DDP On Big Show Telling Him To Leave WCW, Eric Bischoff's Response After Playboy Shoot With Kimberly

Recently on The Steve Austin Show, WWE Hall Of Famer 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin caught up with professional wrestling legend and fitness guru 'Diamond' Dallas Page. DDP talked about managing The Fabulous Freebirds in WCW, Big Show's advice while Page was struggling in WCW, and Page's ex-wife Kimberly's influence on DDP's big push in WCW.

During the podcast, Page said that he is happy that The Fabulous Freebirds, including Jimmy Garvin, will be inducted into WWE's Hall Of Fame.

"When I think of the Birds, because when I came in to WCW, you remember, bro, I got to manage the latest Freebirds, it was always Michael P.S. Hayes and Jimmy 'Jam' Garvin, so I was really happy to see Jimmy go in the [WWE] Hall Of Fame too because he was one hell of a talent. And those guys together, they were so much fun. They taught me so much on the road."

Although Page was no stranger to partying, he admitted keeping up with The Fabulous Freebirds was an arduous task.

"Oh my God! Hayes [and] those guys could drink. Like, you know I come from the nightclub business, and I drank my fair share of a lot of booze, but when you hung out with those guys, it went to a different level."

According to DDP, his big break in WCW was supposed to come in the form of a feud with the nWo. After Page laying waste to Scott Hall and Kevin Nash was put off for nine weeks in a row, Big Show told Page that he should leave WCW to sign with WWE.

"Nine weeks in a row, it was written on the TV sheets, I'm going to drop Scott Hall with The [Diamond] Cutter and backdrop Nash over the top rope. Now you know they were pushing for that because nobody had dropped them yet, so they were wanting to do it and they took it off the TV sheets nine weeks in a row! I mean, Big Show's going, 'dude, you should just go to Vince [McMahon] because they're never going to give you the opportunity'. And then, the next week, in New Orleans [Louisiana], it happened and then, I'm working with [Randy] Savage." Page continued, "Big Show was saying, 'go to New York', like, 'get the hell out of here [because] they're never going to do this for you. You're never going to get the opportunity.' And that's what I felt. After eight weeks in a row, yeah, you can only B.S. me so many times where I'm going to come back and I had a real heart to heart with Kevin Sullivan that I thought it's never going to happen. And then, it happened."

See Also: DDP Talks To Wrestling Inc. About Randy Savage Putting Him Over In WCW

As for Kimberly's involvement in Page's big WCW push, apparently, Kimberly's nude modelling was a precursor to Page's high profile feud with 'Macho Man' Randy Savage. When Page was threatened with termination, he used WWE as leverage to get elevated within WCW.

"At the time, Kimberly had done that Celebrity Nudes. She was the first Playboy chick [from the world of professional wrestling]. What they did was they shot this spread with her and they asked me to be in it! Now, I'm bottom of the middle of the card at the time. You know me, bro. If I get the opportunity to do something that's going to shock some people, I'm going to go with it, so I went and I shot this thing with her where I'm putting on my boots [and] she's slipping into something. And they loved the photoshoot so much they asked us to come back and shoot again because they were going to give her a six-page spread. So I tell [Eric] Bischoff right before this goes down and he's like, 'are you crazy? You've got a morality clause in your contract. They can fire you!' I go, 'well, then, they fire me! Maybe Vince will do something with it!' And then, it sort of just went away and that came back as the angle that Randy Savage brought out the Playboy with Liz spray painted over Kim's nipples and butt and then she came out all spray painted nWo! And then, boom, that starts her angle with Savage."

In addition to these topics, DDP talked about his plans for WrestleMania 32 weekend, Randy Savage putting him over, and much more. Click here to check out the podcast. If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit The Steve Austin Show with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Source: The Steve Austin Show