Diamond Dallas Page details how Cody Rhodes has become 'the guy' in WWE

Few wrestling legends know more about being a man of the people than Diamond Dallas Page.

The WWE Hall of Famer exploded onto the scene in WCW in the late '90s and made an immediate impact as a fan favorite, quickly ascending the ranks and capturing the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on three separate occasions.

As discussed in his all-new Biography: WWE Legends documentary on A&E, fellow icon Dusty Rhodes was responsible for breaking the original "People's Champion" into the business, and over 25 years removed from DDP's surge in popularity, his mentor's son Cody Rhodes is forging his own path toward superstardom.

He's been a part of Cody's journey every step of the way, including being in attendance for his second straight Royal Rumble win in Tampa on Jan. 27. DDP spoke to Daily DDT about the experience and how it illustrated to him that Rhodes is very much "the guy" in WWE despite not yet being crowned the champion.

"Everybody was freaking out because I was there, so I said, 'Screw it. I'm going to walk down through the people and I'm going to catch at some point on the ramp,'" he explained. "I just walked through [the crowd] and climbed over the railing. This is why Cody is the ultimate babyface. He's that guy outside of the cameras as well.

"They're not filming anymore," DDP continued. "He could've just been giving high-fives on his way back. But he doesn't. He takes the time to take pictures with people. It was really a fun, fun moment because in wrestling, there's so many swerves. You don't really know what's going to happen until you're in it.”

He went on to praise Triple H, WWE's new creative mastermind, and his decision to turn the audience's overwhelming support for The American Nightmare into an angle by putting him back in the WrestleMania 40 main event against Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

The fitness guru equated to his decorated career and how sharing the ring with NBA all-star Karl Malone in WCW elevated him to another level of success, adamant that Rhodes has merely scratched the surface of what he's capable of.

Prior to his shocking return to WWE in 2022, Rhodes was instrumental in the creation of All Elite Wrestling as an alternative to the McMahon-owned empire. As soon as he told DDP that they might land TNT as the home for AEW's flagship show Dynamite in 2019, DDP was enamored with the idea of dusting off the boots and stepping back inside the squared circle.

He had made a few one-off in-ring appearances over the years for WWE in Battle Royals at the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania but hadn't wrestled a full-length match on a major scale in many years. TNT was famously the home of WCW Monday Nitro in the late '90s and he thought it was only fitting to have one more match on the network.

DDP returned to the ring on the Bash at the Beach edition of Dynamite on Jan. 15, 2020 in an unsuccessful effort against MJF, The Butcher and The Blade.

"If it had just been a regular match, and I didn't do something I'd never done before–it was with Cody," DDP said. "He said, 'You go in there and blow a comeback like I know you can. Dustin's going to do this flip-over, and QT's going to do this flip-over, and then you're going to go to the top and jump on everybody.' I didn't sell it... I'm good with how I went out with that. I was glad I had it, and I got to do promos.

"As soon as Cody told me they were getting TNT right in the beginning, I said, 'You know, bro, I think I might want to do something,'" he added. "If you would've told me that DDP would've been back on TNT with a company called AEW, I would've said that you're smoking crack, but here I am.”

Despite the loss, DDP achieved his goal of wrestling in five different decades. With the 2030s only six years away, he hasn't completely shut the door on another match but doesn't see it as a likely possibility.

"Getting to work with MJF, who we know is one of the biggest cats in the world now and was world champion there for a while and maybe one of the greatest talkers ever, and working with him in his infancy stage, was really cool," he said. "I really enjoyed that. If WWE wanted me to do something, I might think about it, but I don't see it happening.”

His all-new episode of Biography: WWE Legends on A&E, available now, offers an in-depth look at DDP's time in wrestling and beyond and features interviews from many familiar faces including Eric Bischoff, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and even his ex-wife Kimberly.

“I can't believe they fit that much of my life into that short period of time," DDP said. "It was a different way they cut this, stuff from the club days and pictures you've never seen before that I didn't realize they put in there. I enjoyed it, and I'm very critical of stuff having to do with me, so if I enjoyed it, I think other people will, too.”

Saving the likes of Hall, Jake Roberts and Buff Bagwell among others in addition to everything else he's accomplished post-wrestling has earned him an unmatched legacy, one that Cody Rhodes aspires to attain as well.