Line #30 Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d4fdcc0ae1fbef4d15ce312354e4e38962f3c078_hq.jpg]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:"Yo! It's me, it's me. It's DDP!"]]
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7	->'''''"Bada Bing, Bada Boom, Bada BANG!!!"'''''
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9	"Diamond" Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg, Jr. on April 5, 1956) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and fitness instructor best known for his stint in Wrestling/{{WCW}}. He'd actually debuted as a manager in the [[Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation AWA]] in the 80s, but some time after he showed up in WCW, he made the transition to a wrestler. Gradually, over the next decade, he became one of the biggest names WCW had to offer, with a showy personality and one of the most popular {{Finishing Move}}s in the business (the Diamond Cutter), until the company's buyout in 2001.
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11	He became a major player in the "Invasion" storyline following Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s buyout of WCW, and was so excited to work for [=WWE=] that he took a buyout on his contract to the tune of $.50 on a dollar. What happened was an abysmal trainwreck of a storyline that ended with him playing the part of a stalker, and later leaving the business altogether.
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13	As with many wrestlers, his years in the business had a severe physical toll. After leaving wrestling, he turned to UsefulNotes/{{Yoga}} to help rehabilitate his body and became an absolute fanatic when he realized how much of a positive effect it had on his life. Realizing that most men think of yoga as being a "feminine" pursuit, he developed "Yoga for Regular Guys" and launched a health and fitness website, along with a line of classes and instructional videos that aim to make the art more accessible and straightforward, before rebranding it as "[[http://www.ddpyoga.com/ DDP Yoga]]".
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15	In recent years, DDP has used DDP Yoga to help rehabilitate wrestlers who have been having issues with drugs and alcohol. Two of his most noteworthy charges have been [[Wrestling/JakeRoberts Jake "the Snake" Roberts]] and [[Wrestling/ScottHall Scott Hall/Razor Ramon]].
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17	He is a former "3X, 3X, 3X" [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-h.html WCW World Heavyweight Champion]], a former 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-us-h.html WCW United States Heavyweight Champion]], a former [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-tv.html WCW World Television Champion]], a former 3x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-t.html WCW World Tag Team Champion]], holding the belts w[=/=]Wrestling/BamBamBigelow and Wrestling/{{Kanyon}} as the Jersey Triad and 1x w[=/=]Wrestling/KevinNash as the Insiders, a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Champion]] w[=/=]Kanyon and a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-eu-h.html WWE European Heavyweight Champion]]. He was inducted into the Wrestling/WWEHallOfFame in 2017.
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20	!! "These tropes are gonna feel the BANG!":
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22	* EightiesHair: Had long, thick curly blond hair until he cut it off in 2000.
23	* AbortedArc: After being fired from WCW (in Kayfabe) in 1996 and becoming homeless, a mysterious benefactor helped Page out of poverty and brought him back into WCW a few months later. The identity of this benefactor was never revealed and WCW seemed to have forgotten about this arc once the [=nWo=] storyline took off.
24	* AmicableExes: He and Kimberly divorced in 2005, but are still close friends.
25	* ArchEnemy: Johnny B. Badd (Marc Mero), Wrestling/RandySavage, [[Wrestling/BrutusBeefcake the Booty Man (Brutus Beefcake)]], the [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]] in general.
26	* AscendedExtra: DDP transitioning from manager to wrestler.
27	* {{Bookends}}: Very early in Page's career, he made a cameo at ''Wrestling/{{WrestleMania}} VI'' in Toronto's [=SkyDome=] driving Rhythm and Blues ([[Wrestling/HonkyTonkMan the Honky Tonk Man]] and [[Wrestling/GregValentine Greg "The Hammer" Valentine]], w/manager Wrestling/JimmyHart) to the ring in his pink Cadillac. Fast forward 12 years later to ''[=WrestleMania=] X8'' in the same building, DDP wrestles one of the last matches in his active career, successfully defending his [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-eu-h.html WWE European Championship]] against Toronto native Wrestling/{{Christian}}, who attended ''[=WrestleMania=] VI'' as a young fan.
28	* BorrowedCatchPhrase: When questioned on why he attacked Wrestling/{{Raven}} on an episode of ''Wrestling/{{TNA}} Impact!'', all he had to say was "Nevermore".
29	* BullyingADragon: In a way. Mick Foley recounted running into Page backstage after his first match, when he'd obviously been crying. Foley assured him the match had been good (particularly for a 35-year old rookie), but later found out Page was actually upset because one of his opponents, Curtis 'Firebreaker Chip' Thompson, had picked a fight with him in the locker room. Though that night ''was'' Page's first match, he'd been training for nearly a year and as a former bouncer, was capable of holding his own in a real fight. Chip threw a punch, a scuffle broke out, Page quickly locked in a front facelock (which is a legitimate fight-ending hold), and had to be pulled off the now-humbled Chip.
30	* TheBusCameBack: He was fired by Bill Watts in 1992 while injured and wouldn't return to WCW until 1994.
31	* BreakingTheFourthWall: Used his real name (at the time; he legally changed his name to "Dallas Page" in 2003) in his last WCW promo on the last ''Nitro''.
32	* CaptainErsatz: "Appeared" in various entries ''Videogame/FireProWrestling'' under the names "D. Glass Edge", "Darkness Wolf" and "Karachi Kid".
33	* CatchPhrase
34	** "Self High Five" and "Get ready to feel the BANG!"
35	** Later, in WWE, he built up a gimmick as a self-help guru: "It's not a bad thing, it's a good thing."
36	** Also had "It's me, it's me, it's DDP."
37	* CassandraTruth: Rejected Wrestling/KevinNash's offer to join the [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo Wolfpac]] for War Games in late 1998 because he didn't trust Nash, and in particular implored Wrestling/{{Sting}} and Wrestling/LexLuger not to do so either. Not only did they continue to trust Nash, so did the fans, who in fact booed DDP for his rejection of the massively popular red and black stable. Come the first ''Nitro'' of 1999, the TropeNamer for {{Finger Poke of Doom}} would happen.
38	* CoolShades: As a heel.
39	* DemotedToExtra: Despite being in the top card at WCW, when he moved to WWE, he was put in an angle where he stalked Wrestling/TheUndertaker and his wife. After he jobbed there, he was stuffed into the lower mid-card, given his "self-help guru" gimmick and never even came close to the main event scene, which certainly didn't help silence the claims that Vince [=McMahon=] gets upset that someone got over in another company without his doing.
40	* {{Determinator}}
41	** Page spent a lot of time with "injured ribs", and one of his trademark things was when he was too beat up to stand up he'd still try to pull himself back to his feet using his opponent's pants.
42	** In real life, due to his advanced age and lack of natural athleticism following a string of knee injuries, trained extremely hard and taped every match he had to study his strengths and weaknesses. He still went to wrestling school until he finally started working a full-time schedule.
43	* TheEveryman: As his peers have said, he was the blue-collar hero, someone who was never meant to be a wrestler, but worked his way up to become a main event star. One of his nicknames was '[[RedBaron The People's Champion]]' for a reason.
44	* FaceHeelTurn: After he first won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at ''Spring Stampede 1999.''
45	* FinishingMove: The Diamond Cutter, one of the most iconic finishers in WCW history. Wrestling/RandyOrton would later slightly modify it into the RKO.
46	* GenderBlenderName: Though gender neutral, "Page" is generally a feminine name. This might be why he changed his name to "Dallas Page".
47	* HeelFaceTurn: When he turned down the [=nWo=] at the start of 1997.
48	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The aforementioned "cookies" incident, which ended with him getting his revenge on Austin and Foley, all while shouting, "How do you like it?! HOW DO YOU LIKE FUCKING COOKIES IN YOUR BED?!" Foley, however, responded to this by making fun of Page's tendency to [[SleepsInTheNude sleep in the nude]]: "It's not the cookies that I mind. It's the fact that you're rubbing your naked ass all over me."
49	* HoldUpYourScore: In his heel run in WCW in 1995, his valet Kimberly would hold up scorecards whenever he executed a particularly effective move. Naturally, winning the match earned him a "10."
50	* IHaveManyNames: Page Falkenburg (his birth name), Page J (his nickname from his nightclub days), Diamond Dallas Page (also originated during his nightclub days and would become his ring name), Dallas Page (his legally-changed name as of 2003).
51	* ImpersonationGambit: On the July 7, 1997 ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro'', Randy Savage was scheduled to face MaskedLuchador Wrestling/LaParka. The match seemed to be going along as usual, with Parka doing his usual dancing and strutting. Out of nowhere, "Parka" hit a Diamond Cutter and unmasked as DDP and got the pin. This actually raised Parka's profile in WCW a bit, as, for a short time, he would walk out to the ring and Kimberly would be standing by the entrance and raising the sign of the Diamond Cutter. On DDP's section of WCW's website, someone asked how he got Parka to loan him his costume. DDP said, "I gave him a hundred bucks."
52	* ItWillNeverCatchOn:
53	** When DDP told Michael P.S. Hayes that he was making the transition to an in-ring performer at the age of 35, Hayes responded by belly laughing in his face. Wrestling/TripleH recalls seeing Page in the Power Plant and thinking "what is this old guy doing here?" Until he saw Page's work ethic and perseverance. Wrestling/MickFoley, one of Dallas' long-time road buddies outright admitted that he thought Dallas' chances of making it were minimal at best. Very few people initially had faith in Page's ability to make it (and somewhat justifiably so), even Page himself only expected to last five years in the ring and never get even close to the world championship. Needless to say, he eventually proved his naysayers wrong and exceeded even his own expectations.
54	** After successfully selling $3,000,000' worth of [=DVDs=] and books for DDP Yoga and making $895,000 in net profits, Dallas took a filmmaker and a successful client[[labelnote:*]]The client in question, and DDP's greatest success story, was a war veteran who, because of back and leg injuries suffered in his service, had become overweight and immobile, being bent double when standing and almost completely unable to move without the aid of two canes. Doctors told him that the only way to correct his problems would have been with a series of expensive and invasive spinal surgeries. He eventually found the DDP Yoga program, which emphasized warming up, stretching, increasing flexibility, gradual improvements, and going at your own pace during workouts. Over the course of a year, he would lose over a hundred pounds and be able to walk and move freely without canes or crutches.[[/labelnote]] to ''Shark Tank'' to pitch the Sharks on investing $200,000 in the company for 5% ownership in order to expand to an online format by creating a DDP Yoga app. Despite being impressed with the entire presentation, the investors all rejected it, citing various concerns that there were many other fitness brands crowding the market, feeling that the transition to an online format would be expensive and not make back its investment, and thinking that DDP Yoga had already plateaued with its [=DVD=] sales and wouldn't be able to increase market share. The following week after his appearance aired, DDP Yoga would make over a million new sales, creating more than enough surplus money to finance the app development. Though it would taper off from its meteoric rise, DDP Yoga would continue to trend upwards and continues to do a brisk business to this day.
55	* {{Jerkass}}: His character was one pre-[=nWo=] and for most of 1999.
56	* LIsForDyslexia: Page is dyslexic and it wasn't until his WCW peak that he was determined to read properly, and ended up doing so.
57	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: One of the many factors that sunk WCW was the gimmick of using celebrities in actual matches, and worse, as PPV main events. While Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff deservedly get some heat for that (Jay Leno?), one of them was actually the brainchild of DDP himself. According to Page's own admission on ''The Rise and Fall of WCW'', it was DDP who suggested the match of teaming him and [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation Karl Malone]] against Hogan and [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation Dennis Rodman]] to Eric Bischoff, though in all fairness to DDP, Karl Malone didn't actually suck in the ring all things considered.
58	* OlderThanTheyLook: DDP really doesn't look much different now than he did in WCW apart from his shorter hair. He also likes to joke that he turns "29 again" every year.
59	* PowerStable
60	** The Diamond Exchange, in the [[Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation AWA]], and less so in WCW.
61	** The Alliance, in WWE.
62	** The New Jersey Triad also in WCW.
63	* RealMenWearPink: Became interested in yoga while rehabbing from an injury and eventually became an instructor, at a time when yoga was seen as a very feminine form of exercise.
64	** Actually did wear pink during his earlier years in WCW. This costume can be seen in WWE 2K17 as part of the Hall of Fame Showcase DLC.
65	* RedBaron: The King of Bada Bing, The People's Champion, The Master of the Diamond Cutter, Positively Page, Handsome. Diamond started out as this before being treated as part of his professional name.
66	* SirSwearsALot: According to Wrestling/MickFoley, DDP is a walking example of this; he jokes that Page "[[ClusterFBomb uses at least two f-words to describe a newborn puppy]]." During one of their trips around the country, Page ended up screaming "Who put fucking cookies in my bed?!"
67	* SpotlightStealingSquad: One of the reasons why Page transitioned from a manager to a wrestler was because he received complaints from the office about him taking too much attention away from the wrestlers he was managing.
68	* TagTeam:
69	** The Vegas Connection, w[=/=][[Wrestling/KevinNash Vinnie Vegas (Kevin Nash)]] (later reformed as the Insiders, w/Nash as himself)
70	** The Jersey Triad, w[=/=]Wrestling/BamBamBigelow and Wrestling/{{Kanyon}}
71	* TookALevelInBadass: Despite starting his in-ring career well into his thirties, he went from a boring midcard heel with no defined character into WCW's third biggest babyface (behind Sting and Goldberg).
72	* TrueCompanions: DDP has a lot of friends in the industry, but he's particularly close to Wrestling/JakeRoberts and Wrestling/ScottHall, both of whom he invited to come and live together with him (in his "Accountability Crib") to help them fight off their crippling substance and alcohol addictions and put their lives back together. Both men were unashamed to admit that DDP unambiguously saved their lives. This is unsurprising in Jake's case, as Jake is [[TheMentor one of the guys who trained Dallas to wrestle]].
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Context Wrestling / DiamondDallasPage