The former T-BAR is returning to WWE NXT.
A new report from PWInsider notes that Donovan Dijak has been added to the internal NXT roster after speculation following two recent vignettes on NXT TV.
It was noted that he would be going by the name Donovan Dijak, which is what he went by in the beginning of his career, including in ROH. In NXT, he eventually went by the name Dominik Dijakovic, and once he was promoted to the main roster as a member of RETRIBUTION, he went by the name T-BAR.
The 2015 ROH Top Prospect tournament winner has always been regarded highly by WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H and other members of his team, especially during his time on NXT. Early in August, reports surfaced that the new WWE management was considering giving T-BAR a new character that would likely see him return to his NXT persona. T-BAR ‘s Main Event performances, which include a favorable response from the Madison Square Garden on July 25 where T-BAR teamed with Akira Tozawa for a Main Event loss to Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali, were noted as having impressed officials.
Dijak initially signed with WWE in the summer of 2017, and he stayed with them until September 2020, when he was called to RAW as a member of RETRIBUTION. When RETRIBUTION came to an end, T-BAR and Mace—now known as ma.çé of Maximum Male Models—continued working together on SmackDown, but they broke up when Mace was selected for SmackDown in the 2021 WWE Draft.
This year, Dijak has participated in a number of WWE Main Event matches, most recently defeating Alexander on September 8. His most recent non-Battle Royal TV outing resulted in losses to Omos on February 28 and Finn Balor on December 6, respectively. On the July 22, 2020 NXT show, Dijak lost to Karrion Kross in his final NXT match.
Dijak is expected to return to NXT in-ring action soon, though an exact return date has not yet been announced. Below is the most recent vignette for Dijak’s comeback.
