By Matthew Klink (@klinkmatt)

September 13, 2018

This past weekend marked the end of the most recent NXT Tour and it made its final stop in the hometown of the Brothers of Discussion. While the Live Shows are always a must see, regardless of storyline, getting to see Tommaso Ciampa as the NXT Champion felt like a true privilege. Good gravy was he overshadowed by his opponent, though.

Formerly known as Donovan Dijak, on the indie scene, Dominik Dijakovic was the challenger for the NXT Title in Detroit. He not only made a name for his NXT character in this match, but gave us all some insight as to how the 6 foot, 7 inch beast got onto the roster. With power, agility, charisma, and an incredible set of moves that had us all screaming for more and then afterwards, questioning our own wrestling “know-how”.

What do I mean by the fans questioning their “know-how”? Dominik was so dominant and impressive in his title match, that we all thought we were watching a non-taped title exchange. This isn’t just a testament to the in-ring story, but Dominik’s unique in-ring move-set. It was so jaw-dropping that it felt like it could be enough for him to get his over-night push. It was enough for us all to believe he was ready to hold the title.

Think about that…he put on such a great performance that the audience, myself included, was on the edge of their seat. We chanted “This is Awesome” because it truly was. We all gasped at near covers because Ciampa and especially Dijakovic, put on such a great show. We thought NXT creative was ready to throw away the Ciampa/Gargano feud, the Aleister Black story, the thought of a Ciampa title defense at War Games…and instead…give everything to Dominik Dijakovic.

It might be our own naivete or desire to see something special, but it would not have happened for anyone.

And if you think I’m talking out of my ass, it was Dominik Dijakovic who recognized our appreciation of this great match when he tweeted this out, later that night:

A lot of you are already aware of Donovan Dijak and his line of work, but for myself and so many other hardcore WWE fans, this was an amazing (re)introduction. I’m sure many great things are to come for Dijakovic and I look forward to seeing him get his chance in the main event scene.

Thank you sir!

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