Matt Hardy Explains Why Diamond Dallas Page And Goldberg Didn't Work Out In WWE

WWE's Invasion storyline has been criticized for presenting former WCW and ECW stars as inferior to their counterparts in Vince McMahon's promotion. There is a common belief that McMahon viewed them as lesser since they weren't WWE creations, even when it came to big names such as Diamond Dallas Page and Bill Golberg. Matt Hardy understands this sentiment, as he explained during a recent episode of "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy."

According to Hardy, McMahon preferred performers who came through the WWE system as he took pride in the television product he created. For the most part, the WCW stars who joined WWE for the storyline didn't meet the standards that McMahon required, so they had to win him over and align with the WWE style.

"I know there were guys that came in, and they didn't necessarily work a WWE TV style, and that's something Vince wanted to iron out and get all of the kinks out from all these guys who were going to be on TV, regardless of who the star was... When DDP came in, there were some things we'd do in WWE that DDP didn't necessarily do."

Hardly cited DDP's infamous stalker storyline — which saw him obsess over The Undertaker's then-wife — as an example. In WCW, DDP was portrayed as a hard-working everyman who overcame the odds, and the stalker storyline went against everything he represented. Similarly, Goldberg's biggest strengths didn't meet WWE's requirements, and he arguably faltered as a result.

"All Goldberg really did was go out and murder people [in WCW]," Hardy said, explaining that his matches lasted around 90 seconds in his old promotion. This wasn't a style of wrestling WWE promoted at the time, though, as the company was more focused on competitive matches. This might be why Goldberg didn't stick around for long after joining WWE in 2003.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.