CHAPTER 8
'The Call', the education of DDP (part one) and thanking God for unanswered prayers

Ray "The Crippler" Stevens ran down the matches for the night and Verne handled a few complaints from guys who 'knew' they were being mishandled. Right before the meeting ended, Verne introduced me and announced that I would manage Bad Company.

The announcement was met with laughter from the back of the room.

It was Shawn Michaels. When Gagne asked what was so funny, Michaels replied, 'Look at the size of this guy, Tanaka should be his manager." My size wasn't the only issue for some of the boys. I'm sure that some of them didn't like my whole gimmick. No one had to tell me it was waaay over the top, I knew that but I took pride in everything I said, everything I wore, and everything I did. I had a lot of cash invested in the gimmick too, but most of the stuff I had from my nightclub days. I had always wanted a 'reason' to dress this way; 'Diamond Dallas Page' dressed similar to 'Page J'.