MLW star Donovan Dijak eyes world title at Battle Riot VII, sets high expectations for company's growth
It will be the fourth rumble-type event of Dijak's career, having competed in OTT Loco Rumble in February, NEW Over The Top 2017 and DREAMWAVE Good as Gold Rumble in 2016. He told Fox News Digital in a recent interview he was even more excited that Battle Riot had more stakes attached to it.
"It's super exciting, especially now that it's for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship, which in my eyes is the most prestigious championship in all of professional wrestling. I can't wait to get an opportunity and capitalize on obtaining that," he said.
"Obviously, always a great event. You never quite know who's going to come out, but you know for sure that I'm going to be there. So, once the dust has settled, I think I'm going to be standing holding that MLW World Championship, and I'm super excited for that opportunity. I can't wait to put the company on my back, right on my shoulders, and carry us through the entire year.
Dijak made his debut in August at Summer of the Beasts in New York City and, since then, he's made his presence felt in MLW.
He defeated Tom Lawlor at SuperFight 6 and topped KENTA at Kings of Colosseum but lost to Matt Riddle at Eric Bischoff's One Shot in December via disqualification.
Riddle is now in the precarious position of having to defend his title against 39 other men. For Dijak to win, "it would mean everything" to him.
"I'm not a person who's had a lot of championships to my name," he told Fox News Digital. "I haven't had a ton of championship-sort-of-accolades attached to me. I've been very vocal in the fact that in terms of the grand scheme of professional wrestling, there's not really anybody, not just now, but pretty much ever, that has had the success that I've had in the professional wrestling industry without any sort of major championship accolades to go along with it.
"I almost have a point of pride at this point because it's like I view myself as one of the – and not just myself, but I think most people would view me as one of the top talents in the world of professional wrestling. So, the fact that I'm able to do that without the flagship of a major championship attached really speaks as a testament to my own sacrifice and dedication and hard work to the professional wrestling industry."
Dijak made clear that being with MLW for nearly eight months has been an "absolute pleasure."
"They give me the time and the focus and the dedication that I reciprocate to them. So, it is very much a collaborative effort on both sides of that, and I'm truly appreciative for that level of investment and that level of dedication, because that's what I love about professional wrestling," he said. "I love that nobody's right, nobody's wrong. We all work together to figure out what we think is the best possible situation and presentation, and I love that we're all on the same page in terms of that.
"I think that the fans, ultimately, are the ones who get the payoff for that because they get to experience the product of so many intelligent minds working together."
MLW is one of the top wrestling promotions in the U.S. competing for time and space in the industry's landscape with the competition seemingly stiffening even more over the last year.
Dijak said MLW has been on a "constant trajectory upward for a very long time" and expects the trend to go even higher over the next few months.
"I'm the type of person who is never satiated or satisfied with what's currently happening," he told Fox News Digital. "I'm always looking two steps ahead, three steps ahead, four steps ahead. So I'm worried about next month, I'm worried about six months from now, next year or two years. I'm always looking forward and thinking about how can we improve and how can increase, and that's going to continue to be my goal.
"And I know that if I'm given the opportunity to sort of spearhead that and lead that charge, that's going to create unprecedented growth and opportunity."
MLW's Battle Riot VII takes place at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California, on Saturday night. The event can also be seen on YouTube at 10 p.m. ET.
Bishop Dyer, Anthony Greene, Jesus Rodriguez, Paul London, Paul Walter Hauser and Brett Ryan Gosselin are just some of the other participants.
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