Speaking of Ready To Rumble, that was a project which made Diamond Dallas Page a nice chunk of change. It was only towards the end of 1990's that Page really started to come into his own as a pro wrestler, rising quickly up the card to become a top name after only a few short years in the spotlight. By 1998, he was earning the big bucks, something which would continue right up until the promotion went out of business in 2001. From 1999 onwards, DDP was guaranteed a payout of $1.25 million per year, a figure which would make him one of the higher paid active talents in the year 2000, as WCW spiraled out of control towards the end. Contrast this with his earlier contract, which was less than half of that sum, and it just shows how rapid DDP's rise up the pay scale was in WCW. Fascinatingly, Page had apparently contacted his pal, Paul Wight, who was performing in the WWF as The Big Show. Intrigued by the possibility of jumping over to the WWF in 2000, Page would stay put and earn good money in Atlanta. That story seems to make sense, as Page cut short a lucrative deal with AOL/Time Warner to join the WWF in 2001 once WCW went to the wall.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
