It has been a grind for Donovan Dijak, who is working a demanding schedule. And he wouldn’t have it any other way. The 38-year-old enjoys being booked and busy with the former WWE superstar dedicating a lot of time to Major League Wrestling. For the veteran who first impressed fans first in Ring of Honor and then on WWE’s NXT, it’s an environment to prove himself all over again. Not to mention having a hand in elevating the brand to new heights.
“It has been tremendous. Growth, that’s exactly what we’re going for in MLW and achieving over and over again,” Dijak said. “It seems like I’ve been there for about 14 months now. In that time, the progress of more shows, more territories, more platforms we’re going to be presenting.”
The imposing figure also cites collaborations like with Danny McBride’s Don Gato Tequila for MLW’s next special on November 20 as an example of moving things forward. Not to mention the card deal with Panini. Dijak takes pride in being an ambassador for the promotion as one-half of the MLW Tag Team Championship. He shares the gold with partner Bishop Dyer.
“He is obviously outstanding,” Dijak said of the former Baron Corbin. “His is the continuation of his reinvention of himself in the same way and same process I’ve reinvented myself. There was this perception of both of us, especially as sort of main roster members on WWE programming. I think that leans into this perception of the big man in professional wrestling, which was quite frankly deserved in the 1990s and the early 2000s. This isn’t to take away from the great big men out there like The Undertaker and JBL, who are some of the greatest wrestlers of all-time. For everyone one of those there was 10 big lumbering, can’t do much, less is more types.
“I never liked the saying less is more. I much prefer the saying I took from Tommaso Ciampa. He said get more out of less. I’ve always subscribed to that as a wrestler and trainer. To me, that doesn’t imply I’m not going to do anything. It implies if I’m going to do something, I’m going to get a lot out of it. I think that should be the mindset. I think that should be the mindset of Bishop Dier. I think that’s not the mindset of myself. We’re not these big lumbering guys that we’re big and not going to do anything. We still do all the exciting maneuver and moments and all the components of professional wrestling. I think that is kind of the test now in 2025 where the bar is so high. It almost seems like a bar achievable for big men. You have to have these high octane matches. I think he and I have proven throughout our career, certainly the past three or four years of our career, that we can both meet and exceed the level smaller wrestlers are doing just as effectively.”
As a student of the game, Dijak appreciates how MLW provides a mix of old school fundamentals and mentality with a high-octane, car crash, anything goes approach. That unique blend will be on full display during the next live special when Dijak and Dyer, collectively known as The Skyscrapers, defend against Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson, collectively known as The Good Brothers. This match is part of one of the most star-studded cards in MLW history.
“I think what’s going to make us stand out a lot from what a lot of other tag teams are doing with their tag divisions is we have the size and experience to put on some of the best spectacle, as well as technical ,as well as explosive tag team matches possible,” Dijak said. “There is nowhere else in the world you’re going to get a tag team match with three guys who are all 6 ‘7 or 260 pounds or bigger. That doesn’t exist in today’s pro wrestling landscape….”
For Dijak, it’s all about looking ahead and not the rearview. He contends he doesn’t do anything wondering what WWE thinks. Rather than a chip on the shoulder, the athlete makes it a goal to be the best professional wrestler he can.
“If you get bogged down in the world of professional wrestling and worrying about what someone else thinks, what the booker thinks, or what a company thinks of what I’m doing, then you’re going to get completely blindsided and sidetracked with that through process,” Dijak explained.
He continued, “because the reality of the pro wrestling business is it’s not as performance based as fans want it to be as much as wrestlers want it to be. We all wish and hope that what pro wrestling is whoever does the best is going to be rewarded. That makes sense. That’s how football works. That’s how basketball works. The best get the championships and things like that. Pro wrestling is a business. And business models are different than sports models. At the end of the day timing is a massive factor, money is the bottomline and ultimate factor, any decision is going to be based on those things in deciding how good you are and how well you’re doing, which isn’t to say those things aren’t completely irrelevant. But pro wrestling is a huge pie chart. If you get bogged down in those details and worry about what someone else thinks of me, you’re going to get lost in the shuffle. I only focus on myself, and right now, for myself, MLW is the complete focus because they are investing in me so I will reciprocate that to them tenfold.”
The husband and father of two young children credits his family for being “completely on board” with whatever decision he makes. At the same time, he doesn’t hold any grudges against WWE or is he seeing any…retribution (sorry, I couldn’t resist). When it comes to former colleagues experiencing their own journey post-WWE, some transitions haven’t been as easy. Among them being Luke Menzies. The former Ridge Holland’s contact was allegedly terminated early before it was set to expire due to what the company considered a breach of his agreement due to recent social media posts. At the same time, Menzies has been sidelined with an injury and recovering. The former rugby player felt he had been “hung out to dry” by WWE and worried about being unable to pay his mortgage as a result. A GoFundMe was started without income coming in. Dijak thinks Menzies is in a tough spot.
“It’s a spot that quite frankly I think about myself sometimes in that I’m an independent contractor right now,” he said. “I have no guaranteed contracts or guaranteed money or anything like that. So, if I get injured…I was training at the New England Pro Wrestling Academy last night because like I said this is my passion. Being in the ring is my passion. If I tear my ACL, knock on wood and hopefully that doesn’t happen, in training last night, I’m not going to make my booking on Saturday. I have a booking in the South on Saturday and a booking in Mexico on Sunday with CMLL. Obviously, I can’t do those with a torn ACL. Then that number one question comes up again of how do I provide for my family? The answer is we’ve got to find a way to figure it out.”
Dijak quickly clarified that line wasn’t “throwing shade at Luke.” He described him as a “smart dude.”
“He is a friend of mine, so I know he is going to figure it out,” Dijak added. “It’s unfortunately these pro wrestling contracts, as much as we don’t want to admit it, they’re a gamble. You’re kind of rolling the dice and hoping it works out for you. Sometimes it works out great. There are a lot of people making a ton of money in WWE being featured very well. Sometimes it doesn’t. For me, fortunately, I never looked past how fortunate I was in my WWE run, both healthwise and in terms of how long I was there, the presentation I was given, and the fact that when my contract ended I could wrestle right away. I was very thankful for all of those things. Luke is in a position unfortunately where he can’t do some of those things. I think he is out for I think six or seven months.
“That’s not a great spot to be in, but I do know Luke is an unbelievable wrestler. He is incredibly talented, and I know he is going to find a way, especially after those seven months to get back in the ring and perform at a high level and bring back that income to his family. The great part is there are places for him to do that. There are lots of options and great opportunities for him. He did have a run where he was a recognizable name as a professional wrestler at this point in his career. He has some huge hurdles to overcome, especially over the next seven months, but I have no doubt in my mind he is going to do that because he is a very perseverant individual and smart individual. I know he loves and cares for his family very much, so I know he is going to persevere.”