4 Mistakes WWE should not make with Dijak's main roster comeback in 2024
WWE's rosters have been dramatically shaken up. The 2024 Draft took place this past Friday and again on Monday, bringing many changes to RAW, SmackDown, and NXT.
As has become the norm, several NXT stars have been promoted to the main roster in this year's Draft. This includes Baron Corbin, Kiana James, Ilja Dragunov, Carmelo Hayes, Lyra Valkyria, and Dijak. The powerful Dijak was notably among the final few talents called up to RAW or SmackDown.
Dijak, of course, is no stranger to Monday Night RAW. He was once part of the brand during his time in RETRIBUTION, performing under the T-Bar moniker. However, that's a memory he'd likely prefer to forget as he has openly expressed unhappiness over his time as the masked character.
Dijak now has a rare opportunity to correct a bad time in his professional life after he received a second chance on Monday Night RAW. This article will break down four mistakes that Triple H and his team must avoid making this time around.
#4 He must not be allowed to get lost in the shuffle
WWE does a lot of things well, especially in the Triple H era. Generally speaking, the company is making the most of its roster. That said, some stars have fallen by the wayside and ended up being lost in the shuffle.
The likes of Odyssey Jones, Dexter Lumis, Isla Dawn, Alba Fyre, Nikki Cross, Cedric Alexander, Ashante "Thee" Adonis, and to an extent, Tegan Nox, have all been underutilized. In fact, some have often been missing from WWE programming altogether.
Doing this too often kills the momentum of stars and leads to fans not caring about them. Dijak cannot fall victim to this booking pattern. He needs to be a regular performer on television, engaging in exciting feuds to get over with the audience.
#3 Dijak must not be overly gimmicky
Dijak has had a few names and gimmicks throughout his WWE career. He started his run on NXT as Dominik Dijakovic. As noted, he then joined the main roster, becoming T-Bar in RETRIBUTION.
As most fans know, he went back to NXT last year under a new gimmick. He was no longer T-Bar, nor was he Dijakovic. Instead, he is now simply Dijak. That isn't all, however. Dijak has a new character in WWE, which is essentially that of a police officer.
While an over-the-top presentation worked in NXT at one point, the main roster is more serious. Dijak can't come up to RAW and be a modern version of The Big Boss Man. His gimmick needs to be toned down considerably. Thankfully, it was already being toned down before his exit from NXT. Triple H will hopefully keep that going following the 2024 Draft.
#2 His incredible skillset shouldn't be limited in favor of being a monster
Dijak is a phenomenal pro wrestler and is capable of doing moonsaults and springboards despite being a big man. While there are some other athletic big men in the company such as Ivar, Dijak brings something different to WWE.
An example of Dijak's incredible in-ring display was at NXT's most recent premium live event. He battled fellow big men Oba Femi and Josh Briggs in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE NXT North American Championship. He took big bumps and performed moves that most large athletes can't or won't do.
Triple H shouldn't take away Dijak's athleticism in favor of making him a generic big man. In 2024, fans need more action and Dijak can provide it. He doesn't have to do high-flying moves, but he has to be more than generic.
#1 WWE must avoid having Dijak lose too often
Since moving to WWE NXT, Dijak has wrestled 28 televised matches for the brand. His first was on November 29th, 2022 and his last was on April 14th, just a few weeks ago. His loss to Noam Dar on NXT was seemingly his final showdown on the brand.
Of those 28 matches, Dijak won exactly 14 of them. When it came to matches that mattered, such as championship bouts with the likes of Oba Femi and Wes Lee, the big man always came up short.
It is crucial that Triple H and company officials don't let Dijak lose regularly on the main roster. Yes, he will have to lose sometimes on RAW, but he shouldn't become someone who is just fed to other performers. He is too good to just lose to the likes of Bronson Reed, Sami Zayn, Chad Gable, Jey Uso, and others every single week.