ExclusiveDonovan Dijak made his debut at Major League Wrestling's (MLW) Summer of the Beast show on Thursday night in New York City.
MLW's advertised countdown to the Doomsday Clock has ended, with the former WWE star making his appearance.
The 6-foot-7 giant, escorted by his manager Saint Laurent, entered the ring and began defeating challengers – then mocking the bodies left in the ring.
Still feeling the excitement of making his debut just hours earlier, Dijak told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that he thought everything went well.
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Donovan Dijak rose to fame in Major League Wrestling. (MLW)
“We were first introduced to the concept a few weeks ago,” he said, “but certainly the execution was flawless. We're very happy with the presentation and everything that was prepared in advance.”
Dijak said he was impressed with his presentation, which was shown on a video screen behind him as he made his way onto the stage, down the ramp and into the ring, some of which he said was filmed at the last minute.
“I was really amazed at how it unfolded,” he said. “The video was amazing in such a short amount of time. I thought it was incredible that it was ready for television within a few minutes. I was really amazed. And then, obviously, the execution of the game, the talent of the players and how it unfolded afterwards was just amazing.”
It's only been a few months since Dijak and WWE went their separate ways. Dijak had a great run in NXT and was selected for “Raw” in the WWE Draft.
Since then, Dijak has returned to the independent wrestling world, and the place he visited on Thursday wasn't just any other small organization: MLW, which has been in the wrestling world since 2017 and is led by former WWE writer Court Bauer.
Talented wrestlers such as Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, Lexis King (then known as Brian Pillman Jr.), Francine, Gangrel, Jacob Fatu, Karrion Kross (then known as Killer Kross), Konnan, Matt Cardona, MJF and Tajiri have all been with the company.
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The current roster includes established talent such as KENTA, Matt Riddle, Satoshi Kojima, Mistico, Minoru Suzuki, Bobby Fish and The Andersons.
It was that reputation, and the credibility it instilled in him, that attracted Dijak, who told Fox News Digital that he had never been presented with a laid-out plan before.
Donovan Dijak gives a rousing welcome to the Summer of the Beast crowd. (MLW)
“This is the first time I've had a really solid answer before I've even started,” he said. “I'm 37 years old. I don't have a lot of time left in my career. I don't have time to hope and pray that my efforts will pay off.”
“So if I know from the beginning, this is the presentation, this is the look, 'You have to deliver on your contractual commitments,' then I can really dive in headfirst because I know what I can bring to the table. There's always that question mark in my mind: 'Now, is it going to pay back in a way that helps me and elevates me?' And sometimes the answer is yes and sometimes it's no.
“But to me, this level of commitment is something I've never seen before, so I'm very excited about that.”
Dijak didn't say how many matches he will appear in MLW. Fightland takes place in Atlanta on September 14, followed by Slaughterhouse in St. Petersburg, Florida on October 4, Lucha Apocalypto in Chicago on November 9 and The One Show in New York on December 5. In the meantime, MLW: Fusion can be watched on YouTube, beIN Sports and Fite TV+.
Dijak said he would like to challenge for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship held by Kojima.
“I'm going to continue doing what I've always done, which is to fight the best matches in the world and to put on the best matches on any given night on any given platform,” Dijak told Fox News Digital. “That's what I've done on every show I've been on for the last 10 years of my career, and that's not going to change anytime soon.”
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“MLW is going to get that from me and I think they know they're going to get that from me. I respect that they recognized that right away and we're going to get to work right away.”
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