Donovan Dijak recalls trading Canadian Destroyers with Mustafa Ali on Main Event.
On the August 8, 2022 edition of Main Event, Donovan Dijak, who was known as T-Bar at the time, faced off against Mustafa Ali in a singles bout. The match was praised by fans at the time, with some noting it was one of the best Main Event matches in history.
While speaking to Fightful for a new interview, Dijak recalled hitting multiple Canadian Destroyers in the match and noted that he and Ali got yelled at in the back for it.
"We just did it. We were both so on tilt. I got yelled at by numerous people in the back for that. Both producers and talent. ‘The fuck are you doing? You’re killing the crowd. Blah, blah, blah.’ We were just trying to rattle cages. That’s all it was. Nothing was happening. We’re still on Main Event. I’m still T-BAR. ‘All you have to do is snap your fingers and I’m Dominik Dijakovic again.’ They did with LA Knight. Please do it with me. I made my pitch. I got a call from Bruce. I thought I was getting fired. I wasn’t getting fired. He was telling me they’re moving me to NXT for six months. ‘Oh shit, that’s awesome.’ On the other side, I know that almost every time they send someone from the main roster to NXT, they end up getting fired. It’s the track record. At least it was something and I get to go down swinging. I have this whole pitch ready from the Vince stuff. The second I hung up with Bruce, I got a phone call from an unknown blocked number. ‘Who is this?’ ‘Dominik Dijakovic.’ ‘Uhh, who is this?’ ‘Oh shit, Shawn Michaels.’ He’s talking to me and he thinks I live in Orlando. ’Want to come to the TV taping tonight. ‘I need a flight.’ ‘You don’t live in Orlando?’ ‘No, I live in New Hampshire.’ ‘I didn’t know we could use people in New Hampshire. I guess we can now.’ I was the first person they flew in to NXT. I set up a meeting with him, Johnny Russo, and Matt Bloom. I get the pitch ready. The name, the gimmick, my vision, my gear. I have it all mapped out. I presented it to them and they can see that I’ve presented this a million times before. They’re like, ‘Just to let you know, we want you to be involved and want to hear what you have to say.’ People have told me that before. I pitch it to them. What you saw on television was to a tee what you saw on television. They nailed it. They did exactly what my vision was. They loved it. It was such a mutually beneficial partnership. I could not be more thankful for what all of the people involved in that process did for me. That being said, I don’t think anyone knew the actual plan or what would happen or what would come of it. We were all on the same page of, ‘Let’s knock it out of the park and get you back to the main roster and this will be a gimmick that can translate to the main roster and you’ll have a chance.’ Up until a month and a half ago, it was all going according to plan. Then it fell off a cliff."
Elsewhere in the interview, Dijak talked about a possible Retribution reunion. Fans can learn more about those comments by clicking here.
Also, check out Dijak's full interview with Fightful in the video linked at the top of this article.
