DDP Reveals WCW Moment ‘Shut Down’ Turner Phone Lines

Dictionary.com defines a parasocial relationship as "a relationship that a person imagines having with another person whom they do not actually know, such as a celebrity or a fictional character," and they make for an effective tool in professional wrestling.

On a recent episode of "The Snakepit", Diamond Dallas Page and Jake Roberts discussed Hulk Hogan's betrayal of his fans on that infamous night in Daytona Beach when Hogan joined The nWo. "People took that sh*t personally," Roberts said. "Because they believed in him."

Page went on to describe how the backlash against Hogan's dark turn reached all the way to Turner Networks. "When Hulk did that ... the letters [that got sent Turner Network]," Page said, impressed even now with the number of angry letters sent to the company and the network. "Even though he was like, 'ah, the red & yellow, its getting old,'" Page continued, referring to the general understanding that "Hulkamania" was starting to run out of steam ahead of the switch to black & white.

"When he flipped, the phones at Turner broadcasting were shut down." Page said that while the internet was starting then, that it too would've been shut down. "If it had any kind of place in the world, it shut the fuc*er down." Page continued to describe the messages from fans saying, "'you son of a b*tch, my kids are crying,'" with even one fan calling for someone to fire Hogan.

The memory made Page chuckle with admiration. "They were so mad, and that showed you. 'Wow, did that work!'"

During the story, Page noted that Hogan dropped his leg on Randy Savage to join the nWo and, "look where he ended up in about a year," referring to Savage following in Hogan's footsteps and abandoning his babyface persona. Diamond Dallas Page is notable as one of the only major WCW talent to never have a tenure in the New World Order.