Diamond Dallas Page joined TNA to prove he still had it and to make Jeff Jarrett look good.
In 2005, Diamond Dallas Page had a short stint in TNA (most recently known as Global Force Wrestling). He debuted in December of 2004 at the TNA Turning Point pay-per-view. By the time he got to TNA, Diamond Dallas Page had worked for both WCW and WWE, holding championship gold in both organizations. At the time of his debut in TNA, he had been out of WWE for over a year. On Fightful Wrestling's podcast The List and Ya Boy, Page discussed how he got into TNA at such a late stage of his career.
"Coming in, Jeff (Jarrett) was in control at that time. He knew me and him had some good matches, I was a name brand, and coming in it would help them get the TV that they wanted. Because back then, they had no TV," said Page. "The money was good. I only had to work twice a month. Sometimes, I'd work five days in a month. So it was really easy on my body," he continued.
Page went on to say a reason for him coming to TNA was to start a feud with the champion Jeff Jarrett. Page said the point was to build him up before losing to Jarrett in order to bring prestige to Jarrett's title reign. The two had their match for the NWA Heavyweight Championship. Afterwards, Page had a handful of matches before leaving the organization. Page who started his in-ring career at the late age of thirty-five years old said he came back to wrestling for one major reason and he got what he wanted out of the experience.
"I wasn't there for any real time. At that time they weren't doing anything better with the money. I was forty-nine. I wanted to come back and say 'Hey, look at what the guy can do at forty-nine years old.' It's not the same guy I was at forty-five, or forty-four, or forty-three," said Page.
Page's time in TNA was the last time he wrestled on a regular schedule. After his wrestling career, he went on to start his DDP Yoga empire. Since his time at TNA, Page has appeared in WWE a couple times in The Royal Rumble and The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale. He also was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Also during his interview, Page was asked his opinion of ex-NFL player and former TNA wrestler Monty Brown who Page had matches with while in TNA. He also discussed Chris Jericho and Page's amazement that Chris Jericho is still wrestling while also touring with the rock band Fozzy. The List and Ya Boy often features interviews with wrestlers and wrestling personalities like Page, Vince Russo, Matt Riddle, and more.
The List and Ya Boy airs Wednesday at 3pm eastern on FightfulPods.com.