Diamond Dallas Page Talks DDP Yoga, Randy Orton Using The Cutter, WrestleMania & More
Diamond Dallas Page was recently interviewed by Arda Ocal of The Score and discussed a plethora of topics. Among the topics, Page discussed; this years WrestleMania, DDP Yoga, Randy Orton using the Diamond Cutter/RKO and more. Here are some of the highlights:
On other wrestlers using DDP Yoga: "Chris Jericho [started all of that]. We're in Canada and he's Mr. Canada as far as I'm concerned. He's an awesome cat. HBK — Shawn Michaels — was the first guy to ever do DDP Yoga when he came back from that last back surgery. He told Jericho about it when [Jericho] herniated his L-4, which is the lower part of your back. It's the center of the universe. He was done.
"We started talking on Twitter actually. He went to the acupuncture and had a bunch of [needles] up his back. I called him and sent him the video that's on DDPYoga.com, which is my main site. There's a video of a disabled veteran that I helped walk again. When he saw that video, he said, 'DDP, send it to me.'
"In five weeks, he was 85% pain free. In three months, he was 95% pain free. He just headlined at WrestleMania, so I guess he's feeling pretty good. ... Santino's a huge supporter of it, loves it. Zac Ryder, The Miz, Daniel Bryan. I got like 20 guys doing it. It's really cool.
On whether or not he would have liked to debut in WWE differently: "[Laughs.] You think? I mean, it was what it was. It wasn't my best work. But I did have an awesome angle on the way out with Christian. He's an amazing athlete. We had some great matches and I got to bring back that DDP character.
"I shouldn't have done it any other way. People's champion vs. People's champion. But it's the first time I've ever let anybody derail a goal of mine. Because I had that vision two years before I ever went there. So, it would have been different.
"But, I learned from it. I've learned from every mistake I've ever made. I'm happy to have a legend's deal with WWE now. I look for some pretty cool stuff to happen with the WWE Network that's coming up."
On what he thought of this year's WrestleMania: "I thought the overall spectacle of it all was awesome. The matches — not all of them were that great. [Laughs.] They left a little bit of it out there. I thought 'Taker and Triple H's match was great. I thought that Chris and Punk did a helluva job. There was a couple of other good matches on the card.
"But I went down there for the whole spectacle of it and so many of the guys were doing my stuff. I worked out with a lot of different guys like Foley. Twice with Foley. ... He's got a beat up body. My goal is that he can tie his shoes again because he cant' do [that]. I know if he sticks with it, he'll be able to. We'll see, right?"
On one of his greatest memories as a wrestler: "Absolutely winning the World title. Think about who was in that four-way dance with me; it was Hogan, Sting and Flair. Three of the biggest, iconic names of all time. Ric Flair to take the Diamond Cutter in the middle [with me at] 43-years-young. If I didn't do DDP Yoga, that never happens because my career would have been over.
"The first match I had with Savage, I was 41. Spring Stampede, the same pay-per-view. And for Randy to take the Diamond Cutter — there's nobody that saw that coming. From out of nowehere — bang! 1, 2, 3. That place, it was electric. Sent my career on a different level."
On how he feels about Randy Orton using the Diamond Cutter: " Love it. He doesn't remember it, because he was having his shoulder worked on at the time. But as soon as I knew I was going to retire, I called him. I really wanted him to use it.
"It's funny, because later on, I would read stuff that was contradictory to what I was saying. So, I went and saw him at the SummerSlam before last. I said, 'Randy, do you not remember me calling you?' And he goes, 'No, Diamond. That's when I had that shoulder surgery. I really don't. I said, 'Well, I'm glad that you're using it. I love that you're using it. You've made it your own.'
"I think Randy's awesome. He's — to me — one of my top guys. I think that he's an awesome guys for the business. Works really hard, got a great interview. Back in the day, when I was doing my DDP Yoga, he'd come up and go, 'Diamond, my hips tight right here. Will this help me?' I'd go, 'Man, they're going to laugh at you.'
"Back then, they would laugh at you. Today, 20 guys are doing it. It's like, who's going to be the innovator? Who's going to walk a different path? I always take the path less traveled."
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