Dijak Says Move to WWE NXT Saved His Career

Dijak is now a free agent after his contract with WWE expired , and it likely won't be long before we see him delivering top-tier matches once again . Dijak's time in WWE was a bit of a rollercoaster , as he went from battling Keith Lee in NXT as Dominik Dijakovic to joining the infamous group Retribution and becoming T-Bar. Unfortunately, that storyline went downhill quickly, and that left everyone involved with an uphill climb. That's when he returned to NXT as Dijak, and he would quickly become one of the brand's preeminent heels during his time there. In an interview with Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp, Dijak spoke about his journey back to NXT and said that the move to NXT saved his career.

Rebirth In NXT

"An excellent question that no one has given me an answer to. I've asked it, but no one has given me an answer. You can rolodex ten, twelve, fourteen reasons. I've been in WWE long enough to where I know generally how things operate and how things take place. My gut feeling is they had a general idea of when my contract was up. I don't know whether the decision-makers have that date in front of them. I think they were generally aware of when my time was coming up. My guess would be that these decisions were made in some capacity before I went to NXT. A group of individuals likely looked at me as a whole and said, Here's T-BAR, he's up in June 2024. Do we release him now or do we try to get as much out of this contract as we possibly can?"

"Thankfully, on my part, the conclusion was, 'Let's put him in NXT and see what he can do.' Nobody is more thankful for that than me. I've been super public. I've thanked Hunter and Shawn publicly and privately a number of times. It saved my career. I'm thankful for that. That being said, it's disheartening, and I don't know this to be fact, but my gut tells me, no matter what I did the decision had been made. I didn't feel that way in NXT. In NXT, I was like, F*** yes, this is my chance. I'm going to out-wrestle everybody. I'm the best wrestler in the world. I'll lose every match. It doesn't matter. They did me a favor. I'm going to put this guy over huge. I'm going to have everybody's best match. Every TV, every pay-per-view, I don't care who it is. I don't care if it's two minutes. I'm going to do everything in my power to have the best matches possible to show and prove that I'm the best and I deserve this opportunity," Dijak said.

On A Mission

"Every time I went out there, 'You f****** nailed it.' As recently as two months ago at Stand & Deliver. 'I f****** nailed it.' Triple threats are hard as hell. Everyone was watching. It's WrestleMania weekend. The draft is coming up. Everything is working out. Then, I'm sitting there during the draft. The draft is a shoot. Nobody knows what's happening," Dijak said. "I'm watching the names. There is an angel and demon on my shoulder. Part of me is sitting there grumpy because I thought it would be funny and I'm in character. Why would I stand an applaud? Internally, I'm thinking, 'You've been told there are plans for you to be in the main event picture for the NXT Championship. Also, your contract is up in a month or so.' There is an argument in my head, do you want to stay in NXT with Trick and have this cool feud. Will they renew you in NXT?"

"That will be weird and an awkward conversation. You're on a main roster contract still. It's a weird middle ground," Dijak said. "I watch the names get listed off. As they keep going, I'm like, 'Uh oh.' I'm thinking, the further this goes, the more likely I am to be in the supplemental draft. If I'm in the supplemental draft, I'm f*****. It just means 'we don't care.' I'm watching the names. They get to the last name, 'Maybe if it's on TV, it's salvaged.' I think the last name is Blair Davenport. Everyone is clapping. 'Please still be in NXT.' Whoever was doing the announcing, they were like, we have one more announcement."

Dijak would then be drafted to Monday Night Raw, but never appeared on Raw before his contract expired. Now he's free to sign with anyone he wants, and we'll just have to wait and see where he ultimately decides to go.

Where do you want to see Dijak go next? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!