It's safe to say that the most recent round of WWE cuts wasn't a good day for any of the names involved. It also wasn't a good day for former WWE star Dijak, who, while not released from WWE, departed the promotion last summer when they chose not to renew his contract. Speaking with "WRESTLESPHERE," Dijak explained why this set of releases, and really every set of releases that he sees, brings back bad memories, and why he continues to struggle with it, even if it gets a bit easier as time goes on.
"I'll say this: when those releases started happening, that was the first time in a very long time that I didn't have to experience that other end of it," Dijak said. "Which is kind of like a bittersweet sort of moment, right...Usually, what happens when I get that, and I still have PTSD about it, which is all my friends start texting me, and then we start staring at our phones, and we're looking at it, and you're waiting for a phone call, right?
"You're waiting for the dreaded phone call to come, which is odd because, in a sense, I never got that...my phone call was from my friend, my rep, Mojo. And I thought I was getting a good phone call. I was like 'Oh, he's gonna tell me about my contract.' It was not a good phone call...So I never had that day, which I don't want, by the way, I don't want that day. I don't want that day for anybody. I don't want anyone to experience that awful feeling. It fills your gut with dread. It's a horrible feeling."
Dijak was then asked about what advice he would give to talents who were let go from WWE. This was a difficult question for him, largely because Dijak didn't want to be another voice similar to the ones he heard after his WWE departure. Though he knew everyone reaching out to him meant well and he appreciated people caring about him, Dijak admitted that most words of encouragement didn't mean a lot in the moment, and that it would be similar for talents still reeling from losing their job.
"In that moment, there's not much that helps," Dijak said. "I can't snap my fingers and take it away. I can just give the advice that everyone else gives, which is 'If you do what you've been doing, you will have more of an opportunity to control your future. Once you do that you will feel a lot better about the situation that you're in,' right?
"That's it. I know that's similar to what other people say, and it's not comforting in the moment... Time heals all wounds. Control what you can control, and do your best not to worry about the things that you can't control. I know that's easier said than done. I know nobody wants to hear that, but that's the truth, and that's reality."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "WRESTLESPHERE" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
