EXCLUSIVE: DDP Says WWE Gave Him Extra Time For His Hall Of Fame Speech
Diamond Dallas Page says his Hall of Fame speech took a lot of effort.
On Fightful Wrestling's podcast The List and Ya Boy, Diamond Dallas Page discussed his Hall of Fame speech from 2017. He said he wanted his speech to follow his career's timeline and be able to thank the other wrestlers who helped him have a prolific career. After many drafts, he ended up with a speech that was longer than expected.
"I probably rewrote that speech, I bet I rewrote it a hundred times. I knew I had to be somewhere around fifteen minutes to twenty minutes. When I told them it might go as long as twenty-six twenty-seven, you know WWE is going to want to hear what you're going to do," said Page. "When they heard what I had planned and how I was going to do the voices, they were like 'keep it under thirty and you're good,'" he continued.
The crowd at the Hall of Fame ceremony included some of the men Page wished to thank like Ric Flair and Jake Roberts among others. Page said he knew his speech would impact the crowd.
"I knew it was funny. I knew it was heartfelt. I knew people were going to cry. I knew they were going to laugh. The most important thing was I wanted them to be inspired," said Page.
While writing his speech, Page said he looked at it like a letter to his "younger self" and as a retrospective. Page referred to the process of writing and giving the speech as "cathartic."
The List and Ya Boy airs Wednesdays at 3:00 p.m. Eastern on FightfulPods.com.
