The Diamond Exchange

### Members

Diamond Dallas Page, Paul Diamond, Pat Tanaka, Colonel DeBeers, Curt Hennig, Madusa Miceli, Michael Hayes, Jimmy Garvin, Badstreet, Scotty Flamingo, The Diamond Studd, Vinnie Vegas

### Managers

Kimberly

In 1988, Diamond Dallas Page began managing in the American Wrestling Association (AWA). He started managing Badd Company (Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka) in 1988, a team he led to the AWA World Tag Team Championship. Badd Company was often accompanied by a pair of female valets known as the Diamond Dolls who were the girls that worked at Page's club. The team's first feud was against The Midnight Rockers, whom they defeated for the AWA World Tag Team Championship on March 19, 1988. Badd Company then feuded heavily with Chavo and Mando Guerrero.

When the AWA World Heavyweight Champion Curt Hennig began being associated with the AWA World Women's Champion Madusa Miceli, they joined together in **the Diamond Exchange**. Hennig would hold the AWA World Heavyweight Title for about fifty-three weeks, before losing it to Jerry Lawler on May 9, 1988. On August 27, 1988, DDP introduced Colonel DeBeers as the new member of his stable. During that short time, DeBeers would try to force his opponent to leave on a stretcher.

As many other promising-yet-underexposed AWA stars had before him, Hennig left the AWA for the World Wrestling Federation in the fall of 1988, weeks after his AWA Title reign ended. Badd Company and Madusa faced the team of the Top Guns (Ricky Rice and Derrick Dukes) and Wendi Richter at the only AWA pay-per-view SuperClash III on December 13, 1988. Both Badd Company's Tag Team Title and Wendi Richter's AWA World Women's Championship were on the line, but since Richter pinned Miceli, Badd Company remained the champions.

Badd Company held the AWA Tag Team titles for a year before losing the titles on March 25, 1989 to “the Olympians" (Brad Rheingans and Ken Patera). Shortly after their loss, they split from Page and had a short feud against each other before wrestling in singles competition until early 1990.

DDP came to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1991 as manager of The Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin and Michael P.S. Hayes). Page managed the Freebirds to a shot at the WCW World Tag Team Championships, where they defeated Doom (Butch Reed and Ron Simmons) on February 24. During this match, DDP introduced the Diamond Dolls in WCW. Page also worked as a color commentator for WCW with Eric Bischoff.

When Scott Hall, the former tag team partner and former co-holder of the AWA World Tag Team Championship with Curt Hennig, made his return to WCW in 1991, DDP added him to his stable. Hall was named the Diamond Studd. He squashed Tommy Rich in his debut on the June 14 edition of *Clash of the Champions XV*, and he defeated Tom Zenk at The Great American Bash. Hall received a significant push in his early days with WCW, but by the end of 1991 this began to fade, starting with the September 2 edition of *Clash of the Champions XVI*, where Studd was defeated by Ron Simmons. At Halloween Havoc: Chamber of Horrors, the team of Studd, Abdullah the Butcher, Cactus Jack, and Big Van Vader lost to Sting, El Gigante, and the Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott). On the November 19 edition of *Clash of the Champions XVII*, Studd lost to Zenk in a rematch from The Great American Bash.

Page himself debuted as a wrestler in a tag team match later that year; with the Diamond Studd, he faced Kevin Sullivan and his partner. He made his wrestling pay-per-view debut at Starrcade in 1991, teaming with Mike Graham in a losing effort to Jushin Thunder Liger and Bill Kazmaier. Page continued wrestling and brought other wrestlers into his stable, such as Scotty Flamingo and Vinnie Vegas in 1992. The relationships between DDP, Flamingo, and Vegas were used in many angles over the following months. Page went in the corner of Scotty Flamingo at *Clash of the Champions XXI* on November 18, 1992, when Flamingo fought Johnny B. Badd in a worked boxing match. Flamingo won this bout with a little help from Page and Vinnie Vegas, who filled Flamingo's glove with water. Studd formed short-lived tag teams with Vinnie Vegas and Scotty Flamingo, while also teaming with members of Paul E. Dangerously's Dangerous Alliance, a stable that also included Madusa.

The following year, after Scotty Flamingo also left the stable, Page teamed with Vinnie Vegas as **the Vegas Connection**.