10 Live Observations From ROH's War Of The Worlds In NYC
8. The Donovan Dijak Experiment Isn't Working
Donovan Dijak isn't the kind of star around whom Ring of Honor was built, and he's not the kind of star the company usually pushes. Dijak is 6'7" and extremely athletic, but he's not a particularly polished wrestler. His offense looks weak and he's exposed as out of his league when competing with one of ROH's many in-ring experts.
Still, Dijak has been pushed - not hard enough to get Roman Reigns-style blowback, but enough so that it draws questions. He debuted in ROH in 2014, won the 2015 Top Prospect Tournament, and immediately joined The House of Truth alongside ROH Television Champion Jay Lethal. Later in the year, after Lethal had won the World Title, Dijak was expelled from the group. He's been out for the champ ever since.
Dijak took on Cedric Alexander on Saturday, and while the match wasn't bad, pretty much everything that worked was attributable to Alexander. Dijak was clumsy compared to the ultra-coordinated stars in the league, and some of his moves looked unpleasant to take.
No disrespect intended to Dijak, I'm sure he's working hard, but wrestlers like him aren't why fans go to see Ring of Honor shows. He probably has a good career ahead of him, and he's undoubtedly on WWE's radar, but right now he's a fish out of water.