20 Secret Highlights Of WCW That WWE Won't Tell You About
5. DDP Was The Real People's Champion
Believe it or not, there was a time when the Rock wasn't the most universally beloved human on planet Earth. In 1997, he was a despised villain, and his claim of being the People's Champion was facetious, a calculated heel move. At the very same moment, though, WCW was busy developing a non-ironic man of the people.
In 1997, Diamond Dallas Page was 41 years old, and finally connecting with audiences in a big way when most guys' careers were winding down. But DDP's career was based on overcoming adversity, and so were his matches. He was never a natural athlete; he didn't make wrestling look easy, and that was part of his appeal. Every match felt like a battle, and he had the entire WCW fan base in his corner. Unfortunately, when the company went under, WWE had their own People's Champ in the Rock, so Page's career high there was a brief European title run. Go back and listen to the reaction DDP got when he first debuted as an ill-conceived stalker, though, and tell me the WWE fans weren't ready to embrace DDP in the same way.