Wrestling fans have gotten used to seeing former ROH stars in WWE. Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles and more have all found success on the main roster, and Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish all recently made a big impact at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III when they attacked NXT Champion Drew McIntyre.
Now yet another former ROH star has joined WWE, as the company officially announced today that Donovan Dijak has signed a contract, and he’s reported to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. It’s been rumored for months that Dijak was WWE bound, and now it’s been officially confirmed. WWE posted the following announcement on WWE.com:
A new hoss has arrived at the WWE Performance Center.
Six-foot-7, 265-pound Chris Dijak of Worcester, Mass., better known to ring fans as Donovan Dijak, is the latest signee to join WWE’s training center in Orlando, Fla.
Combining heavy-hitting power with cat-like agility, Dijak’s explosive offense has won him admirers around the world. His “Feast Your Eyes” knee-smash, meanwhile, has downed enough opponents to put Dijak on WWE’s radar with only four years’ experience.
A football and basketball standout in high school and college, Dijak stormed onto the New England independent wrestling scene in 2013. He remained a force in the region ever since, crossing paths with the likes of Tommaso Ciampa and Oney Lorcan, and becoming a fixture in organizations including Massachusetts’ Chaotic Wrestling, Connecticut’s Northeast Wrestling and Rhode Island’s Beyond Wrestling.
Dijak’s search for new competition broadened in short order. In 2015, he won Ring of Honor’s Top Prospect tournament, and earlier this year he competed in the wXw 16 Carat Gold tournament in Germany. He has also wrestled for EVOLVE, and this past weekend, he fought in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s Battle of Los Angeles tournament, held in Reseda, Calif.
Dijak’s arrival at the Performance Center comes on the heels of WWE signing another sensation from the independent ranks, high-flyer Lio Rush.
