“People didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t” – WWE legend DDP opens up about the golden era of wrestling
WWE legend Diamond Dallas Page, aka DDP, sat down with Generation of Wrestling to talk about his feud with The nWo, Kevin Nash's gratitude towards him, and the Monday Night Wars.
DDP was an active member of the WCW roster that went head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) for a little under six years in a rating war.
Speaking to Franchize and 2Cold of the GoW podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer described his feud with The nWo as game-changing. The former WCW star believes that this war was a must-see as it was more reality-based.
"You know, my feud with The nWo was the best. It was the best thing to happen because it made the people turn me babyface. That dropping of Kevin Nash and Scott hall, which was my idea but Kevin Nash got it pushed through with Eric Bischoff like I couldn't. And to have that run and you know, like, we kicked WWE's a** for 83 straight weeks. And it was for a year they won, we won, they won. It was must-see TV and it has laid such a huge impact on people that grew up with us over that period because we were reality-based. People didn't know what was real and what wasn't," said DDP.
In late 2010, Page worked on a DVD for WWE titled The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro after being approached due to his ties to WCW.
DDP never joined The nWo in WWE or WCW
The nWo is considered to be one of the most impactful stables of all time. The group of Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall were among the biggest attractions during Monday Night Wars that saw WCW beat WWF in ratings for 83 weeks straight.
The group would see many members join followed by multiple versions of the group in both WWE and WCW.
DDP, however, was one of the few main eventers who never joined The nWo. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash tried to use their past real-life friendship with Page to convince him to join them when DDP became a major top star for WCW.
However, the former WCW champion put on The nWo shirt before attacking them both and throwing the shirt back at them. This started a tremendous rivalry between Page and The nWo members Hall, Nash, Randy Savage & Hulk Hogan.
DDP then went on to become 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 the Special Guest Referee.