Former WWE star Donovan Dijak recently reminisced about his memorable experience wrestling the legendary John Cena. As Dijak’s WWE contract has expired, he looks back on this unique opportunity with admiration and a sense of fulfillment.
During an interview on “Wrestling With Things,” Dijak shared how John Cena requested to face him and his former tag team partner, Mace, in a dark match. The match took place after the July 26 edition of “WWE Raw” in Kansas City, Missouri, during Dijak’s stint with the RETRIBUTION faction under the T-Bar gimmick. Teaming up with Matt Riddle, Cena secured a win over Dijak and Mace, but for Dijak, the experience was much more than just a match outcome.
“I got to wrestle John Cena — and a lot of people don’t know this, but it was a tag team match between me and Mace, my tag partner, and John and Matt Riddle as a post-show dark match,” Dijak revealed. “Once I heard that he was retiring and I’m obviously no longer with the company, so [I thought] there goes any chance of me working him ever again. I was just kind of happy that I got the chance to work with him the one time. That was his choice; I was told that he went to Vince [McMahon] and he asked to work with me and Mace. So we were honored to hear that, we were thrilled to hear that.”
For Dijak, the opportunity to share the ring with Cena was a career highlight, but the insights and advice he received from Cena were invaluable. Cena’s approach to wrestling, particularly his philosophy on risk-taking and calculated moves, left a lasting impression on Dijak. “We were able to talk with him about the match and his philosophy and risk-taking and taking calculated risks and things like that. A lot of that stuck and resonated, and I’ve been trying to apply that, and I’ve been working on some of the cadence stuff that he works with and some of the communication stuff that he works with, listening to the crowd … all those sorts of things,” said Dijak.
Dijak also fondly recalled the personal connection he shared with Cena, as both are Massachusetts natives. This bond was further strengthened by the fact that Cena’s father was once Dijak’s manager on the indie circuit. “Just on a personal level, he was just a super nice guy,” Dijak noted. “It was just nice to be around him and to talk about life and stuff like that and, you know, I hope one day that I can be on movie sets with him too because I know he’s going to do that for a very, very long time.”
While Cena is preparing to retire from wrestling and focus on his successful acting career, Dijak has expressed a desire to follow a similar path. Praising Cena’s acting ability, Dijak hopes to transition into Hollywood after concluding his wrestling career. With dreams of sharing film sets with Cena, Dijak’s aspirations reflect his admiration for the WWE legend and his ambition to carve out his own legacy in entertainment.
