Diamond Dallas Page. Well, that's an interesting choice and not one that I agree with. To be fair, I've never been a big DDP fan so my take on him as "The Understalker" is probably biased. You've been warned....now let's get down to business. There are two elements in this angle: The initial choice of who the stalker would be, and the aftermath of revealing who it would be. The WWF didn't make the best choice in either regard.

I'm of the belief that DDP is remembered as mainly a face during his WCW tenure. I know he had some runs as a heel, but he's largely on the other side of the fence. The Undertaker has been a hyped face forever (and forever, in wrestling time, is 6 months). So when the stalker is built up as a character that the fans are supposed to hate, wouldn't it make more sense for the person (if he's a known entity) to be an established heel? When DDP ripped off his mask in his home state, any wrestling fan would tell you that he would get his share of cheers. This was the ideal situation to introduce a WCW performer, but I think they picked the wrong one. DDP's motivation didn't fly for a couple of reasons. First of all, most wrestling fans know DDP is married to Kimberly. And frankly, if ya got Kimberly in the sack, why the hell are you stalking anybody? I know DDP gave an explanation, detailing how he was using the Undertaker to get to the top of the business. Stalking an icon, if you will. He said that he wanted the Undertaker to make him famous. Logically, it doesn't work that way. It didn't work for El Gigante, Kama, or IRS. Ok, forget about that point. If he's going to claim the "famous-ity" as his motivation, he should have mentioned Mick Foley getting thrown off the Hell in the Cell as being an incident where the Undertaker made someone famous. I don't know...the whole explanation didn't make sense to me. Actually, not only did his promo not make any sense but it just was boring. It's amazing I could read CRZ's transcript of this in a few seconds, but the actual event seemed to take an eternity. Second, he leaves through the crowd and gives the fans high fives. Great. Maybe he needs to read Buzz on Wrestling so he knows how a heel should behave.

So was this a disaster? Not at all. Just the fact that it wasn't Kane or Vince McMahon is a victory in and of itself. They did introduce a "new" character, although I would dispute that it was entirely successful. And the character wasn't a letdown, although the execution left something to be desired. I'm not prone to fantasy booking or writing storylines because I'm too much of a fan of "old school, chase the belt, drawn out storyline booking" to draw any ratings these days. That being said, here are a couple of other options that the WWF could have pursued:

1) Keep DDP as the stalker, but change his motivation. When he reveals himself, he could launch into a speech such as: "Surprised? Those of you that know DDP know that I have a beautiful wife at home. So why the hell would I stalk another woman, especially a piece of white trailer trash that's hitched to a tattooed freak? <Fans boo> Hey, it's ok for you to boo me for saying that...I know all you unemployed single wide mobile home dwelling hillbillies stick up for your own kind. <more booing> The reason is simple. Taker and I go way back and before he was in the WWF, we were in WCW together. And while he went onto fame, fortune and glory in New York, I was stuck in a rat's nest down South. And everytime I called him on the phone, he would tell me he was putting in a good word for me, and trying to get me up here. Well, guess what? I never made it. And it wasn't because I was too old. Or because I was too hurt. Or couldn't cut it. He never tried to get me up here. He sabotaged my career. He knew DDP merchandise would fly off the shelves. He knew I would eclipse what he's done. He knew he couldn't measure up to the King of Bada Bing. It all comes down to this: Taker was scared, scared of me, D-D-P. Well are you scared now? Scared for your wife? Scared for your life? You should be, because at the King of the Ring, I'm gonna make you wish you never stabbed me in the back..and show the whole world you're a coward. And for any of you fans out there that don't think the Undertaker kept me from being a star, you can go to hell."

JR could stress how DDP is bitter and blaming the Taker for his own failures. I don't know...I just think it would be more effective.

2) Introduce someone else from WCW. I think Buff Bagwell would have been phenomenal in this role. He's easy to hate, and it's easy to envision his character stalking a woman. Then schedule the Undertaker to get the win, and that tests Bagwell's willingness to lie down to someone else. I'm not a Bagwell fan either, but I think this could have been an effective introduction for him.

3) Bring back Paul Bearer. He could have been the one "tipping off" DDP that the Undertaker was holding him back. He could express his jealousy over the Undertaker's happy marriage. I don't know....just would have been a good time to bring him back.

I'm throwing in the towel...hope you enjoyed it!