Diamond Dallas Page (DDP) has been the most positive person in professional wrestling and for twenty years. He’s carved out a reputation as a loyal friend and guru with his new yoga designed to help athletes dealing with sports-related health issues. With all of that, it’s strange hearing how the WWE demands loyalty from him.
Over the last few months, Diamond Dallas Page has been attending AEW (All Elite Wrestling) events since the promotion started. He did so out of love for Cody Rhodes and loyalty for a debt he says he owes to Cody Rhodes’ father, the late, great Dusty Rhodes. For those that may not know, Dusty Rhodes took Diamond Dallas Page under his wing and gave him a chance. Diamond Dallas Page has said he’d have nothing he dos now without Dusty Rhodes.
(Thanks to wrestlinginc.com for the transcriptions used in this article.)
“The reason why I won’t take a contract with AEW is because I still wanna work with WWE. My fitness and wellness plan is really important to me and Tommaso, Gargano, Lacey Evans, Shayna – I know I’ve helped them with my program. I want to help the boys and the girls in AEW and WWE like I have been doing for years. So I didn’t really wanna take any kind of a contract with that.”
It makes sense, and Vince McMahon being one that preaches loyalty should understand that, right?
Not so fast.
WWE’s us against them mindset
Diamond Dallas Page recently revealed on the Wincly podcast that despite not having a contract with AEW, he was told to choose either the WWE or AEW, not both.
Let that sink in for a minute.
Diamond Dallas Page, who has been working with the young talent in the WWE Performance Center; who has appeared in numerous WWE reunion shows; who has selflessly given of himself to help the WWE time and again was basically told to pick a side.
“When they didn’t put me on the Legends show [RAW Reunion]…every single Legend and Hall of Famer there, I guess I was getting, ‘ok, we’re not using you anymore D.’ I called down to the PC and talked to Matt Bloom and he said, ‘Listen D. You’re working with those guys now. We’re not gonna have you down here.’ I said ok and thanks for letting me know,” stated Page.
“WWE has been very good to me. It wasn’t great when I first got there, but the last 7-8 years have been phenomenal. I’m very grateful for the run I got to do with them and the Hall of Fame and the Rumble. I love all of those guys there.”
DDP is always willing to give
There’s little doubt that Diamond Dallas Page will be willing to mend this fence is Vince McMahon wants to in the future, but he may have given an insight to how likely that may be.
“Anybody from WWE or TNA, ROH, MLW – any of those guys who want in my program – all they have to do is get in touch with me. I just put them on the app and turn it on. I give it to them because I know what kind of punishment they’re putting their bodies through and I know how the program can help them.”
Of all the times for the WWE to draw a line in the sand and demand loyalty, this is probably one of the worst ones.
When you put a rivalry with another promotion above the potential well-being of your talent, it may be time for things to change.
