DDP Explains What Makes Him Want To Help People, His Relationships With Jake Roberts & Buff Bagwell

WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page (DDP) recently joined Insight With Chris Van Vliet for a new interview, where he discussed his philanthropic work, assisting other former wrestlers and WCW and WWE colleagues who have dealt with debilitating injuries or life-threatening addictions throughout their lives, such as Jake Roberts and Buff Bagwell. Below are some highlights from Insight:

DDP on What Makes Him Help Someone Who Asks for It

“I’ve been asked that a lot lately when it comes to legacy and sh*t like that. Why do you still do it? And this is my new line, because I’m selfish. Because you do something for somebody. You’ve read a lot of stuff that people, I don’t even know them, but they’re thanking me, and like I say, it’s not just me. I’ve got just an unbelievable team here, from Steve Yeu to Nadia to Dylan to Kimberly. I mean, we have so many people who really care about other people, and it’s really good. If this is a simulation, I’m going to a good spot.”

On Why It Makes Him Feel Selfish

“Because it makes me feel good about me. I’d say going into my 60s, I really look at every decision. How does that make me feel about me? Because there are things that are heading my way that aren’t rainbows and unicorns and stuff, and some of them were tempting, but nah, not gonna do that. I had a chance, I won’t get into who was or whatever, but they wanted me to play a pedophile. It’s an acting gig. But I wouldn’t do it because one of the things, there’s so much I learned on that little bit of run with WWE. One was know your worth. When someone really wants you, you can’t be afraid to get up and walk away from the table. That’s what Vince McMahon taught me, and I learned that lesson the hard way those first six months I was there, and then I was gone. But he taught me that, and it’s a valuable, valuable, valuable lesson. The other side of it is make sure you really want to do it. If I spend time at four months from 70, and the reason why I say it like that, a lot of people are like don’t tell anybody you’re 50. I was told so many times I could never make it in professional wrestling because I was too old. So I eventually stopped telling people how old I was. I remember I came up with this one day. Someone said, ‘So DDP, how old are you?’ I said, ’29 again.’ [They responded] ‘Oh 29’, and no one listened to the other part. And at some point, I think I was turning 40, because my career hadn’t taken off yet. I was just turning 40, and someone said to me, ‘What’s your birthday?’ I said, ’29 again.’ He goes, ‘You’re not 29.’ I said, ‘I didn’t say I was 29. I said I was 29 again. I can’t afford to think any older.’ And from next year, my career exploded, at the end of my 40s, going into 41 it exploded. So then it became like, this is the 11th anniversary of my 29th birthday. I took that right up to 49, and when we had a party, and someone said, ‘So how old are you now?’ I said, ‘I’m 12 months from 50.’ He went, ‘You’re 50?!’ I went, ‘I didn’t say that.’ So that’s why I lead him with four months now, once it gets to the six-month part, tacking it down, because every time I get older, so far, that’s a positive thing, getting older, I’m still in really good shape, and I don’t beat my body up. I’m smarter.”

DDP on If He Believes Jake Roberts Would Still Be Here Without Him

“Well, Jake would tell you that. It’s pretty unbelievable. When I think about knowing Jake as long as I have, and as well as I have that Macho Man, Roddy, Scott, Hulk, Jake’s outlived everybody, wow, and been sober for over 14 years right now. When I see him and Cheryl together, boy, it’s amazing. Because you would think there is no way, but yeah, because when you have that real love, you just have to be in the right set of mind, and Jake is that guy now.”

On How He Approached the Change or Die Episode with Marcus Bagwell

“There was only a certain time limit that I would allow myself to be with Marcus. I’ve always loved Marcus. I stopped calling him Buff because Buff’s an asshole. I don’t want to be around him, so I would have my 15-minute meter. And the other night, a couple of weeks ago, my daughter, her boyfriend put together a dinner party. His real name is Rock, a great, great guy, but the last to come was Marc and his fiancée, Stacy, who is like Brittany’s second mom. And I thought, oh God, how long am I gonna be able to handle Marcus? We’re sitting right there, we can’t help but talk the whole time. I called him up later. I said, ‘Dude, that’s the best time I’ve had with you since you were like 24.'”

On Bagwell’s Sobriety

“He’s clean now, yeah. [He’s been sober] for three years.”

Diamond Dallas Page was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2017. Earlier this year, he inducted his friend Lex Luger into the Class of 2025.