6. DDP Got Several Stars Hired By ECW Due To Paul Heyman Connection
During the mid-1990's, Paul Heyman's Extreme Championship Wrestling emerged as a real alternative to both the WWF and WCW. The promotion operated on a tight budget, but somehow managed to provide fans with something completely different in the process. Leaving his comfortable job with the WWF, Scott 'Johnny Polo/Raven' Levy elected to join ECW. It was actually Diamond Dallas Page who put Raven in touch with Paul Heyman, according to Scott Levy himself on Chris Jericho's 'Talk Is Jericho' podcast. Page and the ECW head honcho had been friendly for years, meeting one another years before in WCW. Both had worked as managers, so it makes sense that they were acquainted with one another. It was DDP who encouraged Levy to take the plunge, saying ECW would be perfect for him. Raven wasn't the only one to benefit from Page's connection to Heyman. Johnny Swinger - who spoke to the Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast this week - was looking to leave WCW in 1999, because he wasn't really doing much in the company. DDP recommended ECW as a possible destination for him to make a splash, and helped broker the deal between the wrestler and his new employer.