DDP Almost Paralysed In Final Full-Time WWE Match
WWE Hall of Famer DDP has revealed how his WWE career nearly ended in tragedy.
DDP broke into wrestling relatively late in life but made up for lost time when he became WCW World Champion in 1999. He held that title two more times before WCW shut up shop and Diamond Dallas Page made his way to WWE.
His time in WWE proved to be less illustrious and his career in the company was somewhat cut short after he suffered an injury in a bout against Hardcore Holly in April 2002. DDP went on to compete elsewhere, including a run in TNA, and has even returned to the WWE ring but the match against Holly could have had more dire consequences.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on his Insight podcast, DDP revealed that he went to see a doctor about his neck following that match and the doctor told the master of the Diamond Cutter just how lucky he was:
“I go back about my neck, and [his doctor] goes, ‘Let me show you something,’ and he shows me how bad my neck is. He goes, ‘You were so lucky, if you’d have landed a little right or a little left, you’d be a quadriplegic right now. You would be done.'”
DDP shocked another doctor with his recovery
DDP went on to recall an earlier injury that saw him break his back and noted that after initially being told he was done in the ring, his doctor at that time was amazed by his recovery:
“When my spine guy, who first guided me when I blew my back out and broke my back, he goes, ‘You’re done.’ Three months later, because of what would become [DDP Yoga] I went back to him, he’s like, ‘I’ve never seen this recovery ever, what did you do?’ I told him and I showed him and he goes, ‘Don’t stop doing that, keep doing whatever the f*** you’re doing.'”
DDP last competed in a wrestling ring in January 2020 where he wrestled for the one and only time in AEW. On that occasion, DDP teamed with Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall in a loss to The Butcher, The Blade, and MJF.