Quote:
Originally Posted by Next Big Thing
DDP was injured fairly early in his run with the WWE and it would be kind of off to think Vince would put a WCW guy over as champion so soon into his debut with the company. Plus DDP was pushing 50 around that time. I wish he would have stayed on as a manager or commentator though.
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Yes, there is the stigma of being a "WCW-guy" in the WWE. They have a long history of taking big names from WCW and turning them into mid-card players for life (Booker T, Scott Steiner, Lance Storm, Mike Awesome...), but Vince McMahon is also a smart individual. He knows when something is right, especially if it's going to make him money.
DDP was huge in WCW - it's undeniable. For a time, he along with Sting and Goldberg were the only guys who were viewed as true combatants against the nWo faction. His matches against Macho Man, Raven, Chris Benoit and Jeff Jarrett were all incredible, some even considered to be classics (if you've never seen DDP vs. Raven vs. Benoit from Uncensored 98 then do yourself a favor and find it). And it's not due to any kind of special packaging as a character by WCW - it's because DDP is a legitimately entertaining, fun, and charismatic individual. Anyone who has read Mick Foley's first autobiography knows this. The guy is like the guy you want to go out on the town with because you know he's going to meet interesting people and attract a good time just because of his personality.
To question whether or not DDP could've gotten over in the WWE as a main eventer, I think, is obvious. Imagine if, instead of bringing him in to feud against Undertaker, they brought him in as a babyface to feud against Kurt Angle. At this time, Kurt was fresh off arguably the hottest year for any rookie in WWE history and was focused on winning a second KOTR crown. If Page had come in as a surprise entrant in the KOTR tournament, debuting on a RAW a couple weeks before the PPV (which he did, only it was as the stalker) by giving a crowd brow-beating Kurt Angle a fucking Diamond Cutter, BAM. Instant Superstar. There's no question if he could carry himself on the mic or in the ring: he absolutely could have. A 2-3 month Angle vs. DDP feud could've been amazing.
The question about his age is also not an arguing point when it comes to DDP. He's a fucking Yoga instructor today, for Christ's sake. There are few other 40+ year olds in the wrestling business in better shape than DDP, and that goes for today, too. Look at his match against Christian at WM X-8... the guy could still go.
My final point is this: wasting DDP was wasting millions and millions of dollars in revenue. Getting DDP over would have been easy. Selling these:
Would have been even easier. Foam "Diamond Cutter" signs and more Diamond Cutter design t-shirts would've sold like fucking crack with the WWE merchandising machine behind them.