Donovan Dijak On How It Felt To Compete On The Final WWE NXT Before AEW Dynamite Began Airing On Wednesdays: It Was Exciting And Nerve-Wracking All At The Same Time

Donovan Dijak looks back on the beginning of the AEW and NXT Wednesday Night War, noting how he was feeling before it began.

Upon AEW’s inception in 2019, the two brands would share the same timeslot on Wednesday nights until March of 2021. For one NXT talent at the time, it brought excitement and nerves.

While speaking to Jeremy Lambert and SP3 on Fightful’s In The Weeds, Donovan Dijak was asked about competing on the final WWE NXT before the Wednesday Night War began.

“It was exciting and nerve-wracking all at the same time. We were told straight up many times that- I don’t think they used the word war, but they they talked about AEW and they said that like they’re- I don’t want to give you quotes, so I’m paraphrasing, it’s not a direct quote, but it was something to the effect of- they’re coming for us and they’re coming for our spot. You know, something in that in that realm like given to us to motivate us, and it worked you know, I was very much, like, I felt like it was us against them, and that’s the way that it was presented to me, and then, you know, there were obviously, sort of bombs being lobbed in both directions. So I, you know, I was taking everything very personally at that time. Obviously, in hindsight, not in… I probably shouldn’t have been, because obviously WWE did not feel like I was some sort of incredible family member with the benefit of hindsight. But, you know, I did feel an obligation to, you know, like myself and my family and Keith and Keith’s family, especially given that platform to over-perform and over-exceed expectations.”

Elsewhere in the same interview, Dijak reflected on his spat with Kenny Omega during the Wednesday Night War. You can read more about that here.