Diamond Dallas Page’s work bringing wrestlers back from the brink is one of the most celebrated chapters of his life, and on Cody Rhodes’ What Do You Want to Talk About? podcast, he revealed that Dusty Rhodes nearly became one of those stories himself.
Page told Cody that in the early days of his recovery efforts, Dusty agreed to let him document a turnaround, and did so in unmistakably Dusty fashion.
“He said, ‘If we’re gonna do it, we’re gonna do it right, we’re gonna use YouTube, we’re gonna film it,'” Page recalled. “He freaking went on a rant of, ‘I’m gonna do this, I want to do it with you.'” The plan did not last. “The next day he called me back, [and said] ‘I couldn’t take it. There was cheesecake in the refrigerator, and when I went downstairs, I ate the whole thing. Not doing it.’ Click.”
With Dusty out, Page turned his attention to Jake “The Snake” Roberts, whose comeback became the documentary The Resurrection of Jake the Snake. Page said Roberts’ progress is what ultimately reached Scott Hall, too. “Scott became ready because he saw Jake ready,” Page said. He wanted to title the project around both men, but Roberts pushed back. “I wanted to call it The Resurrection of Jake the Snake and Scott Hall, and he was like, ‘No, this is Jake’s thing,'” Page said.
Page said the most rewarding part is where Roberts stands today. “He’s been 14 years sober,” he said, while noting that Roberts has a complicated relationship with the film that captured his lowest moments. “Jake did not like The Resurrection of Jake the Snake. He liked it, he loved it for what the journey was, but he didn’t want to see it all the time,” Page said. “Who wants to see themselves in that condition?”
Page framed the entire mission as paying forward what Dusty and others gave him. “Want to pay it back,” he said when Cody asked what drives him to keep helping wrestlers reclaim their lives.
If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit What Do You Want to Talk About? with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
