Diamond Dallas Page has created his own brand of yoga
There are many things by which pro wrestling fans remember about Diamond Dallas Page – his supercool finisher, the Diamond Cutter; the five star main event match he had with Goldberg at Halloween Havoc 98; the Diamond Cutter hand sign that inspired Jay Z’s Roc sign; his knockoff-Nirvana entrance music.
But DDP’s greatest legacy is perhaps his brand of yoga, “DDP Yoga.”
Alex French’s superb profile of Page in the New York Times revealed that a handful of wrestlers have credited “DDP Yoga” with saving their bodies, or, in some case, their lives.
Fans of wrestling, yoga, or good sports stories in general should read the piece in its entirety, but if for whatever reason you can’t, here’s a cliff note version, with the most interesting wrestling-related bits:
- Page was introduced to yoga in 1998 by his then-wife, Kimberly (wrestling fans might remember her as DDP’s valet, or as The Booty Babe) after suffering a serious back injury.
- Page began suggesting yoga to fellow wrestlers the next year. Shawn Michaels (who lost four years of his prime to a back injury from 1998 to 2002), Chris Jericho, and Gerald Brisco all say DDP helped them heal from back injuries.
- Jake “The Snake” Roberts, whose life was spiraling out of control in 2011 due to a combination of drug/alcohol abuse, physical ailments, and depression, was convinced by Page to try yoga, which would turn his life around completely.
- The same for Scott Hall (aka Razor Ramon). Page and Roberts reached out to the troubled wrestling star in 2013, when Hall was so addicted to alcohol he was confined to a wheelchair.
- Page called Triple H (real life executive vice president at WWE) about considering Roberts for the WWE Hall of Fame last year. Triple H told Page, “if they can stay clean for another year, a whole year, you call me back, and I’ll strongly consider it.” Both Hall and Roberts were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this past March.