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Book It
2-15-02
Each week in Book It we help the struggling WWF creative team with a few ideas on how to get talent that has been stuck in a rut over with the WWF fans. I don't usually do a Book It the Friday before a ppv, opting instead to do a ppv preview, but this week is different. No Way Out isn't going to be remembered for the matches as much as it will be remembered for the debut of the NWO.
The timing is right for one WWF superstar to answer the door of opportunity.
How far can a wrestler ride on fame that he built up in the past? How many bad angles does it take to kill the popularity a wrestler has built up? How can an "old" man stay popular in a young man's business?
These are the questions I imagine Diamond Dallas Page asks himself every night before bed. Of course with Playboy model Kimberly Page next to him, I'm probably totally wrong. Nonetheless, like The Undertaker, DDP is in the twilight of his wrestling career and yet continues to show the heart, drive and a love of the wrestling business. Why else would DDP have given up a guaranteed multi-million dollar Time Warner contract in order to go back on the road with the WWF after the WWF bought WCW? Why else would he continue to try after the WWF writing staff has done nothing for his career since joining? These are questions DDP needs to answer. My job is to get him over with the fans.
After working as a nightclub bouncer during the mid-80s, Diamond Dallas Page joined AWA as a manager simply because he loved the business. Hard work and dedication paid off when DDP signed with WCW in 1991 as manager of the Fabulous Freebirds. Managers at the time were the voice of the team since most of the wrestlers couldn't actually cut promos. Management took notice of Page's intense and entertaining promos as did fans, who began to enjoy Page far more than the tag team he managed.
Management decided to pair up Page with a newcomer in the hopes that some of his fan popularity would rub off on the new guy. That new guy was Diamond Studd, aka Scott Hall. Page managed Hall for almost a year, but when Bill Watts took over WCW in 1992 most of the non-wrestler personalities had their roles reduced. It was then that Page decided to become a wrestler. He was 35 at the time.
Page trained at the WCW Power Plant and was eventually teamed with Scott Hall. When Hall left for WWF in 1992 to go become Razor Ramon, Page was given a new partner, Vinnie Vegas, aka Kevin Nash.
Flash forward five years. Page has continued to work on his skills in WCW and made a name for himself in the mid-card. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall have become stars in the WWF, then jump to WCW and begin the NWO invasion that would rock the industry.
The NWO was a threat to any wrestler in WCW that wasn't a member. But the popular heels needed worthy babyface adversaries, otherwise it just wouldn't be wrestling. Page rose to the occasion and managed to stay popular in WCW not by joining his old friends, but rather by fighting against them under the banner of "loyalty to WCW."
Fans began to see Page as sort of a hard working "everyman" similar to Mick Foley and Steve Austin (but not quite at their level). Page also had his wife Kimberly at his side, which didn't hurt his popularity at all. He had feuds with NWO members Hogan and Nash, carried Goldberg to the best match of his career, and in the process became not only a main event level wrestler but a WCW world champion.
However, in the dying year of WCW, Page was booked into a series of matches that were pure fan death. Forced to team with Karl Malone vs. Hogan & Dennis Rodman and later teamed with Jay Leno vs. Hogan and Bischoff, Page's fans quickly became cynical of his popularity. Also, DDP was lumped into the "old generation" of wrestlers (Nash, Hall, Hogan, Flair, Savage) despite the fact that unlike that group, DDP actually tried to have good matches.
Which brings us to today.
In the last year, Page gave up guaranteed "sit on your ass and collect it" money to join the WWF. When Page debuted, it was a shocker (of sorts) as he was revealed to be the mystery stalker of Undertaker's wife. Things went downhill from there. The fans never really got into the angle and Undertaker was a bad match as far as wrestling styles. After some time off, Page reappeared as a heel with a motivational speaker gimmick that never garnered any fan heat. Today, he's rarely on television and when he is, it's usually next to the God Father. That's not a good thing.
But we're not here to talk about today, we're here to book tomorrow. The timing could not be better to give DDP one last big push. It's 1997 all over again in the WWF with an imminent NWO invasion scheduled to happen this Sunday. Page has the chance to go back to the gimmick that made him popular and see if lightning can strike twice. But first he needs to wipe the slate clean because fans are used to booing Page over the last year.
When the NWO arrives in the WWF, it will be Ric Flair's job to combat them. Flair will have big guns like The Rock, Steve Austin and Triple H on his side, but none of those guys have first hand experience in dealing with the NWO. Flair will need someone who has seen the NWO in action and knows how to fight them. Flair needs DDP.
Flair goes to DDP and talks to him man to man. No gimmicks, no bulls***. Flair wants DDP's help to fight the NWO. DDP agrees to put aside their differences (they feuded briefly late in WCW, but really, who was watching?) and join in the WWF defense.
The WWF will have to make a stand against the NWO at some point, but until then, Page needs to rebuild his credibility with the fans. For starters, he needs some clean wins, so roll out the jobbers. Goldust, Tajiri, Christian, Lance Storm, Spike, etc... All of these guys are talented wrestlers that can make Page look good in the ring. Since none of them really have any popularity built up, Page can win clear over them without too much trouble. Next, Page works with wrestlers that do have popularity in tougher battles. Rob Van Dam, Booker T, Curt Henning, Kurt Angle, Bubba Ray Dudley and William Regal are all wrestlers that are good on the mic, can match Page's in-ring promos and carry him to a good match (if he needs it).
Next, Page is slowly added to the main event mix. Much like Jericho was built up, Page is teamed up with the WWF main eventers in battles with the NWO members. The Rock & DDP vs. Hogan & Nash. Steve Austin & DDP vs. Nash & Hall. It doesn't matter who wins these battles because it's all about Page rubbing elbows with the big boys again. How far Page's popularity goes from this point is determined by how hard he works in the ring and out.
Finally the day will come when the WWF makes its stand against the NWO. The gauntlet will be dropped and battle lines drawn. Now that Page has redeemed himself in the eyes of the fans and regained some of his popularity back there is only one thing left to do: turn heel. Page turns on the WWF and costs them a key victory in the battle against the NWO. The following program, the NWO invites Page to the ring to celebrate. Page gets on the mic and cuts the following promo:
"Nash, Hall, Hogan, we go way back. We ran together in WCW before Bill Watts and before Eric Bischoff. We were fighting wars before Steve Austin was Stone Cold and before Rocky Mavia was The Rock. When you guys left WCW to join the WWF in '92, I stayed and made a name for myself. When you came back to WCW in '97 and threatened to destroy WCW, I got pissed off. You clowns were there to destroy the company I had put five long years of sweat and pain into. I swore I'd stop you from destroying WCW." (They all laugh.) "Yeah, I put up a good fight but in the end, the NWO was just too powerful. Now here we are in 2002 and the NWO is ready to destroy the WWF. When I heard you were coming I thought about fighting you. I thought about going to war again like we're used to. But then I said to myself, 'Page! You've seen what the NWO can do. You know the WWF doesn't stand a chance! You can't beat em, so join 'em!' Years ago you asked me to join the NWO and I said no. That was a mistake and I've paid for it, but if the offer is still open, I'll be NWO 4 Life."
Page joins the NWO and is finally part of the heel team he fought so long and hard against. Honestly, Page can't remain a babyface in an NWO-infested WWF. He can't have good matches fighting against Hogan, Nash and Hall. He needs to be in the ring with talented wrestlers like Triple H, The Rock and Stone Cold and in order to do that, he has to be a heel.
Being a heel is where Page shines. It comes naturally to him, but the WWF writing team has yet to give Page the right opportunity. Page doesn't need a gimmick because Page lives his gimmick. He's a hard working everyman that clawed his way to the top. And he's got a hot wife that can play heel right along with him.
Honestly, there is no room for DDP at the top of the WWF card. He's too old and injury prone, but Page can still hang with the best of them in short bursts. Given the right opponents, good promos and the proper set up, Page can still be a valuable upper mid-card wrestler in the WWF. But when you're the God Father's tag team partner, it's tough to go anywhere but up.
