"It would've been brutal" - DDP weighs in on if there was a pandemic during the Attitude Era (Exclusive)
WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page (DDP) recently shared his thoughts on what the scenario would've been if there had been a pandemic during the Attitude Era.
Page is a former three-time WCW champion and was one of the biggest stars in the company. He signed with WWE (then-WWF) following WCW's eventual buyout by Vince McMahon.
Speaking to Riju Dasgupta of Sportskeeda Wrestling, DDP spoke about how the absence of live crowds would've hurt during the Attitude Era.
"Oh My God! It would've been brutal without having (a live crowd). All you have to do is look back at WCW crowds and WWE crowds but especially the WCW crowds because we were the ones winning the war at that time. In 1997, in 1998, they were frantic, and when you ascended to the top of the top. When Randy Savage and I even got near each other, the electricity was insane. You didn't have to do a lot, and less was more because you wanted the people to feel what just happened and God if those people weren't there, it wouldn't have been the same. It would not have been because then you wouldn't have really known who was getting over," DDP said. (02:04-02:57)
DDP credited fellow WWE Hall of Famers Jake "The Snake" Roberts and "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes for helping him out during his initial days.
"For me, the relationship I had with Dusty and Jake. Without those two, I'm not a Hall of Famer because they helped me all the way but I had to develop my own things and one of those besides the Diamond Cutter."(03:06-03:16)
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DDP also highlighted how the presence of fans elevated him
Speaking further, DDP discussed the importance of live crowds and stated that if not for them, he wouldn't have been pushed.
"If the people weren't doing this (Diamond Cutter hand sign) when I was wrestling (with) nobodies because that's all they gave me to beat in the beginning. I would go out there and as opposed to the bigger guys that would just crush the enhancement guy, I wanted to make them look like Ric Flair or as close to that as possible. I wanted them to look like it was a competition. At the time, I was a heel so I kept them chiding them and chiding them and then bam, out of nowhere hit them with the Diamond Cutter. If I don't have people doing this (Diamond Cutter hand sign), the booking committee never pushes me but the people throwing this up. When I hit the move, 20,000 people jump out of their seats throwing it up. If there's no people out there, for me, we are not talking" DDP added. (03:54-05:03)
You can check out the complete video below:
During the absence of a live crowd, WWE utilized the concept of the ThunderDome to create a unique experience for both fans and superstars. It turned out to be pretty successful in its own right.
However, as good as the concept was, it couldn't match the energy and excitement that a live crowd brings in.
You can enter DDP's "Positively Unstoppable" challenge here.