Diamond Dallas Page: Overrated or Underrated

[Monkey_Mania]

DDP is rated just right. He was never really anything all that special, but when called upon was a great superstar. He never ever had what you would call the "it" factor to propel him into the stratosphere alongside guys like Austin, Rock, Sting, Flair, Or Hogan, but he had more of the Benoit disease. He would have a shit ton of fans that enjoyed the hell out of him. He was decent on the mic, and could work a crowd like crazy in WCW. Then again, so could Juventud Guerrera.

His accomplishments speak for themselves, and they are well justified. He was good. Just not great. Rated exactly the way he should be.

 

[NSL]

I'd say underrated. Why? Because I'm a DDP mark. He was never anything special in the ring, and his promos were beyond scripted, but as a kid, he was God. I enjoyed cheering for him, loved watching his matches, and the Diamond Cutter is still my favorite finisher ever.

As far as blaming him for marrying Kimberly, join the legions of jealous guys that wanted to feel her bang, OK? She was/is incredibly hot, and you can't hate his entire career because he was lucky enough to bag that.

 

[RatedRFan]

I was watching "the rise and fall of WCW" and i watched a bit of the 3rd disc with DDP verses Goldberg and the Rodman/Malone match, and it got me thinking was he underrated?

While he was no Angle/Guerrero/Benoit technical master, he was pretty talented. while his diamond cutter is a horrible version, when compared to the RKO, he set up for the diamond cutter with some pretty amazing reversals. i always thought he could have been a US/intercontinental champ if he had been with WWF/E in his prime.

as well as being pretty over with the fan even though he played the "lone wolf" character.

was it just nostalgia (sp?) or was he pretty talented?

 

[Wilkisoft]

A "horrible version"? Have you lost your mind!?! IMO, until recently, Orton had butchered the move. Everytime he delievered it, I cringed. I often thought to myself, "i could do it better than that". I also wondered why DDP would give Orton his blessing to use the move. There's just something about the way he would jump as high as he could, while only gripping the guy with one arm...it just urked me. With DDP, it was delievered in so many different ways. With Orton, his setup is repetative and stale. However, thats not the arguement at hand.

That said, I do think DDP was underrated. I will admit that I was a HUGE DDP mark back in the day. I mean, the guy didnt really get a start in the business until he was 40. In that short period of time, he did some amazing things. He was great on the mic, and showed signs of talent in the ring. He carried those Hogan matches. And i'll go on to agree that the Goldberg/DDP match at Halloween Havoc was awesome. While I didnt think DDP would win, I was still under the impression that he had a chance.

His time in the WWE was rather disappointing. The stalker gimmick debut was great, but went south incredibly quick. I'm not sure what WWE could have done differently. He just didnt get the same reaction as from that of a WCW crowd.

 

[wrestling fan 666]

DDP was talented. But, as for fitting in with WWE in his prime. he never would've gotten the opportunities he received from WCW. He was older, not in WWE physical conditioned muscle-head condition, and he was limited as far as technical skills. He was pushed in WCW through politics. He was good on the mic, but as far as public reaction, he would've been mid-card level in WWE. I've always said the diamond cutter is the RKO. If they ever bring back managers in WWE, he'd be perfect.

A talented as he was, I have to say he was overrated in WCW. Sorry, but world champ material he wasn't.

 

[supersrc]

In wCw I think DDP was right where he belonged, his character was solid, he was good in the ring and a little better on the mic. He was a solid main eventer, mabye not the main guy like goldburg, but goldburg was red hot durring his run. DDP had a good fan following too, because of his mic skills, and ability to hit the Diamond Cutter from anywhere. Mabye not as flashy as the RKO, but back in the 90s it was the coolest/flashiest finisher around. Also I think in the minds of alot of people who watched durring the monday night wars DDP was the true people's Champion DDP came from the fans, and was fighting against the big group nWo. The Rock just stated calling himself the peoples champion and it eventually caught on due to his in ring skills and mic skills (if I remember correctly)

In WWF/E he was underrated and misused. They missed out on peoples champ vs peoples champ, they really didnt use him as a wcw guy durring the invasion angle, and after his fight with undertaker (I dont think ddp ever did get a win in that fued) he was droped to mid carder, a former wcw world champion was droped to the european title, thats under rated. Instead of giving up and taking it easy he really helped christian in his carreer and those two had one of the better matches at their wrestlemania.

In WCW I dont think ddp was over or under rated, he worked hard and got everything he deserved, being a 3 time 3 time 3 time wcw champion, (and one of the best us champions in my opinion.) In WWE completly underrated and one of the most misused superstars I can think of.

(BTW I am a DDP fan, BANG!)

 

[DL23]

In wCw I think DDP was right where he belonged, his character was solid, he was good in the ring and a little better on the mic. He was a solid main eventer, mabye not the main guy like goldburg, but goldburg was red hot durring his run. DDP had a good fan following too, because of his mic skills, and ability to hit the Diamond Cutter from anywhere. Mabye not as flashy as the RKO, but back in the 90s it was the coolest/flashiest finisher around. Also I think in the minds of alot of people who watched durring the monday night wars DDP was the true people's Champion DDP came from the fans, and was fighting against the big group nWo. The Rock just stated calling himself the peoples champion and it eventually caught on due to his in ring skills and mic skills (if I remember correctly)

In WWF/E he was underrated and misused. They missed out on peoples champ vs peoples champ, they really didnt use him as a wcw guy durring the invasion angle, and after his fight with undertaker (I dont think ddp ever did get a win in that fued) he was droped to mid carder, a former wcw world champion was droped to the european title, thats under rated. Instead of giving up and taking it easy he really helped christian in his carreer and those two had one of the better matches at their wrestlemania.

In WCW I dont think ddp was over or under rated, he worked hard and got everything he deserved, being a 3 time 3 time 3 time wcw champion, (and one of the best us champions in my opinion.) In WWE completly underrated and one of the most misused superstars I can think of.

(BTW I am a DDP fan, BANG!)

I concur with this guy, DDP was underated in WWE by leaps and bounds.

I personally didn't like the stalker gimmick, sure Undertaker would go over but come on his wife even pinning DDP? that killed his cred.
The guy is inspirational in a huge way, he walked into the business at many of the guys tail end of their and did more in the 6 years then they did in 20, politics cast aside DDP was one of the only wcw made guys along with Goldberg IMO.

He wouldn't have amounted to much in WWE unless it was hardcore matches, and maybe euro-ic but I doubt he'd of progressed further.

 

[wrestler36]

watch the vid when the stalker removes his mask. DDP was over HUGE! If i'm not mistaken, I think he was the IC champ for awhile in WWE, but did not hit his potential. I think he rubbed people the wrong way in the back and did not exactly fit in. Taker will put ANYBODY over; Giant Gonzalez, Kozlov, Khali, etc. But I think because he was a WcW guy with an attitude, he was squashed. Too bad because even though he had influential friends (bishoff), he was a hard worker. He was close to Hogan's age but had the workhorse ethic and had great matches. People say he wasn't technically sound, but I think he was. For a bigger guy, he had some good moves and reversals and AWESOME feuds with Macho, Sting, Guerrero, Goldberg, etc. He was very versatile, had a great personality and was a workhorse. I think his influence with Bishoff shot him up fast, but I think with his determination, he would have been a top tier guy anyways. When he joined the nWo, shook scott hall's hand and cuttered him, that was one of the best OH MY GOD moments in WCW. He was over before, but he was main event over after that happened.

 

[SUBMIT2GR8NESS]

First off....Johny Ace invented that move years before DDP debuted.

Second I completely believe that the reason why he wasn't big in wwe was because he came form wcw. Simply put vince did exactly what he is doing to ecw right now. He is slowly and painfully removing people of any background to the company that was defeated by the wwe/f.

Third..Im a huge fan of DDP and I didn't understand the whole stalker storyline w/ the undertaker. If you look in the old WCW DDP was charismatic and in my opinion had good ring work. Also most of the time he was in wcw he was a face not a heel.

Could he be a world champion probably not. However he should have had more to deal with than what he got with wwe in the first place.

 

[CuddleBuns84]

The answer is.... Over-rated! His entrance music was horrible. Having battle with Hogan with Celebrities made me cringe. The wwe let him go, because he messed up on a move and his insurance wouldn't renew anything. Overall he was trash. He was mostly Heel in wcw, and that was crap. Never got any heat. He need Hogan and the NWO to get him over. His matches were just nasty. However he was in the right spot at the right time. Not a very nice man, but had a hot wife. Well ex hot wife.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Well, since I have done this thread a while ago and no one did the research to find it, I guess I can answer this question.

DDP is a great worker. He was good at telling a story and being a solid character who related to the fans. However his backstage ways of working things take a lot away from his in ring work. He was all about himself. DDMe is an appropriate nickname for him. He'd do anything to get to where he needed to be. Ruin storylines, be a diva backstage, and try to be something he wasn't.

He's a great talent, but highly overrated as far as what the rest of the fans think of him. This thread sucks out loud, btw. Learn to type, people.

 

[jayteeERA]

Whatever DDP did backstage that was his personal business. I thought the guy was great. He is a very hard worker. One of my favorites in the WCW. The RKO looks like crap compare to the Diamond Cutter. DDP should of been the Stone Cold of WCW. He could do various moves, he had charisma, great wrestling ability and damn good matches.

Then he goes to WWE and loses it all. The stalker gimmick didn't made sense. DDP had a hot wife, why would he stalk some other chick. His other gimmick was stupid with him & christian. WWE should of carried DDP gimmick from WCW over. WWE instead just made this guy look like a jobber. It messed up a lot dream matches that DDP would of been right for, like DDP vs Angle, Rock, Austin, HHH.

 

[jazzua]

DDP was fantastic. Highly overlooked. Backstage antics aside, if they are true, the guy was gold in my book. He had something that would elevate so many young superstars today. Work ethic and desire. He wanted to be as good as he possibly could be. He never stopped working. They guy wasn't very good with when he started. He was old already and way behind the curve. The work ethic he had would make Shelton "under used" Benjamin a legitimate superstar.

Hell, if DDP had had Shelton's ability he would probably be one of the best in ring workers of our time easy. I think that DDP is hurt by his age. Had he started out earlier in this business he would have been able to achieve great things. He had the second hottest finisher in the late 90's behind the stunner. To the poster above, no one ever drops a cutter like DDP did. Forget about the way he would lead into it. It doesn't matter. Just the straight old cutter, it looked grand. The RKO by comparison looks cartoony and silly. Orton jumps so high his opponent could go grab a hotdog before Orton has a chance to put their head into the mat.

His crowd reaction was great. His mic skills were solid and his in ring work was always improving. He wasn't ever the best, but he was very good for a few years.

I really thought he could have made that sick twisted stalker character work actually. It was more us who didn't allow it. He had the ability to play crazy, mainly, because he might be a little bit in real life. He was the one guy I hoped Vince could put ego aside for. I could've cared less about Golberg and Booker, DDP had what it took to make it in WWE.

 

[WhyTravisFelt]

Before I give my opinion let me just kind of put out there that, not so much in this thread, but in most other threads I've read on this idea, it seems the majority of wrestling fans only have a vague idea of what over/underrated means that basically translates to whether or not they liked the guy in question.

That being said, since the few who've posted overrated haven't really had much argument besides "DDP was horrible" and "he was only out to help himself backstage", general consensus so far is towards underrated.

I think the mere fact that no one has pointed out his feud with Raven is kind of indicative of being underrated. It was probably the best feud of the 90's with awesome mic work going both ways and we're hung up on his hokey feud with goldberg (who IS overrated) without even giving it a second thought. Generally speaking though, he was one of the most over wrestlers in
the company for a long time, spent some time as the top face at the same time as NWO was hot, Sting was in his heyday, and Goldberg was two-moving his way through the roster. When you're at the top and most WCW fans like you, you start moving into the realm of "overrated", but I think the fact that he was so exciting to watch, particularly when you knew the cutter could come out of anywhere, and in comparison to the other top talents at the time (Nash, Goldberg, Hogan, a relative who's who of overrated wrestlers who were just as politcal backstage) it seems wrong to lump him in there. I definitely think in that timeframe though, it's hard to call him underrated since well, everybody liked and respected his abilities in the ring and on the mic.

In WWE he was underutilized and considering he was just as talented as he was in WCW, he was seriously underrated, if not by the WWE fans, at least by the WWE brass. He got squashed by the Undertaker, who like others have said, normally has a pretty good history of putting guys over and did a silly bullshit gimmick with Christian and that was pretty much the long and short of his career in WWE. From what I recalled he was still great on the mic and never put on a bad match. Although, it's a little hard to say exactly how far he could've gone considering his age at the time and injuries piling up, but I'm pretty sure just about every expected a little more out of one of WCW's top faces of the 90's than two dead-end gimmicks.

In overall though, I think when you weigh everything, you got to go with underrated at least in the extent that most people seem to already have forgotten his time with WCW and all people hear about him is from Madden's vitriolic "I hate the f*ck out of everybody" tirades posted on here all the time.

 

[JBK2008]

Diamond Dallas Paige was heavily underrated IMO. He had the charisma to get the entire building into a riot and his skills, although not the best, work very well. His ability to hit the Diamond Cutter out of nowhere was always exciting to anticipate for. The finisher itself electrified the audience. Sure he was a multi time champion, but he just seemed to always be overlooked, especially when he went to the WWE. Great fun guy to watch, just didn't get as many chances as everyone wanted to see I think.

 

[Travaje]

I remember DDP when he was a manager, and considering that he went from an average manager to a main-event star, I'd say that he over-achieved. He took the most out of his opportunity and had a really good run at a time when the business was at it's peak. He'll never be one of the best of all time or a "hall of famer", but he did leave his mark on the business, something many never do.

My favorite feud of his was with Randy Savage.

 

[justinept]

I disagree that he was ONLY out to help himself. I haven't read many negative things about him from other wrestlers - big names, small names, medium names. I also remember a story Eric Bischoff wrote about him in his book, about how Bischoff and DDP got into a bar fight back in their territory days yet when Bischoff auditioned for his announcing job, DDP coached him through it to help him land the gig. Sure Bischoff went on to become the head of WCW, but DDP helped him when he was nothing more than a second rate announcer. He couldn't have possibly known that Bischoff would go on to become Vice President of the company.

As for his being underrated - I have to disagree completely. The guy might not have gotten the same reaction from the WWE crowd that he did from the WCW crowd, but it's hard to argue that the guy was over with the fans. He was as big a face as the company had in the post "over the top" Sting era.

His ring work may not have been superb - I've never been one to really rate a guys in-ring work unless it's awful - but according to Bischoff, the guy was booked to work with the likes of Karl Malone and Jay Leno because Bischoff knew that 1) he could carry the match for the celebrity- 2) it wouldn't affect his in-ring credibility with the fans - and 3) he was a meticulous, detail-oriented worker.

Personally, I think DDP was underrated because he never made it big in the "big-time." He wasn't a World Champ when WCW was dominant and he wasn't much of anything when he went over to WWE. But still, the guy was one of the few things WCW had going for itself in its final few years.

 

[CuddleBuns84]

Before I give my opinion let me just kind of put out there that, not so much in this thread, but in most other threads I've read on this idea, it seems the majority of wrestling fans only have a vague idea of what over/underrated means that basically translates to whether or not they liked the guy in question.

That being said, since the few who've posted overrated haven't really had much argument besides "DDP was horrible" and "he was only out to help himself backstage", general consensus so far is towards underrated.

I think the mere fact that no one has pointed out his feud with Raven is kind of indicative of being underrated. It was probably the best feud of the 90's with awesome mic work going both ways and we're hung up on his hokey feud with goldberg (who IS overrated) without even giving it a second thought. Generally speaking though, he was one of the most over wrestlers in
the company for a long time, spent some time as the top face at the same time as NWO was hot, Sting was in his heyday, and Goldberg was two-moving his way through the roster. When you're at the top and most WCW fans like you, you start moving into the realm of "overrated", but I think the fact that he was so exciting to watch, particularly when you knew the cutter could come out of anywhere, and in comparison to the other top talents at the time (Nash, Goldberg, Hogan, a relative who's who of overrated wrestlers who were just as politcal backstage) it seems wrong to lump him in there. I definitely think in that timeframe though, it's hard to call him underrated since well, everybody liked and respected his abilities in the ring and on the mic.

In WWE he was underutilized and considering he was just as talented as he was in WCW, he was seriously underrated, if not by the WWE fans, at least by the WWE brass. He got squashed by the Undertaker, who like others have said, normally has a pretty good history of putting guys over and did a silly bullshit gimmick with Christian and that was pretty much the long and short of his career in WWE. From what I recalled he was still great on the mic and never put on a bad match. Although, it's a little hard to say exactly how far he could've gone considering his age at the time and injuries piling up, but I'm pretty sure just about every expected a little more out of one of WCW's top faces of the 90's than two dead-end gimmicks.

In overall though, I think when you weigh everything, you got to go with underrated at least in the extent that most people seem to already have forgotten his time with WCW and all people hear about him is from Madden's vitriolic "I hate the f*ck out of everybody" tirades posted on here all the time.

That is interesting point there. Put he was very stale in the ring. He drank more then average. Was he a great worker. Oh yes, very good. However his matches were very bad. His mic work wasn't good, no matter how good of a fued he had with someone. His WWE run was short lived because of performing a superplex wrongly. Overall he was over-rated. No one could believe he was a world champ.

He was over-rated because of the status of those matches he had. Malone/DDP vs. Hogan/Rodman. That was just ridiculous. Then the Jay Leno match was just pathetic. He had some great moments in WCW but a lot of people said "Why this guy? He isn't that very good, or heroic?"

However, for a guy who was just trying to get into the business. A story book career. He was in his early 30's to start with. In a 5 year span made a big impact. Had matches that Chris Jericho, and Dean Malkeno could of made better. DDP he had a great over-rated career.

 

[CaptainCrazy74]

Don't confuse poor writing with bad wrestling and, to botch a move both parties are invovled. One botched move should not be grounds for dismissal. I think as most have posted he was a great worker. I can't understand why a man considered to old by most in the business, can possibly be considered over rated or a poor performer. I think he was and still is an inspiration that anyone can do anything given the determination and will power. I think he should be considered for the HOF for that alone...ie doing something few if any had done before him.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

Yo it's me, it's me, it's time to change the channel.

I've always respected Diamond Dallas Page. He's a helluva worker, and he got over at an old age when he should've been thinking about venturing into something else. I never really liked him though, as the only good match I remember him having was against Goldberg at Halloween Havoc. Does this mean he is overrated? I wouldn't say so. In fact If he would've started his wrestling career earlier, he might have been one of the best. Just becuase I personally don't really care for him, but he's definitely not overrated. Given his accomplishments in such a short amount of time I'd have to say he's underrated.

 

[Lancer]

I think DDP was somewhere in between. He wasn't horrible, and he wasn't great either. His ring skills were average I guess, with the exception of the Diamond Cutter, and how he could hit it out of nowhere. His promo and mic skills were above average I think, as he could always play his character very well, be it a heel or a face.

He displayed his character abilities during his run as "number one contender" for Goldberg's World title leading up to Halloween Havoc in 1998. To me, he seemed like a legit threat to take the belt. Also, I think he did very well as a heel when he was the leader of The Jersey Triad. He got some real heat from the fans...and it helps when you have two talented guys like Kanyon and Bam Bam Bigelow as your lackeys.

So I think he was somewhere in the middle. Not one of the best ever, but he made his mark.

 

[gully side adidja]

no he isn't, for his age he was good,very lively and acted a lot younger than he was, moved very well in the ring and had a bit of a short temper, good matches too,vs sting on a nitro 98 vs benoit superbrawl 98 raven 97, goldberg havoc 98 as well as others,i don't hear him get shitted on or praised,so he is in the middle for me.