Shawn Michaels Comments On T-Bar Mask Burning Vignette, Not Insulting Intelligence Of Fans
At NXT Halloween Havoc, a vignette aired with the RETRIBUTION mask of T-Bar burning.
Fans were quick to point out the burning of the mask and speculated that Dominik Dijakovic would be heading back to NXT. Dijakovic was in NXT from 2017 to 2020 before being moved to the main roster, joining RETRIBUTION, and being renamed T-Bar.
Speaking on the NXT Halloween Havoc post-show media call, Shawn Michaels was asked about the vignette and Dijakovic’s potential return.
“It’s not like we don’t see what goes on out there in the social media world and the shaking of the fist at different things that were done with different characters over the years and we do what we can here creatively to ‘nudge, nudge, wink, wink,’ we see you and we hear you. I would love to be able to take credit for that, but I have a pretty good head writer here that comes up with some pretty snazzy stuff in Johnny Russo. That was something he mentioned, just a quick tease and I thought, ‘that’s fantastic.’ I guess I’ve already given a bunch away. When you get a talent that is very talented, and we felt was just coming into his own in NXT prior. The larger perspective, the pandemic, and everything that happened, there were quick changes, we lost a lot of people and over time, they found out, ‘we’re not sure how they’re going to finish the story they’re in.’ Anytime they are willing to allow us to have the opportunity to have them back, we look at, not in a bad way, we find that like a fun new toy. To be able to take guys with that much talent. One of the things we certainly try to do is not insult the fans and not pretend like somebody wasn’t who they were a short time ago, just connect the dots and get you thinking and teasing it and making you feel like what’s going to happen and then, down the road, we surprise you, and you think it’s cool and it works,” he said.
It is unknown when or if Dijakovic will be making his way back to NXT. He sent out the following tweet following the vignette airing:
If you kill him, he will win.
Become vengeance.
Become wrath.— T-BAR (@TBARRetribution) October 23, 2022
Since the creative changeover in WWE following Vince McMahon’s retirement, Triple H and Shawn Michaels have “written wrongs” by giving wrestlers their full names back and bringing back previously released talent. You can find Triple H’s comments regarding “fixing” WWE by clicking here.
Fans can check out Fightful’s coverage of NXT Halloween Havoc by clicking here. Check out the post-show podcast for a full review of the action by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
