The Diamond Exchange was a professional wrestling stable led by Diamond Dallas Page in the American Wrestling Association from 1988 to 1989. Page led a spiritual successor known as The Diamond Mine in World Championship Wrestling from 1991 to 1992.
128-659: Diamond Dallas Page worked in the nightclub business in Florida before and after he started working as a wrestling manager in the American Wrestling Association (AWA). He started managing Badd Company ( Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka ) in 1988, a team he led to the AWA World Tag Team Championship . Badd Company, was often accompanied by a pair of female valets known as the Diamond Dolls who were
256-446: A Lethal Lockdown match . At Hard Justice on May 15, Page and Ron Killings faced Monty Brown and The Outlaw where they were defeated in what was Page's final match in TNA. Page left TNA shortly thereafter in order to pursue an acting career. After TNA, Page returned to the independent circuit. He lost to Larry Zbyszko at WrestleReunion . DDP had Bruno Sammartino in his corner during
384-607: A Loser Leaves Town match . Page returned on the May 18, 1996 episode of WCW Saturday Night as a tweener defeating Billy Kidman . On May 19, Page participated in the Lord of the Ring Tournament (Battle Bowl) at Slamboree . Falkinburg was victorious when he defeated The Barbarian with two Diamond Cutters. The winner was to be the number one contender for the World Title which at that time
512-539: A babyface jobber . Rude lost his TV debut against Jos LeDuc on the November 6, 1982 episode of Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling. He started with Vancouver 's NWA: All-Star Wrestling before moving on to compete for Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) and later the Memphis -based Continental Wrestling Association (CWA). Rude debuted on the May 28, 1983 episode of World Championship Wrestling , defeating Pat Rose with
640-505: A degree in physical education , Rude worked as a bouncer for a short period and later did a small stint as an arm wrestler. He would first become known to the world of professional wrestling at that time. Rude trained as a wrestler under Eddie Sharkey, the same trainer responsible for training other wrestling stars like Bob Backlund , The Road Warriors , Sean Waltman , Austin Aries , and Erick Rowan . He began wrestling in 1982 as Ricky Rood,
768-526: A masked man. Rude debuted at House Party , declaring that his New Year's resolution was to "fuck with the Franchise" ( Shane Douglas ). Rude went on to repeatedly harass Douglas, at one point spanking Douglas' valet Francine during Crossing the Line Again . He eventually unmasked and became a color commentator before later aligning himself, for a short time, with Douglas and his Triple Threat stable. In
896-609: A one-time WCWA World Heavyweight Champion , a one-time WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion , and a one-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion . Rude also challenged for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on pay-per-view cards, competing for the former in the main event of SummerSlam in 1990 . Following his retirement, Rude managed multiple wrestlers. In late 1997, Rude founded
1024-454: A steel cage match to become WCW World Heavyweight Champion for the third time, then lost the title to his tag partner, actor David Arquette , three days later on Thunder ; the rules stated that whoever got the pin would win the title, and Arquette pinned Jarrett's partner, Eric Bischoff. Page attempted to win the title back at Slamboree later that month in a triple cage match against Arquette and Jarrett, but lost after Arquette hit him with
1152-509: A Diamond Cutter to retain the belt. Page later lost the title to Raven at Spring Stampede . Later in the year, Page tagged with Karl Malone against Hulk Hogan and Dennis Rodman at Bash at the Beach , losing due to interference. Page tagged with late night talk show host Jay Leno at Road Wild , where they defeated Hogan and Eric Bischoff . Page, along with Raven and the Flock, were featured in
1280-497: A July 1991 tour for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Rude returned to WCW, which had originally been JCP prior to being sold to Ted Turner in late 1988; he returned under a mask as The WCW Phantom at Halloween Havoc on October 27, 1991, unmasking himself later that night. He led The Dangerous Alliance , consisting of himself, Paul E. Dangerously , Madusa , Arn Anderson , Bobby Eaton , Larry Zbyszko , and "Stunning" Steve Austin . On November 19, 1991, Rude defeated Sting for
1408-656: A color commentator for WCW with Eric Bischoff . When Scott Hall , the former tag team partner and former co-holder of the AWA World Tag Team Championship with Curt Hennig, made his return to WCW in 1991, DDP added him to his stable. Hall was named the Diamond Studd, whose gimmick was similar to Ravishing Rick Rude 's with the added element of a monster big man heel. It was during this time that he also started using toothpicks and debuted his trademark toothpick fling. He squashed Tommy Rich in his debut on
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#17328592552481536-419: A conflict between their respective teams at the 1989 Survivor Series in which both men brawled to a double count-out. Rude would go on to have many matches with Piper including inside a steel cage on December 28, at Madison Square Garden losing the majority of them, before having a brief program against Jimmy Snuka getting a win over him at WrestleMania VI . Rude resumed his conflict with The Ultimate Warrior in
1664-401: A ditzy bimbo, but quickly changed character to innocent and disapproving of his cheating ways. In 1995, she left Page ( kayfabe ) when Johnny B. Badd freed her from Page in a match. The Diamond Doll name was not used after that as Kimberly went by her first name until leaving the sport in 2000. Diamond Dallas Page Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr. , April 5, 1956),
1792-460: A dropkick. Gordon Solie interviewed Rude the following week, with Rude discussing transitioning from arm wrestling to pro wrestling and dropping weight to increase speed. He returned to Memphis in 1984, this time as "Ravishing" Rick Rude, an overconfident, arrogant heel managed by Jimmy Hart . Rude feuded with Jerry Lawler and later his former partner, King Kong Bundy . He later debuted in WCCW in
1920-610: A guitar. Page then entered a feud with Mike Awesome , who defeated him in an Ambulance Match at The Great American Bash after Kanyon turned on Page. Page took some time off shortly after this, but returned in late 2000 as a full-time wrestler. After Page came back he formed a tag team with Kevin Nash called The Insiders , and the team won the WCW World Tag Team Championship on November 26 at Mayhem by defeating Perfect Event ( Shawn Stasiak and Chuck Palumbo ). The team
2048-500: A hero again and feuded with both Kanyon and Bigelow before the year ended. In 2000, with WCW under new management, Page earned a shot at the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Spring Stampede against Jeff Jarrett . In a surprise twist, Page's wife, Kimberly, turned on Page and helped Jarrett become the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Page got the better of Jarrett on the April 24 episode of Nitro , where he defeated Jarrett in
2176-536: A house show in West Palm Beach, Fl. World Championship Wrestling announced a tournament to crown the NWA World Tag Team Champions on May 2, 1992; Dallas Page proceeded to crash the event and brought bags of letters of support for overturning his ban. Kip Frey relented, and Page had his TV time and wrestling license restored. He teamed with Thomas Rich to defeat Firebreaker Chip and Bob Cook in
2304-531: A losing effort to Jushin Thunder Liger and Bill Kazmaier . In regards to this period, he stated: "Bischoff gave me the job as I was a good example of work ethic, passion and someone that cares about the business. Since they wouldn't really book me, I went down to the WCW Power Plant every day I wasn't working. That's how you adapt to adversity. Even when I started to make it, I still kept going back. Until I
2432-611: A match against Kamala that he lost, and then went on to (NWA) affiliate Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) where he and a variety of tag team partners feuded with The Road Warriors . Rude was hired by Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) in December 1984, where he was managed by Percy Pringle . He defeated Pez Whatley for the NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship on January 16, 1985, and lost it to Brian Blair on April 10, 1985. He captured
2560-473: A routine where, before the match, he would make a show of removing his robe (likely inspired by Austin Idol 's disrobing routine) while insulting the males in the crowd (usually calling them "fat, out-of-shape sweathogs") from their hometowns and, after his victories, he would kiss a woman whom Heenan selected from the audience. One of Rude's trademarks was his specially airbrushed tights that he wore during matches. In
2688-555: A second pair of tights under the one he wore to the ring, including during his match against the Junkyard Dog at the inaugural SummerSlam . During the match Rude had the JYD on his back and had climbed to the top turnbuckle. While up there he pulled down his tights to reveal a second with Cheryl Roberts printed on them. After hitting the Dog with a flying fist, he was attacked by Roberts who had seen
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#17328592552482816-582: A series of injuries, he allowed his contract with the company to expire in 2002. He worked for TNA from 2004 to 2005, challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of Destination X 2005 . On March 31, 2017, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Eric Bischoff . He is considered "one of the finest WCW legends in history." Since 2012, Page has run a mail order and online fitness video business called DDP Yoga, based on yoga and dynamic self-resistance . Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr.,
2944-497: A small contract in early 1991. Page came to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in January 1991 to become the manager of The Fabulous Freebirds ( Jimmy Garvin and Michael P.S. Hayes ). He made his debut on February 3, 1991, on The Main Event , when Paul E. Dangerously introduced Page to the audience in an interview on the show's wrestling news segment The Danger Zone . Page managed
3072-633: A small contract in early 1991. DDP came to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1991 as manager of The Fabulous Freebirds ( Jimmy Garvin and Michael P.S. Hayes ). Page managed the Freebirds to a shot at the NWA World Tag Team Championship where they defeated Doom ( Butch Reed and Ron Simmons ) on February 24. During this match, DDP introduced the Diamond Dolls in WCW. Page also worked as
3200-596: A stable that also included Madusa. The idea of adding him to the Dangerous Alliance fell through, however, and he left WCW shortly after. The following year, after Scotty Flamingo also left the stable, Page teamed with Vinnie Vegas as the Vegas Connection . The Vegas Connection never returned to WCW until 2001 under the name "The Insiders", because Page was fired from WCW shortly after the team's debut due to his torn rotator cuff . The injury occurred in late 1992 in
3328-505: A tag match with Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce (later known as The Godwinns ). The Diamond Dolls were the professional wrestling valets that accompanied Diamond Dallas Page to the ring in the American Wrestling Association and World Championship Wrestling . When DDP was signed to appear as a manager in the AWA in 1987, he wanted to be over the top. So Page decided to bring along some "Diamond Dolls", pretty women who accompanied him to
3456-489: A tag team. The following month at Against All Odds , Page and Brown defeated Team Canada ( Bobby Roode and Eric Young ). Page received an NWA World Heavyweight Championship title shot on March 13 at Destination X , but was defeated by reigning champion Jeff Jarrett when Brown turned heel and hit Page with the Pounce. At Lockdown , Page teamed with B.G. James and Waltman to defeat Jeff Jarrett, Monty Brown and The Outlaw in
3584-708: A tour of Germany for World Wrestling Superstars in the summer of 1993, Page re-signed with World Championship Wrestling. He made his return on the December 19, 1993 edition of The Main Event , losing to Scott D'Amore via countout. He closed the year by defeating "Jungle" Jim Steele at a house show in Kennesaw, GA Page had returned with his wife Kimberly as the Diamond Doll, and an on-screen bodyguard , Max Muscle . He held open arm wrestling challenges to win Kimberly, but Max always helped him win or arm wrestled for him. He
3712-574: A tryout with the WWF as an announcer, but wasn't offered a job. At WrestleMania VI , he drove Rhythm and Blues ( The Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine ) to the ring in his pink Cadillac . At this time, he was virtually unknown in the World Wrestling Federation . When FCW went out of business, Page was still involved in the club business until Dusty Rhodes returned to World Championship Wrestling . Rhodes started booking and brought him in on
3840-485: Is " Power Yoga ", an American-style version of " Ashtanga Style " yoga. Page worked with chiropractor Dr. Craig Aaron, and developed the Yoga for Regular Guys Workout . Page developed the book into a series of workout videos titled DDP Yoga (formerly YRG). DDP Yoga was featured in a video about Arthur Boorman in May 2012. The story was picked up by the mainstream media, including Good Morning America . The video describes
3968-536: Is an American retired professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name " Diamond " Dallas Page (often shortened to DDP ). In the course of his wrestling career Page has wrestled for mainstream wrestling promotions World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE ), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Page first broke into
The Diamond Exchange - Misplaced Pages Continue
4096-483: Is the fourth WCW Triple Crown Champion , and the only United States Heavyweight Champion to defend the title in a pay-per-view main event, defeating Bret Hart at the 1998 World War 3 . After WCW was sold in 2001, Page signed with the WWF where he made his pay-per-view debut in the main event of July's Invasion show, and went on to become a one-time WWF European Champion and one-time WWF World Tag Team Champion . Due to
4224-511: The 1989 Royal Rumble pay-per-view in a "Super Posedown" that ended with Rude attacking Warrior with a metal pose bar. With help from Heenan, Rude won the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship from The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania V , before dropping it back to Warrior at SummerSlam that same year, due in large part to interference from "Rowdy" Roddy Piper . Rude then feuded with Piper which led to
4352-521: The D-Generation X stable alongside Shawn Michaels , Triple H , and Chyna . On November 17 of that year, in the midst of the Monday Night War , he became the only person to appear on the WWF's Raw and WCW's Monday Nitro programs on the same night, as the former was pre-recorded and Rude had left for WCW in the interim. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017. Rude
4480-664: The Dallas Cowboys . His brother Rory and sister Sally were raised by their maternal grandmother. Falkinburg lived with his father from age three to eight. His father took him, at eight years old, to live with his grandmother, who raised him. Falkinburg admitted in his autobiography he is dyslexic . He had many challenges hit him throughout his childhood and educational years. He attended St. Joseph's High School (now Donovan Catholic High School ) in Toms River, New Jersey , for his freshman and second years, spending his first season on
4608-641: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship , making his intentions clear on August 28, 1993, when he was the guest on then-champion Ric Flair 's "A Flair For the Gold" talk segment. Rude defeated Flair for the title in September 1993 at Fall Brawl . As WCW had recently withdrawn from the NWA, WCW lost the rights to continue using the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. WCW created their own championship, dubbing it
4736-498: The United States Heavyweight Championship and engaged in a number of high-profile feuds, including one with Ricky Steamboat . At one point during their feud, Steamboat suffered a kayfabe broken nose in a gang attack. In 1992, Rude and Madusa left The Dangerous Alliance and feuded with Nikita Koloff . Rude challenged reigning World Heavyweight Champion Ron Simmons on several occasions but failed to win
4864-633: The WCW International World Heavyweight Championship , which Rude lost to Hiroshi Hase on March 16, 1994, in Tokyo , Japan . Rude regained the title just eight days later in Kyoto , Japan. After dropping the title to Sting on April 17 at Spring Stampede , Rude pinned Sting on May 1 at Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoka to become a three-time champion. Rude, however, injured his back during
4992-801: The WCW Power Plant where Buddy Lee Parker , The Assassin , and Dusty Rhodes trained the 35-year-old rookie. He debuted as a wrestler in a tag team match later that year. With the Diamond Studd, he faced Kevin Sullivan and his partner. He was relegated to the " jobber " list. He made his wrestling pay-per-view debut at Starrcade in 1991, teaming with Mike Graham in a losing effort to Jushin Thunder Liger and Bill Kazmaier . Page continued wrestling and brought other wrestlers into his stable, such as Scotty Flamingo (who later became better known as Raven) and Vinnie Vegas (Kevin Nash) in 1992. The relationships between DDP, Flamingo, and Vegas were used in many angles over
5120-523: The WCW World Television Championship . In the build-up to his first title defence at Halloween Havoc , there was growing dissension between Page and Kimberly. Johnny B. Badd defeated Page for the TV title and again at World War 3 on November 26, winning Kimberly's freedom from DDP. At Uncensored on March 24, 1996 The Booty Man with Kimberly as The Booty Babe defeated Diamond Dallas Page in
5248-497: The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony on March 31, 2012. On July 2, 2012, Page made an appearance on Raw , where he hit a Diamond Cutter on Heath Slater . He also appeared at Raw 1000 , accompanied by other WWE Legends, during Slater's match with Lita . On the January 6, 2014, episode of Raw , Page, along with a number of other legends, appeared on the show as part of its "Old School" theme. On April 5, Page inducted his wrestling mentor and noted DDP Yoga practitioner Jake Roberts into
The Diamond Exchange - Misplaced Pages Continue
5376-655: The WWE Hall of Fame . On January 25, 2015, at Royal Rumble , Page was a surprise entrant in the Rumble match, entering at number 14 and hitting his finishing move, the Diamond Cutter, on Stardust , Bray Wyatt and Fandango from the top rope, before being eliminated by Rusev . At WrestleMania 32 , Page competed in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but was eliminated by Konnor . On March 31, 2017 , Page
5504-614: The World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The NWA American Championship was renamed the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship while Rude was still holding the title. As a result, Rude became the promotion's first world champion. After losing the title to Chris Adams in July 1986, he fired Pringle and briefly replaced him with his sister, Raven. He formed a short-lived tag team with The Dingo Warrior , but
5632-525: The full beard he had been sporting during his last few weeks in the WWF. Rude also appeared on ECW's Hardcore TV during that weekend (November 14–16 as the show was syndicated differently depending on the market). Rude was still making ECW appearances while he was in D-Generation X , as the WWF and ECW often co-operated in terms of talent. In WCW, Rude became a member of the New World Order (nWo), managing his friend Curt Hennig . Thus, Rude became
5760-699: The " jobber " list. Page would make his debut at Clash of the Champions , losing to PN News at Clash of the Champions XVIII. He would also lose matches to Ron Simmons , The Steiner Brothers , Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes , Van Hammer , The Freebirds, Nikita Koloff and Tom Zenk. On February 29, 1992, he was defeated by Big Josh in the opening dark match at the SuperBrawl II PPV. In April 1992 he began teaming with Richard Morton ( Ricky Morton ) following
5888-493: The AWA World Heavyweight Title for about 53 weeks, before losing it to Jerry Lawler on May 9, 1988. On August 27, 1988, DDP introduced Colonel DeBeers as the new member of his stable. During that short time, DeBeers would try to force his opponent to leave on a stretcher. As many other promising-yet-underexposed AWA stars had before him (including Hulk Hogan , Rick Martel , and Bobby Heenan ), Hennig left
6016-492: The AWA for the World Wrestling Federation in the fall of 1988, weeks after his AWA Title reign ended. Badd Company and Madusa faced the team of the Top Guns ( Ricky Rice and Derrick Dukes ) and Wendi Richter at the only AWA pay-per-view SuperClash III on December 13, 1988. Both Badd Company's Tag-Team Title and Wendi Richter's AWA World Women's Championship were on the line, but since Richter pinned Miceli, Badd Company remained
6144-567: The Alliance lost at Survivor Series , Page, along with the rest of the Alliance members, kayfabe lost their jobs. Page eventually returned as a face and won his job back by defeating Big Boss Man on the January 17, 2002, episode of SmackDown! . Page competed in the Royal Rumble match at the titular event on January 20 but did not win. Page became the WWF European Champion on
6272-630: The April 18 episode of SmackDown! , he sustained a serious neck injury during a match with Hardcore Holly , after botching a superplex. After receiving opinions from multiple doctors, Page announced his retirement in June 2002. He left the promotion soon after. In 2004, Page made his in-ring return by wrestling for several independent promotions . His first match was on April 21, 2004, teaming with Satoshi Kojima as they lost to former WCW star Sting and The Great Muta for HCW Battle Hawaii. He signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He debuted for
6400-735: The August 31, 1991 episode it was announced by commentators that the Studd and Page had indeed parted ways. Dallas Page would make his debut as a wrestler on August 22, 1991, at a house show in Jacksonville, FL, losing to Tom Zenk in 90 seconds. As he continued his training Page became a commentator for WCW programming. He also resumed managing Scott Hall; however, he would not return to the ring until November 25, 1991, when he teamed with The Diamond Studd to defeat Chris Sullivan and Brian Lee on WCW World Championship Wrestling (the future WCW Saturday Night ). At
6528-649: The August 6 episode of Raw when Kanyon helped Page attack The Undertaker backstage. Three days later on the August 9 taping of SmackDown! , Page and Kanyon defeated the APA to win the WWF Tag Team Championship . His feud with the Undertaker culminated when Undertaker and Kane defeated Page and Kanyon at SummerSlam on August 19, 2001, in a Steel cage match for the WWF Tag Team Championship. During
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#17328592552486656-469: The Beach , Scott Hall and Randy Savage defeated Diamond Dallas Page and Curt Hennig. Curt Hennig, who Diamond Dallas Page had recruited personally to join WCW and team with him, turned on DDP during the match. Hennig defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a grudge match at Road Wild . At Fall Brawl , Page teamed with Lex Luger to defeat Scott Hall and Randy Savage in a No Disqualification match . Page even dressed up as masked wrestler La Parka and beat Savage on
6784-581: The Butcher , Cactus Jack , and Big Van Vader lost to Sting , El Gigante , and the Steiner Brothers ( Rick and Scott ). On the November 19 edition of Clash of the Champions XVII , Studd lost to Zenk in a rematch from The Great American Bash. With rumors that WCW wanted to take the Diamond Studd away from him, DDP decided to take the advice of Magnum T. A. and begin to wrestle himself. He headed to
6912-411: The Freebirds to a shot at the NWA World Tag Team Championship where they defeated Doom ( Butch Reed and Ron Simmons ) on February 24. Before that match took place, Page unveiled the stable's new road manager, Big Daddy Dink, formerly known as Oliver Humperdink , who interfered in the match. During this match, Page introduced the Diamond Dolls . In April 1991 he added Scott Hall to the stable under
7040-835: The Great at PICW event. On October 15, 2011, DDP teamed with Kevin Nash as they defeated The Rock 'n' Roll Express at AWE Night Of The Legends. In late 2010, Page agreed to work on a DVD for WWE, titled The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro , after being approached on the project due to his ties to WCW. Page hosted the DVD, which was released on June 7, 2011. On the June 27 episode of Raw , Page made an appearance promoting this DVD with Booker T. In 2012, Page appeared on WWE Classics on Demand in Legends of Wrestling Roundtable: Renegades along with Jim Ross , Michael P.S. Hayes , Roddy Piper , and Gene Okerlund . Page also appeared alongside Kevin Nash and X-Pac at
7168-430: The JV basketball team and making the varsity squad as a sophomore. He transferred to Point Pleasant Borough High School in Point Pleasant, New Jersey , where he was a star basketball player with the Panthers. He attended Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina briefly before leaving school to work full-time. Page ran a nightclub in Fort Myers, Florida called Norma Jeans (known for its pink Cadillac) while he
7296-399: The January 31, 2002, episode of SmackDown! , when he defeated Christian , a former follower of his positive "philosophy." At WrestleMania X8 , Page successfully retained in a rematch against Christian. He lost the title to William Regal on an episode of SmackDown! that aired March 21. On March 25, Page was drafted to the SmackDown! brand as part of the 2002 WWF draft lottery . On
7424-622: The July 5 episode of SmackDown! , Page competed against WCW Champion Booker T, but failed to win the title after a distraction from the Undertaker. On the July 9 episode of Raw , WCW owner Shane McMahon and ECW owner Paul Heyman joined to create The Alliance , with former WCW and ECW alumni joining forces in an attempt to take control of the WWF. At the Invasion pay-per-view, Page formed part of Team Alliance alongside Booker T, Rhyno and The Dudley Boyz , defeating Team WWF, after Team WWF member Stone Cold Steve Austin turned on his team members mid-match. Page and Chris Kanyon reunited on
7552-403: The July 7 edition of Monday Nitro. Around this time, Page also started fighting nWo leader, Hollywood Hogan . Page and Savage battled for the last time at Halloween Havoc . The match was billed as a Las Vegas sudden-death match, where Savage pinned Page after Hogan, dressed as Sting , came out and hit Page with a baseball bat in his already "injured" midsection, resulting in Savage picking up
7680-403: The June 14 edition of Clash of the Champions XV , and he defeated Tom Zenk at The Great American Bash . Hall received a significant push in his early days with WCW, but by the end of 1991 this began to fade, starting with the September 2 edition of Clash of the Champions XVI , where Studd was defeated by Ron Simmons . At Halloween Havoc: Chamber of Horrors , the team of Studd, Abdullah
7808-468: The October 26 episode of Nitro , with a win over Bret Hart to capture the United States Heavyweight Title. The two headlined the following month's World War 3 , in a title match which Page won. Page lost the title to Hart on the November 30 episode of Nitro in a No Disqualification match , when he was assaulted by The Giant. Page became WCW World Heavyweight Champion in April 1999, at Spring Stampede when he defeated Sting, Hogan, and Ric Flair for
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#17328592552487936-423: The Roberts angle, Rude tried to get Roberts' real-life wife, Cheryl, to participate (though not knowing when Heenan chose her that she was in fact Roberts' wife). After Mrs. Roberts rejected him and revealed who she was there to see, Rude became angry (after she slapped him and according to Jake, busting his eardrum ), grabbed her wrist, and berated her on the microphone when Roberts ran from the dressing room to make
8064-445: The TWA Spring Spectacular II event held by the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance in Philadelphia, PA. He faced Paul Orndorff and lost by disqualification. Two months later he joined All Japan Pro Wrestling for their Summer Action Series 1991, making his initial appearance on July 6, 1991, at a show in Yokosuka, Japan. In his first match on the tour, he teamed with Johnny Ace to defeat Billy Black and Joel Deaton . In singles matches Rude
8192-423: The WWF as the "insurance policy" of the group that would become known as D-Generation X (DX) ( Shawn Michaels , Triple H , and Chyna ). The D-Generation X name was first used on October 13, 1997. As a member of DX, Rude never wrestled, but stayed ringside during the group's matches. A few days after the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series , Rude once again left the WWF. According to Bret Hart , Rude stayed in
8320-483: The WWF was with Heenan's former muscle bound charge "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff (whom Heenan had dropped after Rude joined the Family), their feud culminated in Rude defeating Orndorff on November 24, at Madison Square Garden . He would kickstart 1988 by challenging Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship on January 9, at the Boston Garden but failed to win the title before starting one of his most famous feuds with Jake "The Snake" Roberts . Rude had
8448-446: The WWF's Raw Is War and WCW's Monday Nitro in the same night on November 17, 1997. A mustached Rude appeared on Nitro , which was live, and proceeded to criticize Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels, DX, and the WWF, calling the company the " Titanic " (a reference to Titan Sports, as WWF's parent company was then known, as the "sinking ship"). An hour later on Raw Is War (which had been taped six days earlier), Rude then appeared with
8576-402: The Warrior turned on him and became a face. In September 1986, Rude returned to JCP and joined Manny Fernandez and his manager Paul Jones in their rivalry with Wahoo McDaniel. Rude and Fernandez, known collectively as the "Awesome Twosome", won the NWA World Tag Team Championship on December 6, 1986, from The Rock 'n' Roll Express , and they began a feud that ended only when Rude left
8704-500: The World Championship picture again by facing Scott Steiner . Their feud hit a climax at WCW's final PPV Greed , saw Page's final match in WCW as he passed out in Steiner's finisher, The Steiner Recliner , after refusing to tap out. When WCW was purchased by WWF owner Vince McMahon in 2001, Page was one of the few major WCW stars (along with Booker T and Buff Bagwell ) who accepted buyouts of their AOL Time Warner contracts in order to immediately sign with McMahon. He debuted in
8832-404: The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on the June 18, 2001, episode of Raw when he unveiled himself as the stalker of The Undertaker 's wife, Sara. Page revealed he didn't care about Sara; he only did it to make an impact and wanted to take on the "biggest dog in the yard". At King of the Ring , he fought The Undertaker in an unsanctioned brawl that was never announced as an official match. On
8960-412: The action from the dressing room. Roberts attack on Rude caused the JYD to be disqualified, giving Rude the win. Rude lost to Roberts in a Rude Awakening vs. DDT match on October 24, at Madison Square Garden. Rude's feud with Roberts came to its conclusion when Roberts pinned Rude following a DDT during the 1988 Survivor Series . Rude's next big feud was with The Ultimate Warrior and began in January at
9088-423: The belts, losing the straps to McDaniel and Haynes on July 9, 1985. Debuting on October 18, 1985, Rude jumped to World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) along with Pringle, where he feuded with Kevin Von Erich and Chris Adams . During his time in WCCW, Rude captured the NWA American Heavyweight Championship on November 4, 1985. However, WCCW withdrew from the NWA on February 20, 1986, and changed its name to
9216-578: The champions. In 1988, Madusa was also the first woman to be awarded Pro Wrestling Illustrated ' s Rookie of the Year. Badd Company held the AWA Tag Team titles for a year before losing the titles on March 25, 1989, to “the Olympians" ( Brad Rheingans and Ken Patera ). Shortly after their loss, they split from Page and had a short feud against each other before wrestling in singles competition until early 1990. At
9344-507: The championship again on July 20, 1985, when he defeated Mike Graham in the finals of a Southern title tournament. He held the belt until October 2 of that year when he dropped it to Wahoo McDaniel , who was booking Florida during this time. While teaming with Jesse Barr , he won the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship on April 16, 1985, and feuded with Billy Jack Haynes and Wahoo McDaniel over
9472-448: The company on the November 12 taping of Impact! , where he attacked Raven , beginning a feud between the two. At Turning Point on December 5, DDP defeated Raven. and at Final Resolution in January 2005, Page competed in a three-way elimination match to determine the number one contender for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship also involving Monty Brown and Kevin Nash, which was won by Brown. Page and Brown subsequently formed
9600-497: The couple remained together until his death in 1999. They had three children together, Richard Jr., Merissa, and Colton. His younger son, Colton, died on September 3, 2016, in a motorcycle accident in Rome, Georgia , at the age of 19. Bret Hart has stated that in spite of his womanizing, "Ravishing One" persona, Rude was a devoted family man who never took his wedding ring off even during matches, but instead covered it up with tape. Rude
9728-613: The dark match of WrestleWar '92 on May 17, 1992. On the June 13, 1992 edition of WCW Saturday Night he faced WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sting in a non-title matchup and was defeated. On June 20, he teamed with Tracy Smothers and Richard Morton in a losing effort to The Junkyard Dog, Tom Zenk, and Big Josh in the dark match of Beach Blast 92 . Page continued to wrestle and gradually brought other wrestlers into his stable, The Diamond Mine , such as Scotty Flamingo (Raven) and Vinnie Vegas (Kevin Nash). The relationships between DDP, Flamingo, and Vegas were used in many angles over
9856-514: The dissolution of The York Foundation . The duo faced Ron Simmons & The Junkyard Dog , The Steiner Brothers and The Freebirds on the house show circuit but were unsuccessful. On the April 25, 1992 episode of WCW Worldwide it was announced that Kip Frey had banned Page from any non-wrestling appearances in WCW, and ultimately eliminated his wrestling license. Meanwhile, on April 30, 1992, he garnered his first significant singles victory of his nascent career when he pinned Marcus Alexander Bagwell at
9984-462: The eldest of three children, was born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey , the son of Sylvia (née Seigel) and Page Falkinburg Sr. He was raised by his father during his early years after his parents divorced. He stated that he is of German, Irish, and Dutch origin. Falkinburg/Falkenburg is also the name of multiple German villages and at least three German castles. The name "Dallas" came from his love of
10112-730: The end of the Hogan versus Warrior match and all of the DDP versus Goldberg contest. WCW decided to air the Goldberg versus DDP title bout in its entirety on the October 26 episode of Nitro , which proved immensely popular in the ratings and resulted in a ratings win for Nitro over Raw – the last win Nitro ever had. Despite this setback in the World title picture, Page rebounded this same following night of Halloween Havoc, on
10240-598: The first ever Dynamite Diamond Ring as a prize for defeating Adam Page . On January 15, 2020, at Bash at the Beach , Page had his last match, teaming with Dustin Rhodes and Q. T. Marshall to take on MJF and The Butcher and The Blade in a losing effort. Page developed a yoga fitness program initially called Yoga for Regular Guys Workout ( YRG ), after discovering the health benefits of yoga through his then-wife Kimberly while he recovered from ruptures to his L4/L5 discs in 1998. His favorite kind of yoga (according to his "Yoga for Regular Guys" book published in 2005)
10368-583: The first wrestler to be part of both DX and nWo. When the nWo split, Hennig and Rude initially sided with the nWo Wolfpac during May 1998. But their time with the "Red & Black" was very brief. At The Great American Bash , they turned on fellow Wolfpac member Konnan by attacking him after he lost to the then-undefeated Goldberg , resulting in Hennig and Rude both joining nWo Hollywood instead. By late 1998, both Rude and Hennig were off WCW television due to injuries. Hennig had an ongoing leg injury that year, and Rude
10496-509: The following months. Page went in the corner of Scotty Flamingo, at Clash of the Champions XXI on November 18, 1992, when Flamingo fought Johnny B. Badd in a worked boxing match . Flamingo won this bout with a little help from Page and Vinnie Vegas who filled Flamingo's glove with water. Studd formed short-lived tag teams with Vinnie Vegas and Scotty Flamingo, while also teaming with members of Paul E. Dangerously 's Dangerous Alliance ,
10624-410: The following months. Page went in the corner of Scotty Flamingo, at Clash of the Champions XXI on November 18, 1992, when Flamingo fought Johnny B. Badd in a worked boxing match . Flamingo won this bout with a little help from Page who filled Flamingo's glove with water. The following year, after Studd and Flamingo left the stable, Page teamed with Vinnie Vegas as the Vegas Connection . The team
10752-626: The girls that worked at his club. The team's first feud was against The Midnight Rockers , whom they defeated for the AWA World Tag Team Championship on March 19, 1988. Badd Company then feuded heavily with Chavo and Mando Guerrero . When the AWA World Heavyweight Champion Curt Hennig began being associated with the AWA World Women's Champion Madusa Miceli , they joined the Diamond Exchange. Hennig would hold
10880-551: The journey of Arthur Boorman, a disabled veteran who was told by doctors he would never walk again. After spending fifteen years on crutches, Boorman followed Page's yoga plan for ten months and documented his progress on home video. He lost 140 pounds and regained the strength and flexibility to walk and run without his crutches, back braces or leg braces. Rick Rude Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name " Ravishing " Rick Rude ,
11008-617: The leader of the Diamond Exchange stable. He worked for the AWA at 12 dates over a period of nine months, where they filmed all the television shows in one day. Page also worked as a color commentator in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), soon renamed Professional Wrestling Federation (PWF), where he worked alongside Gordon Solie , before finally debuting as a professional wrestler. Page's first pro match occurred in May 1989 against Dick Slater. In 1990, Page received
11136-556: The locker room during Bret's confrontation with Vince McMahon after the match in Montreal, and later called Eric Bischoff , informing Bischoff that what had happened was in fact real. Rude was not signed to a full-time contract with the WWF, and was instead performing on a "pay-per-appearance" basis. Rude was able to negotiate a deal with Bischoff and WCW, in large part due to his anger over the Montreal Screwjob. Rude appeared on both
11264-491: The main event of ECW Heat Wave 1997 , Rude made a one-off return to the ring in a six-man tag team match, where he partnered with ECW mainstays Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman to face Jerry Lawler and ECW stars Rob Van Dam and Sabu , only to betray Dreamer and The Sandman. During the ECW versus USWA /WWF inter-company competition, Rude helped Lawler win matches against Dreamer and The Sandman. On August 11, 1997, Rude returned to
11392-514: The match was ordered to continue by Eric Bischoff and Nash pinned Page to win the title after a powerbomb. Page dropped out of the title picture shortly thereafter. Shortly after Slamboree, Page entered into an alliance with fellow New Jerseyan Bam Bam Bigelow and won the WCW World Tag Team Championship from then champions Perry Saturn and Raven on May 31, thanks to Chris Kanyon turning heel on former ally Raven and costing
11520-501: The match when, upon receiving a suicide dive at ringside, he landed on the corner of the raised platform surrounding the ring; unable to wrestle, he was stripped of the title (with the storyline excuse that he was found to have used the title belt as a weapon in the course of the match). Rude retired shortly thereafter. Rude collected on a Lloyd's of London insurance policy and did not appear in wrestling again until January 1997, when he joined Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as
11648-415: The match, Page was injured, keeping him out of action until late October 2001. While Page was injured, he developed a new gimmick in which he became a motivational speaker. The character involved Page constantly smiling and acting optimistic, with his trademark phrase "That's not a bad thing... that's... a good thing". His return televised match was on November 3 at Rebellion losing to Big Show . After
11776-527: The match. Page regained the WCW World Heavyweight Championship by using a foreign object to hit Nash and take the win and regain the title without actually defeating the reigning champion. Nash became the number one contender shortly after and vowed to get revenge on Page for his friend Hogan, culminating in a match at Slamboree in May. Page originally retained the WCW World Heavyweight Championship after Savage interfered and hit Nash, but
11904-546: The match. Then Page defeated Buff Bagwell on December 9, 2005, at GLCW Blizzard Brawl. In 2006, Page defeated his former Jersey Triad partner Chris Kanyon twice before retiring once again. On August 9, 2009, Diamond Dallas Page made a special appearance for Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) at their Bloodymania III event, aligning himself with the jWo . He hit his trademark Diamond Cutter finisher on Trent Acid . DDP returned to wrestling on January 2, 2010, teaming with Air Paris to defeat Bobby Hayes and Alexander
12032-453: The music video for the song Rising by the band Stuck Mojo . At Fall Brawl, Page won the WarGames main event, and got a World title shot against the undefeated Goldberg at Halloween Havoc . Page did not win the match, but the match was voted WCW Magazine ' s "Match of the Year" 1998. Halloween Havoc ran slightly longer than expected resulting in a number of cable companies blacking out
12160-410: The name of Diamond Studd. Page also worked as a color commentator for WCW with Eric Bischoff . With rumors that the WCW wanted to take the Diamond Studd away from Page, he decided to take the advice of Magnum T. A. and begin to wrestle himself. He headed to the WCW Power Plant where Buddy Lee Parker , The Assassin , and Dusty Rhodes trained the 35-year-old rookie. The advice was fruitful, as on
12288-542: The promotion for the World Wrestling Federation in April 1987. To explain the sudden departure, Jim Crockett, Jr. aired a pre-taped non-title match where the Express defeated Rude and Fernandez and claimed that Rude had been injured as a result. Rude made his World Wrestling Federation (WWF) debut on Superstars of Wrestling on July 15, 1987, as the newest addition to the Bobby Heenan Family . His first major feud in
12416-422: The ring after she refused to leave the match between Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes after match referee Earl Hebner ejected her from the match. On the October 23, 2019, episode of AEW Dynamite , Page returned to TNT programming for the first time in over 18 years , and helped Cody attack Chris Jericho and his stable The Inner Circle . On November 27, 2019, Page returned to Dynamite to present MJF with
12544-521: The ring. They would clean his rings and brush dirt off his coat and strut around the ring to distract his wrestlers' opponents. They were basically there to look good and give his wrestlers an edge. Page's Diamond Dolls in the AWA were waitresses from Norma Jean's, his bar in Ft. Myers, Florida . They were Tonya G. (real name Tanya), Lee Ann and Wendy. Page claimed to have dated all of them and he says he did date Lee Ann in his biography, Positively Page . Tonya G.
12672-781: The same taping, but in a match airing on December 21, 1991, on WCW Pro , Studd and Page would gain their first significant victory when they defeated PN News and Johnny B. Badd . On the house show circuit, Page and Studd suffered their first defeat when they fell to the WCW Patriots in Baltimore, MD on November 27. On the December 21 edition of "World Championship Wrestling", Dallas accomplished his first single victory, defeating Johnny Rich . Later that month he faced former clients Michael Hayes and Jim Garvin in house show matches, losing each encounter. He made his wrestling pay-per-view debut at Starrcade in 1991, teaming with Mike Graham in
12800-407: The save. To retaliate a few days later, Rude came to the ring with a likeness of Cheryl stenciled on the front of his tights. A furious Roberts charged the ring and stripped Rude, appearing to television viewers to leave him naked (as indicated by black-spot censoring Rude's genital area), although the live audience saw him actually stripped to a g-string . Through mid-1988 Rude continued to wear
12928-434: The span of two hours. Sting challenged him to defend his title in the first hour of that night's Nitro and defeated him to regain the title he had lost a year earlier. This ended Page's reign at 15 days, but he gained an opportunity to get the title back ninety minutes later. Nash came to the ring and made a challenge for a four-way match for the title, and the just-dethroned Page joined defending champion Sting and Goldberg in
13056-611: The statements and call out the Boss Man. Rude was scheduled to be a part of a team called the Natural Disasters at the Survivor Series, consisting of Earthquake , Dino Bravo , and The Barbarian against Hulk Hogan and Boss Man's team, but was replaced by Haku after being suspended indefinitely by Jack Tunney. Tunney explained that Rude's comments towards the Boss Man were the reason for his suspension and that his manager Bobby Heenan
13184-669: The summer of 1990 after Warrior had won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship . Rude began rigorous training in preparation for the Warrior, and took a more serious approach by neglecting women and cutting his hair short (a style he would maintain for the rest of his career). The feud culminated in a steel cage at SummerSlam 1990 , wherein Rude was defeated by the Warrior. Next, he was scheduled to feud with Big Boss Man , which had its start when Rude's manager Bobby Heenan started to make degrading comments about Boss Man's mother. Rude would later backup
13312-571: The team the championships. Page, Bigelow, and Kanyon became known as the Jersey Triad and through their alliance with WCW "President for Life" Ric Flair took advantage of the Freebird Rule in their subsequent matches (meaning any combination of the three could defend the championship). The Triad held the titles until June 10, when Saturn and Chris Benoit (now stablemates in The Revolution ) took
13440-455: The time, DDP also worked as a color commentator in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) where he worked alongside Gordon Solie , before finally debuting as a professional wrestler. In 1990, Page received a tryout with the WWF as an announcer, but never got the job. When FCW went down, Page was still involved in the club business until Dusty Rhodes returned to World Championship Wrestling . Dusty Rhodes started booking and brought Page in on
13568-521: The title from them. They regained the belts at The Great American Bash three days later, and lost them to Harlem Heat at Road Wild in August. Later that night, Chris Benoit defeated Diamond Dallas Page to retain the United States title. The group broke up shortly thereafter and Page began feuding with Hogan again, joining Sid Vicious and Rick Steiner in a team effort to take on Hogan, Sting, and Goldberg. Soon after that feud ended Page turned into
13696-489: The title in a Four Way Dance with "Macho Man" Randy Savage as Special Guest Referee . Page pinned Flair after giving Flair the Diamond Cutter. Around this time some fans were starting to boo Page at various WCW events, so shortly after Spring Stampede a decision was made to turn Page heel for the first time in three years. The turn played out slowly at first, with Page undergoing a change in attitude. Then, on April 19, Page defended his title against Goldberg, where he cemented
13824-476: The title. In December 1992, Rude suffered a legitimate neck injury and was forced to forfeit the United States Championship, thus ending his reign of nearly 14 months, a reign that still stands today as the second longest reign in the almost 40-year history of the title. Rude returned alone in April 1993 and tried to reclaim the title from Dustin Rhodes , who had won it while he was injured. The title
13952-568: The tournament final, allowing Guerrero to win. After demonstrating the benefits of the nWo, they asked him to join. He responded by giving them Diamond Cutters on January 25, 1997, at Souled Out , starting a face turn and a feud with the nWo. Soon after, Page began a feud with recent nWo recruit "Macho Man" Randy Savage . On an episode of Nitro , Savage, aided by Scott Hall and Kevin Nash , attacked Page and spray-painted "nWo" on his back. A few weeks later at Uncensored , Savage and Miss Elizabeth "broke" (a worked shoot ) by revealing to
14080-480: The turn by first knocking Goldberg out with brass knuckles and then propping his leg up against the ring stairs and repeatedly smashing it with a steel chair, all while taunting the fans with repeated utterances of "boo me now". Page only stopped when Kevin Nash , an ally of Hogan's who was angry at Page for (kayfabe) injuring Hogan's knee during the match at Spring Stampede, came back from injury and chased him away. On April 26, 1999, Page lost and regained his title in
14208-399: The win. On an episode of Nitro shortly after Halloween Havoc, Page fought Hogan, but was again beaten down by the nWo. At Starrcade , Page won the United States Heavyweight Championship from Curt Hennig . The following year at Uncensored , Page defended the title in a Triple Threat , Falls Count Anywhere contest against Chris Benoit and Raven , putting Raven through a table with
14336-584: The world that Page and Kimberly were, in fact, married. Savage then proceeded to beat up Page, ensuring a future match between the two. At Spring Stampede , in Page's first pay-per-view main event, he and Savage battled in a match where Page emerged victorious, but it was not the end of conflict between the two. A few months later at The Great American Bash , they squared off again in an anything goes, lights out match. The match ended with Savage defeating Page with help from (then) Tag Team Champion Scott Hall. At Bash at
14464-453: The wrestling business in 1988, as a manager in the American Wrestling Association , where he worked for nine months before signing with WCW in 1991. There, he continued as a manager until late 1991, when he became a wrestler. Over a decade in WCW, Page became a three-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion , two-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion , four-time WCW World Tag Team Champion and one-time WCW World Television Champion . He
14592-433: Was also involved in an angle where he was said to have amassed $ 13 million through victories in arm wrestling competitions, then lost it. In summer 1995, he feuded with Dave Sullivan because Sullivan gave Kimberly gifts (and largely because Page was defeated by Sullivan in one of the arm wrestling contests, which earned him a date with Kimberly). At Fall Brawl , Page won his first championship when he defeated Renegade for
14720-430: Was an American professional wrestler who performed for many promotions , including World Wrestling Federation (WWF), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). Rude wrestled from 1982 until his 1994 retirement due to injury, with a final match following in 1997. Among other accolades, he was a four-time world champion, a three-time WCW International World Heavyweight Champion ,
14848-515: Was born in St. Peter, Minnesota to Richard Clyde Rood and Sally Jean Thompson. He attended Robbinsdale High School in Robbinsdale, Minnesota with Tom Zenk , Brady Boone , Nikita Koloff , Curt Hennig , John Nord , and Barry Darsow , all of whom later became professional wrestlers. He was especially close with his childhood friend Curt Hennig. After graduating from Anoka-Ramsey Community College with
14976-424: Was disbanded shortly after its debut when Page tore a rotator cuff in a match against Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce toward the end of 1992 and was later fired, while Nash left WCW for the World Wrestling Federation . Page, determined to continue improving his character, sought the help of Jake Roberts who advised him on the psychological aspects of the business. After his injury had healed and following
15104-513: Was eventually held up after several controversial finishes to matches between the two. After a 30-minute Iron Man Match ended in a 1–1 draw at Beach Blast on July 18, a best-of-three series was set between the two on Saturday Night ; Rude won the first match on August 28, but lost to Rhodes twice on September 4 and 11, losing his chance at regaining the United States Heavyweight Championship. Rude switched his sights to
15232-414: Was found unconscious by his wife and died on the morning of April 20, 1999, at the age of 40 when he suffered from heart failure . An autopsy report showed he died from an overdose of "mixed medications". At the time of his death, Rude was in training for a return to the ring. The effects of gamma-hydroxybutyrate , a narcolepsy prevention drug, may have contributed to his death. On March 6, 2017, it
15360-425: Was held by The Giant . He never received the title shot that he earned that night. Page was feuding with Eddie Guerrero when the New World Order (nWo) was formed. Since Nash and Hall were both former partners of Page, they assisted him in his matches in the tournament being held for the vacant United States Heavyweight Championship . Believing their assistance was not appreciated, Hall and Nash attacked him during
15488-642: Was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in Orlando, Florida. On October 6, 2024, Page announced via his Twitter that he had signed with WWE under a legend contract after his appearance in the crowds at the Bad Blood PPV event. At All In on September 1, 2018, Page accompanied Cody Rhodes in his match against NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis . On May 25, 2019, during their inaugural pay-per-view Double or Nothing , Page escorted Brandi Rhodes away from
15616-477: Was obligated to wrestle the Boss Man in his place. In reality, Rude had a dispute with WWF owner Vince McMahon that led to him leaving the company. After leaving the WWF, Rude attempted to join Herb Abrams' UWF . Still under contract with the WWF, his former company sent a cease and desist order that prevented Rude from appearing on UWF television. He would not wrestle again until May 18, 1991, when he appeared at
15744-469: Was on the road 260 days a year-plus, I was still going to that Power Plant. For five years I went there, because that's how long it took me to get to the top." Page opened 1992 with a house show victory over Brad Anderson in Atlanta, GA, making his wrestling debut at The Omni . This would be his only victory for some time, as the former manager began to wrestle full-time but quickly found himself relegated to
15872-443: Was temporarily stripped of the titles but won them back at Starrcade defeating Stasiak and Palumbo again. Page and Nash lost the titles to Palumbo and Sean O'Haire at Sin in January and broke up shortly thereafter. After his tag team run Page briefly feuded with the returning Kanyon , which saw Kanyon defeat Page at SuperBrawl Revenge , and Page defeating Kanyon the following night on Nitro, ending their feud. Page then moved into
16000-480: Was the one that was always there. Page rarely had them all there at one time. When Page arrived in WCW as the manager of The Diamond Studd and The Fabulous Freebirds , he brought a different Diamond Doll each week. Page's wife, Kimberly Page , made her debut on April 6, 1991, on TBS as one of his Diamond Dolls. When Page started wrestling, he did away with the Diamond Dolls. He brought them back in 1994, when Kimberly became his regular Diamond Doll. She first played
16128-552: Was thought to have had testicular cancer which later turned out to be a spermatocele . Hennig returned to the nWo from his injury at Starrcade without Rude, who was still unable to appear and was not included in the nWo reunion that happened during January 1999. Rude officially left WCW in April 1999, with his last appearance coming on the April 5, 1999 edition of WCW Monday Nitro Backstage Blast. In 1976, Rood married his love interest, Cheryl Holler. The couple later divorced in 1982. Rood married his second wife Michelle in 1988, and
16256-501: Was undefeated, beating Isamu Teranishi and Akira Taue . His final appearance came on July 19, where he teamed with Johnny Ace in a losing effort to Dan Spivey and Stan Hansen . Rude also appeared in International World Class Championship Wrestling (IWCCW), where he had confrontations with The Honky Tonk Man . After spending a year wrestling on select shows on the independent circuit , as well as
16384-460: Was working as a wrestling manager in the American Wrestling Association (AWA). He started managing in 1988, where he handled Badd Company ( Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka ), a team he led to the AWA World Tag Team Championship on March 19. Badd Company was often accompanied by female valets known as the "Diamond Dolls" (Tonya, Jennifer and Torri). During his time in the AWA, Page also managed Colonel DeBeers , Curt Hennig and Madusa Miceli as
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