Donovan Dijak stunned the wrestling community when he announced the expiration of his WWE contract in a heartfelt public letter. In an interview on “Tru Heels BTR,” Dijak delved into the motivations behind his decision and the communication breakdown that ultimately led to his departure.
Drawing parallels to Cody Rhodes’ well-documented exit from WWE, Dijak acknowledged the influence of Rhodes’ public letter on his own decision-making process.
“Obviously, Cody’s thing played a role, right?” Dijak explained. “I was in communication with him at the end of his run as Stardust, and as he made that post … So, yeah, that was certainly an influence.”
While Rhodes’ story of leaving WWE and achieving success on his own terms resonated with Dijak, he admitted their situations were not identical.
“It wasn’t the same story, but it was a similar path,” Dijak said. “Obviously, [Rhodes] chose his. Mine was not a choice. I didn’t choose that. I might have chosen that, depending [on] the circumstances, I don’t know.”
During his time on the “WWE Raw” roster, Dijak sought to negotiate a more prominent role within the company, aiming to transition from his position in “NXT” to a top-tier spot. However, he recounted a lack of meaningful dialogue with WWE regarding his ambitions.
“Unfortunately, we never had an opportunity for that conversation,” Dijak explained. “I don’t know if they got stuck on money or what, because I was never given an explanation. So, I don’t know whether … if they had made me an offer, I’d still be there.”
Dijak revealed that he might have left WWE on his own accord if he had not been offered a better position.
Despite his disappointment with how his tenure ended, Dijak emphasized his gratitude for his time in WWE and clarified his intentions behind the public letter.
“I kind of settled on this letter because I felt like … people deserved to hear the truth, right? And the truth isn’t always amazing. It’s not always a super positive thing,” Dijak said. “My goal wasn’t to create this picture that WWE was this horrible place. It wasn’t. I never said it was a horrible place. I said I was thankful, so I liked my time in WWE. I was also disappointed, mostly with how it ended, and excited for the future. Other than that, I just told the truth.”
He addressed the criticism from various quarters, stressing that his comments were often taken out of context.
“Some people were super critical of WWE; some people were super critical of me!” Dijak exclaimed. “People feel like I’m just constantly complaining about everything — which, I’m not, obviously. What happens is that I do these interviews, [and] I say the truth, and then somebody grabs a sentence or two from it, and clips it, and says, ‘This is what he said.’ Then, it feels like I’m just offering these things, as opposed to being asked a question and answering it honestly.”
As of now, Dijak has not disclosed his future plans post-WWE, and there have been no reports linking him to rival promotions such as AEW.
