Former WWE Superstar Dominik Dijakovic has had fans speculating on his next move after being present at AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door.

The third annual Forbidden Door show saw talent from AEW and New Japan converge on the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. In addition to the two titular promotions, wrestlers from STARDOM and CMLL were also involved as part of the show’s 14-match card.

Dijak At Forbidden Door

Dijakovic didn’t appear during AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door but he was at the UBS Arena. Taking to social media, the ex-Superstar shared a backstage photo of his sunglasses in front of a screen showing the event. To make his point clear, Dijakovic tagged AEW President Tony Khan as well as the company itself.

pic.twitter.com/ZlifR3q5zw

— DONOVAN DIJAK (@DijakFYE) July 1, 2024

Dijakovic’s presence at the show came after he teased making an appearance and will no doubt fuel speculation that the former WWE Superstar could soon be All-Elite. Dijakovic announced his sudden exit from WWE last week after reports that his contract was set to expire in June 2024. According to the Retribution alum, WWE made no serious effort to re-sign him despite drafting him to the main roster in the 2024 WWE Supplemental Draft.

Where Else for Dijak?

AEW may not be the only option for Dijakovic now that his time with WWE has ended. Speaking last week, the former Superstar said in an interview with Joe Lowry that he is interested in appearing for TNA Wrestling and that the two sides had been in communication.

Dijak made clear however that these talks have not been contract negotiations. Ironically, TNA forged a partnership with WWE NXT this year shortly after Dijak’s call-up to the main roster.

• Dijak Has Pledged His Brain To Science To Aid With CTE Research

Dijak didn’t become the new WWE NXT North American Champion at the recent Vengeance Day event, but did show his toughness in the ring.

In the opening match of the night, Dijak hoped to capture his first title in WWE when he faced off against NXT North American Champion Wes Lee.

Going just over 17 minutes, the two put on a hard-hitting affair which saw Lee (who has held the title since October) get the pinfall victory.

The Injury

While it was Lee who got the victory, the main story coming out of this match is Dijak’s finger and his tenacity for continuing to wrestle after his injury

On social media, the former RETRIBUTION member showed off his nasty injury.

pic.twitter.com/TM5VzmngiS

— DONOVAN DIJAK (@DijakFYE) February 5, 2023

There’s no word yet on if Dijak will miss any ring time after suffering this injury.

Even if he does miss time in the ring, the former T-BAR is expected to continue his feud with Tony D’Angelo and Channing ‘Stacks’ Lorenzo, who interfered during the NXT North American Championship match.

According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, Shawn Michaels informed Bruce Prichard that Dijak’s finger is not broken.

Dijak in WWE

Though WWE had plans to sign Dijak in early 2017, a legal threat from ROH (who he was under contract to) led WWE to rescind that offer.

The following month in February, Dijak opted not to re-sign with ROH, and was signed to WWE that September.

Competing as Dominik Dijakovic, Dijak would be a solid performer on the gold brand, but never captured the NXT or NXT North American titles.

In September 2020, Dijakovic was called up to the main roster as T-BAR as part of the doomed Retribution angle.

After the group split in early 2021, Dijakovic would hover around WWE Main Event before his return to WWE in late 2022.

WWE NXT Vengeance Day Results (2/4/23): Bron Breakker Successfully Retains NXT Championship Against Grayson Waller Inside of a Steel Cage

Dominik Dijakovic, now known as Dijak, returned at the conclusion of tonight’s edition of WWE NXT.

Wes Lee defended the NXT North American Championship against Carmelo Hayes tonight on NXT. Carmelo gave it his all but in the end it was not enough. Wes connected with a Michinoku Driver to put Hayes away and retain the title.

After the match, a jail cell was shown on the screen with the door opening. Dijak appeared behind Lee and attacked the North American Champion. Dijak hit Wes with the Feast Your Eyes as the show went off the air.

He's baaaaaaaaaack!#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/mqimqxJiT1

— WWE (@WWE) November 23, 2022

Dijak was called up to the main roster in the short-lived faction known as RETRIBUTION. The group debuted during the pandemic and never connected with the audience. Dijak’s name in the group was T-Bar and he was stuck with that name even after the group disbanded. Tonight was Dijak’s first appearance in NXT in over two years.

DIJAK is Back. pic.twitter.com/LIUa161OJC

— DONOVAN DIJAK (@DijakFYE) November 23, 2022

T-Bar is dead and gone, Dijak is back in NXT and is coming for Wes Lee's North American Championship ?.

What an impact, on his first appearance in NXT since July 2020 ?.#WWE #WWENXT??? #Dijak pic.twitter.com/2nwHUFRE04

— R. Wilson (@Raph089968) November 23, 2022

Dominik Dijakovic on His Rivalry with Keith Lee

Dominik Dijakovic and former WWE Superstar Keith Lee had an epic rivalry in NXT back in the day. Keith Lee had a bizarre main roster run in which his name was changed to “Bearcat Lee” before he exited the promotion. He’s now signed with All Elite Wrestling and recently was a tag champion with former Hit Row member Swerve Strickland. Dijakovic spoke about his rivalry with Keith Lee on WWE’s The Bump.

The pressure is to never have a good match or to top a match or anything. It just naturally happens. There’s a lot of chemistry there. It works out, because he’s a big guy, and I am as well, so that correlates between the two of us.

For me, the pressure is always the championship platform. I mean, I’ve been talking about the NXT North American Championship for over a year now. So, anytime that comes into play, that’s my focus and where I put the pressure on myself.

Dominik Dijakovic is likely on his way back to WWE NXT according to a vignette played at last night’s Halloween Havoc.

Dijakovic was part of the gold brand from 2017 to 2020 where he unsuccessfully challenged for both the NXT Championship and NXT North American Championship.

In 2020, Dijakovic was called-up to WWE’s main roster as ‘T-Bar,’ part of the ‘Retribution’ stable.

The stable had limited success and was dismantled in early 2021.

Back to NXT?

During last night’s WWE NXT Halloween Havoc event, a vignette aired of a mask being burned in a fire.

Upon closer inspection, it appears to be T-Bar’s mask that was burned, which fans have taken as sign of the character being scrapped.

The fact that the segment aired during Halloween Havoc has also led fans to believe Dijakovic is returning to the gold brand.

Earlier this month, T-Bar wiped all images from his Twitter account, and his profile picture is just black.

After the Halloween Havoc vignette, T-Bar shared a quote from 1995 thriller ‘Se7en.’

https://twitter.com/TBARRetribution/status/1584006570454941697

Retribution

Retribution were booked strongly at the start, interfering in several matches, but quickly slipped down the card when they were given names and masks fans ridiculed.

Shane Thorne, who portrayed Slapjack, was repackaged as a Crocodile Dundee-esque character shortly before his release in November 2021.

Reckoning, aka Mia Yim, was also released last November, and has since joined Impact Wrestling, but left the promotion recently.

Mace has kept his name following the end of Retribution but is now part of the Maximum Male Models.

Mustafa Ali, the group’s leader, recently turned face and has teased involvement in the United States Championship scene.

Mercedes Martinez Opens Up About Decision To Leave Retribution

The new WWE regime under Triple H and Stephanie McMahon has already started making big changes to the programming.

In the past few weeks, things such as the return of Karrion Kross and Scarlett has excited fans. Reports suggest that more comebacks are expected in the coming future, but this might not be all.

Mike Johnson of PWinsider was recently asked if there has been any talk of re-casting an existing talent among all the big returns.

Replying to it, the wrestling journalist revealed that former Retribution member T-Bar is a name that has been ‘bouncing around’ in recent weeks.

The report claimed that the former NXT star’s name has been mentioned ‘most prominently’ for a character change recently. Though it’s unknown if he will return to his NXT character to get a new gimmick entirely.

The former Dominik Dijakovic had a successful career in NXT. His matches with Keith Lee were praised by fans and Triple H saw him as a star.

However, Vince McMahon decided to repackage him upon his main roster call-up. He was put under a mask and renamed to T-Bar as part of the Retribution faction in September 2020.

• Dominik Dijakovic Reflects On WWE Rejection, Keith Lee Feud

What do you think about T-Bar potentially being repackaged in near future? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.