Released WWE star reveals what it "felt like" working under Vince McMahon
WWE saw a major change in direction in 2022 after Vince McMahon’s controversial exit from the company. A released star recently opened up about how he felt like working under the former Chairman.
Donovan Dijak had a seven-year run with the company that saw him mostly compete on the NXT roster. However, he did get a chance to work on the main roster under Vince McMahon, but his experience wasn’t too great.
WWE released Dijak in June 2024 after the company decided against renewing his contract. His release came as a major surprise to many as he had been moved to the main roster from NXT once again just weeks before he wasn’t offered a new contract.
Speaking on the SHAK Wrestling podcast, the former member of Retribution noted that Vince McMahon was probably past his prime when he worked under him.
"I felt like Vince was probably past his prime when I was, you know, underneath him and there was a lot of difficulty in terms of timing and adjusting things at the last minute," Dijak claimed.
He states that things seemed to change once Triple H took over creative control of RAW and SmackDown in September 2022. However, he didn’t get to work with The Game much on the main roster to compare him to Vince McMahon.
"I can't draw a direct comparison, unfortunately," he added. "The reality of the situation is that my time under Triple H as a main roster booker was like the four weeks before I got called down to NXT." (H/T Wrestling Inc.)
Dijak was being built well on NXT before he was called up to RAW. He could have had a good run in the mid-card of the brand, but Triple H and his men decided to not offer him a new contract once his deal was over.
Kevin Owens recently spoke about Vince McMahon’s exit from WWE
Kevin Owens has always been one of the most vocal superstars in WWE. The Prizefighter recently revealed that he probably was never meant to be on the main roster, but had his first rivalry with John Cena on RAW after he made his main roster debut.
He also talked about how Vince McMahon’s controversial exit from WWE created a lot of buzz. It ended up being beneficial for the company as many older fans who were not fans of his creative work came back to the product after Triple H took over.
"That change in direction made a lot of noise outside of WWE," he explained. "I think that probably turned a few eyes toward us. Everybody started watching again and realized, like, 'Hey, this is really good stuff now.'"
KO is set to face Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Saturday Night’s Main Event. It will be the two superstars’ first appearance on the show, and they will likely main event it.