Donovan Dijak Says He Was Hesitant To Initially Join MLW

(Photo Credit: WWE)

Former WWE star Donovan Dijak spoke with WrestleZoneโ€™s Bill Pritchard about various topics, including being hesitant to initially join MLW.

Dijak said, โ€œI didnโ€™t want to be put in a situation that I had just been in for a long time. Thatโ€™s ultimately what it boils down to. That was my concern. So there was a month or two there where I was thinking about it, and I was considering it, and then I had a phone call with both Court [Bauer] and Saint Laurent. They were speaking to me, and just from talking to them, I got a very good sense that this was going to be different, which isnโ€™t to imply that my run in WWE was horrible. It wasnโ€™t right. I was given a ton of opportunities, especially toward the end. I was put in a position where itโ€™s been less than a year since I was able to have one of the biggest matches of my career in front of 16,000 people. A wonderful platform that gave me the opportunity to be a character that I designed and wanted to be. So, Iโ€™m eternally thankful for all those opportunities, but what I was looking for at that point in my career was something more right. By more, I mean more pressure, more responsibility in terms of a talent because I was constantly requesting to be featured as a top guy in WWE,โ€ he adds. โ€œSo thatโ€™s what I wanted to communicate to MLW: Here, hereโ€™s how I view myself. If thatโ€™s not how you view me, thatโ€™s fine, no worries, but, but this is what Iโ€™m looking for in terms of presentation and my guarantee to whoever wants to give me that is, Iโ€™m going to continue to do what Iโ€™ve always done, and thatโ€™s completely exceed your expectations. Every time I was given an opportunity in WWE, I didnโ€™t say, โ€˜Okay, let me, let me do what theyโ€™re asking of me.โ€™ It was, โ€˜How do I have the best triple threat match in WWE history,โ€™ right? That was always my goal. I donโ€™t know whether I achieved that or not, but that was my mindset. โ€˜How do I have the best Last Man Standing match in WWE history, in pro wrestling history,โ€™ right? These are the goals I set for myself when Iโ€™m given opportunities. So the fact that MLW is giving me these opportunities, thatโ€™s when my mind starts going just completely over the top.โ€

On MLW sharing his vision on how to grow the company:

โ€œHow do I continue to progress in this company? How do I put everything on my back? How do I put the pressure on an entire company and say, โ€˜Iโ€™m going to be the top guy?โ€™ Iโ€™m going to take this thing where itโ€™s never been before. Iโ€™m going to try to progress us to a point where people look at MLW the same way we do. That became the collaborative mission, and theyโ€™ve completely exceeded all my expectations in terms of execution. Itโ€™s a complete collaboration. Iโ€™m so happy with the presentation so far, and Iโ€™m super excited to continue working in that direction towards those goals because we all have the same vision.โ€

You can check out Dijak’s comments in the video below.

(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)