LogFAQs > #905810599

#1 - Diamond Dallas Page Nominated by: JONA

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He's a remarkable person both in and out of the ring, he's a man that turned the audience to his side purely thanks to his attitude in an era all about attitude, and he's the people's champion in a company of the biggest stars in the business. It's he, it's he, it's DDP, my #1 wrestler of all time.

I won't deny that fond memories propel DDP higher on this list. But I think of DDP as my home team. You always root for your home team. If wrestling is literature, than Page is the perfect representation of the villain redeemed, the everyman personified, and the vox populi magnified. It can certainly be said that DDP made his own way in the wrestling business. After a good run as a manager in AWA, he began training for active competition at age 35, a point where many wrestlers are already starting to eye retirement. Despite his age, he grew quickly into a reliable in-ring performer with a great deal of natural charisma. Early on he continued his heel persona from his AWA days, but after turning face his everyman persona, charisma and mastery of his Diamond Cutter finisher skyrocketed his popularity with the fans. Had a phenomenal feud with "Macho Man" Randy Savage and later gave Goldberg his career-best match.

The beauty of DDP is that he was willing to work constantly and with great effort. DDP believed in scripting his matches, and this actually worked in his favor. Every match was set up perfectly for DDP to get his character over even if he lost. DDP developed a character based on himself, so his mannerisms and body language really assisted in bolstering what fans saw in the ring. When little expressions are intentional, it can go a long way in defining a character, and DDP was first and foremost a character in wrestling.

When you look at his post-wrestling career and see just how much he is trying to give back to the business with DDP Yoga, you can't help but also root for him in real life as well. Not only has it helped some older talents fight addiction, but it's helped a LOT of younger talent overcome injury and maintain a core level of strength that gets them through long trips on the road in the grueling schedule of a modern worker. So DDP has a legacy that directly impacts a great number of workers.

For me, nothing is greater than DDP delivering a Diamond Cutter. Even Orton can't compare. And when I think of wrestling, my defining wrestling moment is DDP delivering that sneaky Diamond Cutter against the NWO and declaring his allegiance to WCW in what is still the greatest large-scale story in wrestling history. In the greatest era of wrestling history, DDP was my guy.
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