DDP on Shark Tank, Inducting Jake Roberts and Scott Hall’s Comeback

Fred: What’s up, everybody? This is Fred Richani of The Sports Courier, and I have a true wrestling legend and entrepreneur on the line. You may have seen him recently on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” and he’s inducting one of his good friends into the Hall of Fame, with another friend going in the same WrestleMania weekend. He’s DDP, Diamond Dallas Page. Dallas, how’s everything going?

Diamond Dallas Page: Unstoppable, brother. Changing the world, man. You see it happening right before your very eyes.

Fred: A few weeks ago, you were on “Shark Tank” and made an awesome presentation for DDP Yoga. The Sharks, for whatever reason, said they were out, and you, being the true worker you are, no-sold them, said, “You’re going to regret it,” and walked out. It was essentially an awesome infomercial for DDP Yoga. What was the experience like?

Diamond Dallas Page: I loved it. I love that it’s real. Nobody knows what’s going to happen before you go out there, and you work really hard on your presentation. I knew the producers loved what we were doing and loved the story, and for them to let me bring Arthur out there was just unbelievable to me. I didn’t really go there to get a deal with the Sharks. I went there to let the world know about DDP Yoga, and if I got a deal, it would have been on my terms. I’ve been with billionaires before, and when you do things on their terms, it doesn’t always work out for you. When you do them on your own terms, it’s a whole different animal. The show looked great, and the energy was amazing. I can’t even tell you how much business it gave DDP Yoga. It was well over seven figures.

Fred: That’s awesome. We asked fans to submit questions, and the one that kept popping up was whether you wanted to give a Diamond Cutter to Mr. Wonderful.

Diamond Dallas Page: No, I like the Mr. Wonderful character he plays. He’s pretty much himself, sort of like wrestling, where the guys who get over are closer to themselves. I respect the guy and love his energy. The biggest thing they never showed, because a lot of what we filmed didn’t air, was that they couldn’t get over how we made all the money. “How did you do it?” We’re inspiring people. People aren’t just buying it to get healthy. It’s not “Hey, look at my abs.” With DDP Yoga, it’s “Hey, look at my life.” Take two guys who, a year and a half ago, were lost in a bottle somewhere, one of them in a crack house. A year and a half later, they’re both going to the Hall of Fame looking freaking unbelievable. That’s a complete lifestyle change, and that’s what Jake and Scott did. You saw what happened with Arthur Boorman, a disabled vet walking with knee braces, a back brace and wraparound canes. I brought him to the show with me, and he doesn’t just walk. He runs. He made a complete lifestyle change and wanted to own his life. So did Jake Roberts, and so did Scott Hall. They did it by taking control and following the program.

Fred: It is amazing. Scott Hall and Jake “The Snake” Roberts are both going into the Hall of Fame, and you’re inducting Jake. You’ve been working with these guys almost every day to turn their lives around, not just fitness-wise but overall. How are you feeling, seeing it culminate in a Hall of Fame induction?

Diamond Dallas Page: It once again proves that work ethic equals results. If you’re willing to put the work in, just about anything can happen. The moment wasn’t when they got announced. It was when I got the call from Triple H and he told me what was going down. That was the moment. About a year ago, I wanted to bring Jake to the Hall of Fame, not to be inducted, just to walk into the arena with me and watch the show, and they didn’t want him around, because Jake wasn’t ready yet. But when Triple H saw what I was doing with him, he said, “Dude, a year from now, who knows what could happen?” He didn’t promise he’d get him in, but he said, “I would love to put Jake in. Jake belongs in the Hall of Fame, and so does Scott.” I could only tell the part of the story with Jake in it, because I couldn’t talk about Scott before now, but I knew a month ago they were taking him in. Triple H made it happen, but it’s what we did together that made them take notice. I remember telling Jake, after we knew Scott was going to come, “Can you imagine if you and him not only get straight in the same year but in the same house?” He started laughing and said, “Oh my God, I’ll start getting your crown of thorns ready right now.”

Fred: You’re making the speech for Jake. Do you have any idea what you’re going to say, or are you just going to wing it?

Diamond Dallas Page: Are you kidding? You don’t wing something like that. I have a lot of thoughts written out, and I’ll work on those before I go out there. I don’t know if I’ll use them all, but it will be very emotional. It’s something no one wants to miss, because people have been waiting almost 20 years for this. Jake should have been inducted 20 years ago, but 20 years ago, Jake was on a crash-and-burn path and just getting worse as time went on. I’ll talk about that too. The big thing is that he has overcome it today. He’s an alcoholic and a drug addict, and that doesn’t mean he’s going to be there tomorrow, but he’s only looking at today, and that’s all people need to look at: Where are you today?

We started filming “The Resurrection of Jake the Snake,” and it’s going to be an unbelievable movie. You know the buzz “The Wrestler” got over the years, and that fictitious wrestler is supposedly about Jake Roberts or someone very close to him. Now you’re going to see the real movie. My guys are editing it as we speak. For the last 16 months, people have been asking when the movie will be finished, and I said, “When Jake gets to the Hall of Fame.” Where else can you rise from the ashes and hit the resurrection part better than the Hall of Fame? It’s the only thing I put over the world title.

Fred: Are you planning on crowdfunding the film? Do you have a distributor already?

Diamond Dallas Page: DDP Yoga paid for everything. We financed the entire film. We’re not just a fitness company. DDP Yoga is a production company, and what you’re going to see over the next couple of years is some strong stuff. We have another movie we’re about six months away from finishing, called “Inspired,” which is Arthur Boorman’s journey and all the other people who’ve been inspired along the way. We’re taking both movies to film festivals next year. We did raise money for Jake through Indiegogo, because Jake can’t really get insurance, and that paid for his shoulder surgery. That gave the fans a chance to help Jake move forward. This time, I don’t need anybody’s help. I think this movie is going to inspire a lot of people.

Fred: As a guy who did DDP Yoga back when it was called YRG, I know Arthur’s story, and I’m looking forward to that movie as well. WrestleMania is right around the corner, and you’ve been on a couple of WrestleMania cards yourself. You didn’t have to overcome demons like Jake or Scott, but a lot of people doubted you. They said a guy in his 30s couldn’t get to the top, and you became world champion after 40, drew a lot of money and had a lot of great matches in WCW. You wrestled at WrestleMania 18, and about a decade before that, you appeared as a manager in a pink Cadillac.

Diamond Dallas Page: It was actually 12 years before that. I always wanted to work WrestleMania, so I’m glad I got to work that match in Toronto. If you look back at the card, Christian and I had one of the best matches. Of course, The Rock and Hogan was unbelievable. The electricity in the arena was insane. But considering we didn’t have any heat on our angle, I was really happy with the match and how people reacted to it. I also have the same undefeated streak as The Undertaker. I’ve only got one notch on my belt, but we’re both still undefeated.

Fred: With all due respect to WCW and every other organization you’ve worked for, is there any event that comes close to WrestleMania?

Diamond Dallas Page: No, because it is what it is. It’s the spectacle. WWE continues to outdo itself, and I love it. It’s like the Super Bowl. Sometimes it can’t live up to the hype, but it’s still WrestleMania, and there are a couple of great matches every year. A lot of people want to see something really happen for Daniel Bryan, so I’ll be really interested to see what happens going into WrestleMania in two weeks and what happens after that. You never know what’s going to happen in WWE. That’s what I love about it.

Fred: For years, you’ve told fans you can’t make people chant “DDP,” and that’s how you got over. I feel like it’s similar with Daniel Bryan. It’s very organic. People chant his name during other matches. A couple of months ago, fans hijacked a Cena-Orton pay-per-view match with “Daniel Bryan” and “Yes!” chants. What’s your opinion of the “Yes!” Movement?

Diamond Dallas Page: I think it’s awesome. I love the kid. He’s got a great attitude, and he’s a good person. I’d love to see him get the spot the fans want, because the fans buy the tickets. It’ll be interesting to see what happens over the next few months.

Fred: You also had a chance to visit the WWE Performance Center. I’ve heard nothing but great things about it.

Diamond Dallas Page: I think they’ve given them the best educational tool to help teach these kids what the business is all about. That place is amazing. There are seven rings, about 50 guys and about 20 women, and I took them through a DDP Yoga workshop. I played Arthur’s video. If anybody doesn’t know what I’m talking about, go to DDPYoga.com and just watch the video. Don’t even get the program. It will inspire you. Then I talked for about 40 minutes, and I started by asking for a show of hands from anybody who has a problem with the word “yoga.” I raised my hand, and nobody else did. I said, “OK, that was very polite of you, but I’m a guy who wouldn’t have been caught dead doing yoga for the first 42 years of my life.” These kids couldn’t wait for me to get there, and every single one of them asked for the program. A lot of them are doing it on a ritual basis, which is what it takes. What I realized is that people under 28 or 30 get it. It’s men over 35, 40, 45 and 50 who say, “Yoga? You’re doing yoga?” I was that guy, so I get it. These kids are a step ahead of the average bear, because for them, DDP Yoga is their new painkiller and muscle relaxer.

Chris Jericho herniated a disc and believed he would never wrestle again. He believed that for three weeks, until he saw the Arthur Boorman video. He called me and said, “DDP, send me whatever he did. I’ll do whatever you tell me to do.” Five weeks later, he called me and said, “Dude, I’ve got to put you over. I’m 85 percent pain-free. Does everyone feel like this?” In three months, he was 100 percent pain-free, and two years ago, he wrestled CM Punk for the WWE title at WrestleMania. Having someone like Chris Jericho talk about your product when you’re not paying him shows what DDP Yoga is all about. He does it, and he loves it. He’s constantly calling me up to say somebody in whatever band he’s on the road with needs DDP Yoga.

Fred: You’re tight with Rob Van Dam, who’s on the verge of a WWE comeback. Some say he might make a surprise appearance in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. I remember him saying in interviews that he was the only guy backstage who would stretch. You two were the guys who got into the habit of working on flexibility to prolong your careers while other guys dismissed it.

Diamond Dallas Page: I’ve got to put Rob over more than me, because when people were trying to get me to do yoga, I wouldn’t be caught dead doing it. That was my attitude. But when I looked at how crazy flexible Rob was, and he’s not just flexible, he’s strong-flexible, with strong muscles, tendons and ligaments, Rob Van Dam inspired me to take it past simple stretching to what would become DDP Yoga. Make no mistake about it: Rob Van Dam is a stud. He’s an animal.

Fred: Fans submitted some questions about WrestleMania weekend. What will you be doing in New Orleans besides the Hall of Fame?

Diamond Dallas Page: Thursday night, I’m doing a panel for WWE. Friday from 5 to 8 at the Holiday Inn, I’ll be doing a DDP Yoga workshop, and you can find all that at DDPYoga.com under appearances. Friday night, I’m going to make an appearance at Jake and Scott’s show at the House of Blues. Saturday morning, me, Jake and Scott will be at WrestleCon, and that night I’ll induct Jake Roberts into the Hall of Fame. Sunday morning, I’ll be doing a Q&A breakfast with DDP back at the Holiday Inn. And for those who won’t make it to WrestleMania but want to enjoy an amazing retreat, our fourth annual DDP Yoga Retreat is in Mexico, split into two weeks from July 5 to July 15. You can pop in for three days, five days or six days. We work out hard, though you don’t have to do all the workouts, the food is unbelievable, and we party hard at the pool after the second workout of the day. There are going to be some surprise guests. Last year, Dustin Rhodes showed up, and nobody knew he was coming. This year, I’m keeping it intimate, so get over to DDPYogaRetreat.com.

Fred: It’s been a while since you’ve done a movie, and surprisingly, I got five fan questions on the subject. To sum them up: Would you be open to doing “Ready to Rumble 2” so you could get revenge on Jimmy King?

Diamond Dallas Page: That would be preposterous. But I’m glad I did “Ready to Rumble,” because new fans come out of that movie every day, and I’ll be 42 forever there.

Fred: Any other movies on the horizon?

Diamond Dallas Page: There’s one that’s supposed to come out called “Pizza Man,” with Frankie Muniz from “Malcolm in the Middle.”

Fred: Hang on. I’ve heard about that movie for five years. Are they finally releasing it?

Diamond Dallas Page: They’re finally releasing it, and it took that long. Shelley Long and Corbin Bernsen are in it too. We had a great crew, and it’s a fun superhero comedy. It’s the first movie I’ve ever been in with no F-bombs. Not one. It’s made for families, but I think others will get a kick out of it too. I’m also talking to producers about a very dark movie called “Almost Mercy.” If the money works, I’ll do it. If not, I don’t have the time. And I’ll leave you with this, Freddie: If you’ve heard me or other people talk about DDP Yoga, go to DDPYoga.com, where all the info is right there. But if you think, “He’s just trying to sell,” don’t listen to a word I say. Go there and read what people write. You started this interview by saying I’ve always said you can’t make people chant your name. That has to be voluntary. If you get people to chant your name, it’s because they care. It’s the same thing with DDP Yoga. You can’t get people to write stories about what your program did for them. Those come from the heart.

Fred: Sounds good, brother. Always a pleasure talking to you. Have fun WrestleMania weekend, and we’re looking forward to speaking with you when the Jake Roberts movie is out.