Diamond Dallas Page Is Officially Being Inducted Into The WWE HALL OF FAME Class Of 2017
It's been rumoured for a while, but Diamond Dallas Page's long overdue induction into the WWE Hall of Fame has been made official. Hkt the jump for details and comments from the former WCW and WWE Superstar.
This year's Hall of Fame class is shaping up to be one of the best, and most entertaining, to date. Led by Kurt Angle, the Rock 'n' Roll Express and Teddy Long have also been confirmed, and we now know that Diamond Dallas Page will join them. Rolling Stone made the news official earlier today and caught up with the former WCW Champion and WWE Superstar to talk about his induction.
Since retiring from wrestling on a full-time basis, DDP has made sporadic appearances at events like Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, while DDP Yoga has become a worldwide success (and helped save the life of one Jake the Snake Roberts). Asked how he found out about the news, he revealed:
"We were filming Positively Living, the Diamond Dallas Page three-DVD set. I'm a Jersey boy, so I was on the Jersey Shore in my hometown, and it was the end of the day and we were filming one more thing. They handed me the phone and said, "Boss wants to talk to you." It's HHH. I called him a couple weeks earlier and he hadn't gotten back to me yet, so I thought this was that return call. So we're talking about casual stuff, and then I start to hear him talk about my career and where I've been and how I got here, and then it hits me – is this that call? I'm not a guy who has trouble talking, but I couldn't talk. Tears are running down the sides of my cheeks and I just said, "Bro, I love you man."
While DDP did have a memorable run in WWE, he'll likely be remembered by most fans for his impressive stint in WCW as one of the company's top stars. Asked if he believes this (and Sting's) induction legitimises WCW's legacy and how it feels to be acknowledged in this way, Page had the following to say:
"Nature Boy [Ric Flair]'s been in every federation, so the Four Horsemen going in I thought was the beginning of that. But then when Stinger went in, I thought OK, this is huge. And now that I'm in, wow. And Rock 'n' Roll Express too. People don't realize how over they really were. They were like the Beatles man, and they're out there wrestling the Road Warriors. Before the Midnight Rockers, they were the guys. It's just gonna be a great night for all of us, and more than anything the fans.
When I inducted Jake, and Scott went in the same night, it was my 58th birthday, so it was like a crazy birthday present for me. And I felt at some point I would get my due, not just in the ring but outside the ring. I don't wish for something to happen right now. I wish and I manifest and work toward things happening when they're supposed to. And it couldn't have happened at a better time as far as everything that's happening in my career, in my life. When I came into WWE after Monday Night Wars, it wasn't my greatest time in the business… but they kept bringing me back. God has blessed me on a lot of levels. Have I worked for it? Absolutely. But it still takes that blessing. I'm super-humbled to be with Kurt [Angle] and the Rock 'n' Roll Express."
If you're still not convinced that this induction means the world to DDP, his final comments on the news pretty much sum up how grateful he is for this opportunity. "It surpasses everything," he concluded. "I remember Dusty Rhodes saying to me, "In our business, the things that are really real are your first world title and the Hall of Fame." I would love for him to be here. I get choked up just thinking about it." Are you excited to see Diamond Dallas Page enter the WWE Hall of Fame?