Donovan Dijak is a professional wrestler previously signed to WWE. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Toronto, Ontario to talk about his WWE departure and the letter he posted to social media, being backstage at AEW Forbidden Door, RETRIBUTION and the original pitch for the group, returning to NXT and his relationship with Shawn Michaels, being on the receiving end of a brutal Cody Rhodes chair shot, what next for him and more!
00:00 Intro
00:36 His love of being on the road
01:02 Having a picture of his broken finger on his shirt
02:08 Dislocating his finger at NXT Vengeance Day
06:19 How did he feel after his WWE contract ended?
10:41 Being able to wrestle right after his contract ended
12:32 Writing his well-worded list upon the ending of his contract
18:33 Backstage interactions with CM Punk & Hangman Page
22:18 Visiting backstage at an AEW event
27:11 What are his plans now that he’s not with WWE
29:17 Having to prove himself to a new base of fans
32:46 Trying to translate his Twitter persona into his wrestling
36:19 His strategy in branding himself on the indies
38:12 Why wasn’t he called back to NXT?
41:02 Does he think writing that letter burns a bridge with WWE?
44:14 Memories of Cody Rhodes nailing him with a steel chair
46:22 How did the Retribution group come to be?
54:04 Was T-Bar supposed to stand for something?
55:24 Trying to make Retribution work because he was on the main roster
57:11 How would Retribution have been received with an audience?
58:23 Certain fans having made their minds up not to like him
59:38 What does it mean be ratio’d in WWE?
01:07:27 Being let go alongside all of his friends from Retribution
01:11:16 What did he learn from Shawn Michaels that he still applies
01:13:18 Memories of failed pitched to Vince McMahon
01:18:50 His original pitch for his latest run in NXT
01:21:33 The NXT Iron Survival Challenge defining his run
01:26:23 Being able to look forward to what comes next
01:27:34 3 Things Dijak is grateful for
