Donovan Dijak Recdetailsalls Overcoming Fear Following WWE Release

Donovan Dijak has described his emotions following his WWE exit, explaining the fear he felt when he was let go.

"Overwhelmed," Dijak said when asked about his initial reaction to being released in an interview with Denise Salcedo. "There was a lot of disappointment, obviously, because I didn't see it coming."

But, he added that he was excited about his exit from WWE as it afforded him the opportunity to face off against stars that he couldn't, like one of his close friends Anthony Greene. The former "WWE NXT" star, though, admitted he felt fear following his release.

"Obviously, I'm not going to pretend this was a positive experience, [saying] 'one door closes, another one opens.' Yes, there were positive parts to it, but the overwhelming feeling was fear [laughs]."

He understands that his release was a business decision WWE had to make, and holds no grudges against them for it. But he reiterated how the release affected him and his family. 

"For me, personally, it's a huge hit to me, my future, my family, how am I going to provide and things like that. It wasn't all, 'Oh, great, what a wonderful opportunity.' It was terrifying, it was scary, that day was incredibly stressful for both me and my wife, the following weeks were as well," he said.

Dijak detailed how he tried to look at the positives after his WWE release, which included a few things that he could now do that he didn't have the opportunity to do in WWE, and also focus on new revenue streams for himself. He revealed that he began planning for the worst during his time in WWE when he was drafted to the main roster as he noticed how he was not drafted on TV, which indicated to him that WWE didn't see him "as a financial asset."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Denise Salcedo with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.