The life of a pro wrestler is a hectic one. Muscled up, often steroid-filled, testosterone-raging men who travel the globe on a regular basis can get a little grumpy from time-to-time. At times, these guys can lose their cool and get into altercations with each other. In part two of a new editorial series here at eWrestlingNews.com, “Backstage Fight Stories,” we’re going to take a look at another infamous behind-the-scenes brawl that involved two well-known professional wrestlers.
As I get older and the business continues to move ahead, I’m learning more and more that the fan base is filled with a lot of younger fans. I’m learning that stories I’ve heard, that I assume are common-knowledge to all wrestling fans, are actually brand new to this generation. So while you and I may remember these stories as if they happened yesterday, we have to understand that thousands upon thousands of younger fans have never heard of them. If you have, then enjoy reading about them again. If you haven’t, strap on your seat belts because some of them will shock the hell out of you. Today, in part two of our “Backstage Fight Stories” series, we will take a look at Scott Steiner vs. Diamond Dallas Page.
Scott Carl Rechsteiner, who performed during his pro wrestling career as Scott Steiner, was a legitimate amateur wrestler before entering the “professional” level. Rechsteiner wrestled at 190 pounds for the University of Michigan, where he became a three-time Big 10 runner-up after finishing fifth in his freshman year in college. He later became a NCAA Division I All-American and placed sixth in the United States in his senior year.
Page Joseph Falkinburg, who performed during his pro wrestling career as Diamond Dallas Page (DDP), was originally an aspiring basketball player. Fulkinburg played basketball at St. Joseph’s High School (which is now known as Monsignor Donovan High School) during his freshman year on the junior varsity team, and on the varsity squad as a sophomore. Falkinburg later became a mainstay in the nightclub industry before becoming a full-fledged pro wrestler at an older age than most talents who enter the business.
Steiner and Page both worked in WCW during the heyday of the infamous WWE vs. WCW “Monday Night Wars.” Things between the two reached a boiling point in 2001 when Kimberly Page, DDP’s wife at the time, found an illegal substance backstage and allegedly went to WCW management, informing them that it belonged to Tammy “Sunny” Sytch. Sytch denied the accusation and even offered to take a drug test on the spot — which she ended up passing. This is where things got interesting.
Apparently Steiner caught wind of what was happening and literally chased Kimberly out of the building. Subsequently, Kimberly would never appear on WCW television again.
At the following television taping, Steiner cut a shoot promo on Page, who at this point was fed up and felt the need to stand up for not only his wife, but himself as a man. Page ended up waiting for Steiner backstage after he cut the aforementioned televised promo, and this is where all hell broke loose.
As the story goes, DDP, who was waiting for Steiner behind the curtain, confronted the former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler as soon as he made his way backstage. The two allegedly exchanged some heated verbal insults before things got physical. Apparently the two ended up in a clinch, and depending on multiple versions of the story, DDP put a front-face-lock of sorts, or a guillotine choke by today’s mixed-martial-arts standards, on the larger grappler. The two were supposedly separated, but unfortunately for DDP the situation didn’t end there.
Again, there are a number of variations to the story, but apparently Steiner broke free from those holding him back at the time and allegedly went completely berserk. Page, who tried throwing a kick at Steiner, ended up on the ground as the result of a double-leg-dive, or a traditional amateur-style takedown from the man with the legitimate wrestling experience. Here’s where things got ugly, and where details become a bit scarce.
Steiner reportedly went for DDP’s eyes. That’s right, Steiner tried ripping DDP’s eyeballs out of the socket, rendering the “People’s Champion” at the time (Page was calling himself that before “The Rock” was in WWE) blind. Going for the eyes in a legitimate fight is one of many tricks professional wrestlers were taught in the old days when instructed how to really “handle yourself” in a legitimate altercation. “The eyes are the groin of the face,” as was once referenced as a joke on the hit-comedy television series “The Office.”
While it may have served as a joke for the documentary-style television series, truer words have never been spoken. Anyone who has taken a solid shot to the ball-bag knows — game over. At least temporarily. In this case, where several other muscled up bad asses were there to break things up, the game was over for good. DDP allegedly bit Steiner in an attempt to get “The Big Bad Booty Daddy” off of him, and the two were once again separated.
DDP, who had come off as a hero to his fellow WCW employees for standing up to someone who was perceived as a bully, and during the initial scuffle reportedly looked to be holding his own in an impressive fashion, was a mess. His face was apparently in bad shape, with obvious damage suffered during their brief exchanges. Page later claimed that his face resembled “Freddy Krueger” from the popular horror movie series, “A Nightmare On Elm Street.”
For those who would like to hear Diamond Dallas Page tell his version of the story, click here to listen to an excerpt from a radio interview where he spends about five minutes discussing the legitimate backstage fight with Steiner.
So there you have it. Join us next time where we will take a look at another real-life fight in the not-so-real world of professional wrestling. Until next time, this has been another installment of the eWrestlingNews.com ongoing series, “Backstage Fight Stories.”
For those who missed it, click here to check out the first installment of “Backstage Fight Stories,” which features the story of the legitimate fight between Sid Vicious and Arn Anderson, where both guys ended up in the emergency room after being stabbed with a pair of scissors.
For more wrestling editorials, check out the eWrestlingNews.com Editorials Section.
NOTE: The above item is an eWrestlingNews.com opinionated editorial, and should not be confused as a factual news item. Readers can contact the author of the above editorial, Matt Boone, via Twitter @MBoone420 or by posting your immediate feedback in the “Comments” section below.