DDP is probably the biggest long-shot in the wrestling business that became a major star. This versatile entertainer was born in raised on the Jersey shore, growing up a fan of wrestling. He first found success in the bar business, owning and operating several wildly successful establishments in Jersey and in Florida. It was here that DDP first saw television fame. Owning very popular bars, Page found himself rubbing shoulders with the likes of Bon Jovi and several popular comedians that frequented the bars and performed. This led to several minor appearances on MTV during the mid 80's.
When Page finally got bit by the wrestling bug, it was not even as a wrestler, but, rather, a manager! Page became a manager in the old AWA during it's last few years. His first appearance in the WWF came as a one-time deal as the Honky Tonk Man's driver at Wrestlemania VI in Skydome. Vince McMahon actually hired Page because of his Pink Cadillac that he owned and he wanted to use that as Honky Tonk Man's vehicle, and Page ended up driving.
DDP finally made his way over to WCW, where he would see most of his fame. He was, at this point, still a manager, managing such future stars as Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, among others. When page finally decided he wanted to step in the ring, he was already pushing 40 years old! I am sure that nobody took him as more than a permanent low-card wrestler when he first laced up the boots, probably getting many laughs from some of the other wrestlers. Page, however, was a man with incredible persistence and a legendary "positive" attitude. He was known to often be the first one to enter and the last one to leave the old Power Plant, WCW's training facility, even after he became an established star. His first taste of success came when he won the Lord of the Rings tournament in 1996. While somewhat of an upset, still few fans took the 40 year old Page as a serious contender. When the nWo took over WCW, that all changed.
In the spring of 1997, as the nWo was scouring WCW for new recruits, the offer was made to Page to become one the of the black and white. Page smartly chose to, instead, treat his recruiter to his finishing move, the "Diamond Cutter". This caught the eyes of the fans and people began to take notice. With his never-say-die attitude, his cool finishing move, his hot wife and then-Nitro Girl Kimberly by his side, and his incredible personality, DDP started to become one of the most popular stars in WCW. A long feud with Macho Man Randy Savage, topped off with a huge upset win for page at April's Spring Stampede, only kept Pages star rising. The feud would go on for most of the year until he finally got a shot at WCW gold at Starrcade, when he faced Curt Hennig for the WCW US Heavyweight Championship. Page won that title and held it for five months, taking on all-comers and cementing himself as one of WCW's elite stars. His never surrender attitude was shown by the injured abdominal area that page seemed to always have bandaged due to his work ethic and crazy travel schedule, showing that Page did not take time out to recover and, instead defended his title diligently. Great matches with the likes of Raven and Chris Benoit made DDP's title run a huge success.
When page was finally beaten for the US Title by Raven at 1998's Spring Stampede, WCW had decided it was time for the main event for DDP. Page spent most of the summer as arguably the most high-profile wrestler in the world, as he teamed up with basketball star Karl Malone and Jay Leno(yes, THE Jay Leno) in consecutive Pay Per Views against Hollywood Hogan and his chosen partner. DDP also got his first taste of Hollywood, starring in the TNT made-for-TV movie First Daughter.
DDP spent the rest of the year feuding with Bret Hart for the US Title and took Goldberg to his best match of his career at Halloween Havoc for the World Title. DDP finally got what he had worked so hard for(the World Title) at 1999's Spring Stampede, beating Sting, Hogan, and Flair in a four-way match. DDP held the title until the next pay-per-view, with a small one night title change from DDP to Sting back to DDP on an edition of Nitro in between. Page Spent the summer of 1999 in a group called the Jersey Triad with fellow New Jersey natives Kanyon and Bam Bam Bigelow. They eventually won the Tag Team Titles as well. Page's, as well as every other wrestler's, next year and a half in WCW were somewhat of a blur, as poor management, bad storylines, and severe backstage disorganization took WCW from a 100 million dollar a year profit to the crapper. Another WCW Heavyweight Title reign, after beating Jeff Jarrett, and a short association with actor David Arquette were his most notable storylines. The Arquette association was due to the the movie that both starred in, Ready To Rumble, which had just hit theaters. This further showed DDP's versatility as not only a wrestler, but an actor as well.
When WWF bought WCW in 2001, page became one of the first wrestlers to make his appearance on Raw, attacking the Undertaker. His WWF career, while not unsuccessful in the least, did not give WWF fans a true glimpse of What the real DDP could do, as he was 45 years old, had cut his hair, and was not used in any real significant storyline.
Several high-profile appearances with the up-and-coming TNA wrestling federation and several movie roles(Rob Zombie's Devils' Rejects) kept Page in a minor spotlight over the last few years.
While DDP was well known as a great entertainer, it should be noted that he had and has a huge heart for the less fortunate. Page has always been there for charities and even started his own, bang it Out For Books. This is a charity to help fight illiteracy, as Page himself had never read a book until he was an adult.
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