SK Exclusive: Interview with Diamond Dallas Page Pt. 1
Diamond Dallas Page is a former WCW Champion and former WWE European Champion, amongst many other honours. A veteran of the Monday Night Wars, he was one of the most popular wrestlers in the history of the WCW and was widely considered to be the ‘people’s champion’ by WCW fans. He’s best remembered for his guerrilla-style wars with the New World Order. Even though his WWE run wasn’t what it could and should have been, DDP has made a huge difference in the industry as the pioneer of DDP Yoga.
PG: Before we start I just want to say how unreal it is that I’m actually talking to you. I remember watching you on Saturday nights, that’s when we got WCW in India, back then. My most vivid memories are your wars with the NWO and ‘crow sting’. Thank for talking to us sir, it's an honour.
DDP: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. (laughs)
We start off the interview by talking about his documentary film, The Resurrection of Jake The Snake which is available on Netflix, iTunes, PlayStation, Xbox and more.
PG: Do you think that Jake and Scott’s well-noted personal demons had any part with their problems with substance abuse later in their lives. Like, for Jake we know he had a troubled childhood and Scott had the nightclub shooting on his conscience.
DDP: Yeah, I think all the stuff as children affects us as we grow up and in Jake’s scenario, without question. Same thing with Scott. Scott’s father was an alcoholic and so was his mother. And, you know, coming up through that and by the time he finally shot and killed that guy he’d already had a lot of demons.
Whether he was fighting back for his life or whatever, it doesn’t matter, you still kill somebody and Scott carried that with him. Really what both Jake and Scott did was tell themselves the stories over and over again, of the bad stuff that happened so they couldn’t get out of that loop. Scott Hall says all the time now, “You know, I drank the Kool-Aid”. He’s finally started believing that positive breeds positive and negative breeds negative.
PG: With Jake’s recovery, do you think the hardest part of it, for him, was him believing he could do it?
DDP: Absolutely. I don’t think Jake ever believed he could do it. So for him to have success, you know, it took little successes to create the final big success, a lot of little successes to get to today. Today, he believes he’s in a really good spot and I think it was all the little wins and triumphs he’s had along the way.
PG: At the beginning of the film, it seemed as though a major factor for Jake’s issues was the fact that he was angry with himself, more than anything else, for whiling away his career because of his addictions. Do you think that was the case?
DDP: Umm, Jake had a lot of shame and a lot of self-hate. I always tell people, if you don’t love yourself then you’re never going to be able to love anyone else or help yourself, because if you don’t really think you deserve it you won’t help yourself. It took Jake a long time to get there.
PG: In the beginning of the film, I remember this moment when Jake said that you were his last shot at life.
DDP: Yeah, saying that this was his last chance.
PG: It also shocked me, the part at the beginning where Jake fell off the wagon just a week or so into the program, when you guys were picking him up from the airport. I actually couldn’t believe he relapsed so soon.
DDP: Well you know, you lie to yourself as a junkie, you lie to everybody. You lie, you steal, you cheat and I think that when we talked to Jake when he fell down – drinking, slipping out of the house and things – and I think he got a little bit more control of himself each time because he didn’t really want to be that person anymore.
PG: At that time Jake felt that he didn’t feel good enough. Do you think that has changed since?
DDP: He’s in a pretty good spot now, the best that I’ve ever seen him in. He’s working hard right now – for his bills, for his past decisions and he’s working himself out of the hole. Right now I think he’s doing really well.
PG: After watching the film, I think the turning point was the time when he needed to raise money for the surgery and the overwhelming response of the fans, who raised the money in no time. Do you think that was a pivotal moment? The moment when he realized how much the fans still loved him.
DDP: There were a lot of turning points, but as far as the fans were concerned that was the biggest turning point. You didn’t really get that with Scott to the same extent, but you could see, that they couldn’t believe how much the fans cared for them, more than they cared about themselves. That’s not the way life is supposed to be.
PG: In your opinion, who’s recovery was more difficult – Jake or Scott?
DDP: They were both different but I wouldn’t say that anyone was more difficult or challenging than the other. Addiction, in general, is a bear and it’s tough for anyone. You hope that they will stay good and they fall down.
Most times I didn’t take it personally but there are some other times that I did and I got frustrated, but with Steve Yu, the director, at least I had someone else to talk to who was going through the same thing. I think that as time went on, it just got easier. Each time it got a little bit easier.