After sustaining a life-threatening injury in 2002, WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page was forced to put an end to his career in the ring. However, just before he left WWE, he was offered the chance to work as a commentator, just like a great number of other formerly active wrestlers had done before him.
During an appearance on Busted Open Radio, DDP opened up about the offer and mentioned that he had previously participated in a trial that was successful.
“When I left [WWE in 2002], I was so burnt out, Kevin Dunn asked me to go and do a test to be an announcer … They wanted me to do a spot, so I did it. I went up there [to WWE HQ in Stamford, CT] and I did it. Kevin called me back, he goes, ‘I love it. We’re gonna start you, not with SmackDown, we’re gonna start you with the satellite for the first month or two. You get your feet wet, you’ll be on SmackDown. In no time, you’re gonna be on Raw.”
Page, on the other hand, communicated to Dunn that he had no desire to pursue the opportunity any further. In addition to the issue of burnout, he knew in the back of his mind that the then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon would “really scream” through the headset at some of the talent who were doing the announcing gig. Page believes that he would not have been able to handle something like that at that time in his life because it would have been too overwhelming. Dunn, who was still interested in cooperating with Page, encouraged him to give it some thought before telling him that Page had the potential to become “the next Jesse Ventura.” In the end, Page did not accept Dunn’s offer, and he claims that he did not hear from WWE for the next five years.
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