravitated towards a gimmick more suited to his real-life persona, ‘Positively Page,’ a smiley, motivated and happy character, was born.

“I’m very thankful that I got to work with Christian,” DDP said. “Christian actually did sell his ass off, and we had an incredible match at WrestleMania 18. I came in with an explosion and left with an explosion.”

DDP and Christian face-off for the European Championship in WrestleMania X8 in 2002. [Photo: IMDB]DDP’s tenure with WWF would finish mid-2002. It was a short ride, but one he was still immensely grateful to take part in.

“It all worked for me and was a great ride. You hear so many wrestlers talk so much shit and have so much negativity. They’re bitter. I’m positively Page, man!”

One of WCW’s most over stars had been grossly underutilized under the umbrella of Vince McMahon. However, to this day, he remains one of the most-loved wrestlers of all-time.

Diamond Dallas Page would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, took part in 2015’s Royal Rumble at age fifty-nine, and wrestled in a six-man tag match at January 15, 2020’s AEW Bash at the Beach at sixty-two!

His legacy reaches further than just pro wrestling. He revolutionized the realm of yoga with his DDP Yoga brand, even helping turn around the downward fortunes of Scott Hall and Jake Roberts.