Other Texas Cities And Minerals DDP Tried Before Making It Big

Diamond Dallas Page (real name Page Joseph Falkinburg) is a legend. A bona fide Hall of Fame wrestler, terrific manager, and yoga coach, Page has had a long and storied career. But before his glory days running The Diamond Exchange, Page struggled to find his identity as a wrestler. Let’s look back at some of the personas he tried before hitting the big time as DDP.

Fluorite Amarillo Page

We’ll say this much for ol’ Page Falkinburg: He knew a winning formula when he saw it. “Mineral Name + City Name Page” had all the building blocks of an all-star moniker, it just took some time to get it right. The first try was Fluorite Amarillo Page, who confused fans with his motley purple-white costume. The initials (FAP) also led to a lot of masturbation jokes (though it did play well with the Amarillo cattle inseminator demographic).

Gypsum Abilene Page

A great persona, GAP was sadly hamstrung by both his choice of a softer crystal and initials. In a harbinger of the WWF lawsuit to come, Page was sued by The Gap clothing company for appropriating their letters. Page tried to work out a deal, offering to exclusively wear GAP jeans in the ring, but the apparel giant wouldn’t bite. It’s a shame, because the Gypsum Cutter finishing move was a thing of beauty.

Cinnabar Corpus Christi Page

The flamboyant red costume was a hit, but again, Page chose a problematic acronym. Wrestling fans were NOT fans of CCCP, thinking the wrestler had made the ultimate heel turn and embraced communism. Match after match, Page would enter the arena to boos, screaming, “I’m a proud American!” before fleeing the ring in tears. Page retired the persona in order to save face.

Pyrite Cotulla Page

Fool’s gold indeed! Page’s sparkling personality couldn’t get him past the initials PCP, which earned him a lot of hate—not only from straight edge fans, but from fellow wrestler Dusty Rhodes, who was going through his “Angel Dusty” phase at the time.

Quartz Texarkana Page

Thinking that branding himself as a “cutie” would improve his image as an up and coming wrestling stud, Page debuted his QTP persona. However, it backfired spectacularly. Despite his sharp costume and crystal-clear moves, all he heard was jeers of “Q-Tip!” from the crowd. Page scrapped the character after just three months.

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