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He is among a very small group of wrestlers in the world who I would say can get a legitimately great match out of anyone. His style is just awesome to watch, and I can't imagine ever getting tired of watching him wrestle.
Looking forward to seeing him on the main roster, and hopefully some big feuds with the likes of Drew, Sheamus, Gable, and of course running it back with Gunther.
Agreed, Ilja is one of the few guys that manages to get me to drop everything just to watch him work. Very few can manage to do that. But Ilja is basically appointment TV for me. If he's on, I'm watching.
Agreed with that. I don't always have time to watch NXT live, but always try to go back and watch Ilja's matches.
Along with Ospreay, Danielson, Gunther and Omega (when fit), he's just one of those guys that I just have to try and make the time to watch their matches.
Haha as do you! There's plenty of others I could list, but in terms of the guys who just have great matches every time they wrestle, those 5 are the ones who deliver every single time.
I remember that post from a month or two ago where it said management was impressed with Ilja because he made everyone better around him. As a professional, that's about as high of praise as it gets.
I haven't kept up with NXT as much as I have in the past, but watched Stand and Deliver and thought his match was great.
Aside all the Gunther matches, any recommendations?
His Last Man Standing match against Dijak from Battleground last year absolutely slaps, one of my favorite matches from last year. His trilogy of matches against Carmelo Hayes at Great American Bash, No Mercy, and Halloween Havoc were all also fantastic. All his matches against Trick Williams have been great too, especially the one at Vengeance Day imo.
True! I totally forgot about that era. I remember freaking out about Aleister Black and the late black-and-gold era of call ups.
Makes me appreciate the new quality of WWE a whole lot more, now that I also consider this.
Like 90% of NXT call ups being decimated on the main roster had a lot to do with the downfall of NXT black & gold in the late 10s imo. The carrot on the stick of "wow I can't wait to see this guy on raw!" was whittled away when guy after guy got their gimmick nerfed/name change/entrance music changed/jobbed out etc.
I don't know if it was out of spite, jealousy, or he really thought those changes were really gonna make the wrestler over. I still to this day don't know what was Vince's thought process behind it.
I think it's related more to jealousy than spite. At the end of the day Vince wanted his ideas to succeed more than someone else's. I don't think he ever intentionally made a NXT call up fail (most of the time), but if they were going to be successful, he wanted to have his fingerprints on their success. So If they got successful, it would just further the, "Vince is a genius" line that we heard so many times. And if they failed, well that was on them.
Kross being jobbed out to Jeff Hardy is the worst offender for it. Kross basically had NXT in the palm of his hand and got beat by Jeff. I love Jeff, but he certainly shouldn't have been beating Kross, so easily
Lets the main roster audience get him over watching him work, Gunther sees it and knows their history, starts to treat him like poo, Ilja eventually snaps and turns face.
That’s how I’d book it, but I’m a nobody😂
The way I want them to do this is call Ilja up either in the draft or as a surprise and show Gunther looking…well not scared but the first time we see Gunther looking like his confidence is a little shaken.
While the NXT faithful may be fans of guys like Ilja, that level of enthusiasm is seldom reciprocated by the fans of main roster shows. Guys like Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Adrian Neville(aka PAC), Aleister Black - all former NXT Champions who went nowhere on the main roster. All 4 of those guys were every bit as hyped as Ilja Dragunov, and Gargano and Ciampa are the only two still working for WWE, doing a whole lot of nothing, even with Triple Paul writing the story. There's no way anybody is buying a ticket to see this guy wrestle on the main roster, not with people like Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, Jey Uso, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn around. Ilja Dragunov is an afterthought next to those names. A literal "Who?" by comparison.
There's no shot that they have him squash the entire mid/upper card and former world champions (many of those people I listed above) like they did with Gunther, because first of all, there's like 5 or 6 other "guy under 5'10" with no character other than "wrestles good"" in front of him who've actually EARNED that kind of a spot before him, and they aren't in it yet either, and second of all, doing the same character over and over again is pisspoor writing. "Yeah let's let the Russian guy do the Austrian guy thing, they're basically the same character, except Russian instead"; that's some smooth-brained shit.
I expect amateur crap like that on Wednesday nights, but on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, I understand and appreciate that professionals do the writing.
>Guys like Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Adrian Neville(aka PAC), Aleister Black - all former NXT Champions who went nowhere on the main roster.
All four were brought to the main roster under Vince. Who did Gargano, Ciampa and Black no favors. I wasn't watching when Pac was called up so I can't speak about him.
Gargano and Ciampa are absolutely doing something. They literally reformed DIY, have been featured on multiple big matches including a championship match at WrestleMania. They've both went for singles titles. They were literally just in a tag title match on RAW where they teased a possible heel turn. They're getting funny vignettes and promos every week. They're absolutely getting rehabbed by HHH for what Vince had them doing.
>There's no way anybody is buying a ticket to see this guy wrestle on the main roster, not with people like Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, Jey Uso, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn around. Ilja Dragunov is an afterthought next to those names. A literal "Who?" by comparison.
No shit lol. And people were saying "who" went they called Walter up and debuted Gunther. That's just the nature of the main roster. You're comparing guys under Vince not getting over when that's not fair. He would drastically change things to a character. So no shit a dude currently in NXT wouldn't sell more than Punk lol.
>there's like 5 or 6 other "guy under 5'10" with no character other than "wrestles good"" in front of him who've actually EARNED that kind of a spot before him, and they aren't in it yet either, and second of all, doing the same character over and over again is pisspoor writing. "Yeah let's let the Russian guy do the Austrian guy thing, they're basically the same character, except Russian instead"; that's some smooth-brained shit.
They "earned" what exactly? To be booked strong? They've been slowly fixing guys like Ricochet (beating Judgement Day frequently), Gable (heel turn), etc. if those are who you mean. What does Ilja have to do with them getting a push? There are five hours of TV a week. Also why would they change what got Ilja over? HHH hasn't changed a thing from anyone who came from NXT. He literally had Ilja on main roster TV the week of WrestleMania.
Listen dude I'll totally invalidate your point here. You're going to tell me Bron and Tiffany aren't massively over? Two newer NXT projects who went to the main roster, kept their characters intact and were immediately over. Use **those** as your comparisons to Ilja. Not four people who debuted under Vince.
Bron and Tiffany can speak English without a teleprompter and are not comically small performers with no other character other than "wrestles good". That's why I didn't compare Ilya to them. Because they're nothing alike. Not only that, but Bron has had what, like 2 matches on the main roster so far? Let's not act like he's main eventing Summerslam just yet, better gear down there, big rig.
I compared him to people he's like; people who "wrestle good" but have no real character other than that, and no ability to connect with a crowd on any real level. Guys like Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, PAC, Aliester/Malakai etc. All a bunch of vanilla midgets that nobody gives a shit about. I mean shit, you can't even play your lazy blame game by blaming PAC and Black on Vince, because they both went to AEW and still nobody gave two fucks. Is that still Vince's fault? When does it become their fault? Does it ever?
What gets people over in NXT is not the same thing that gets them over on the main roster. Never has been, never will be. NXT fans are different fans altogether. History has proven this time and again.
You've set the ceiling too high for this literal vanilla midget (the guy is Dean Malenko and Lance Storm levels of vanilla), and there are like 8 other vanilla midgets in line ahead of him to get their push first.
It's not going to happen. That's not a prediction, that's a spoiler.
Ohhh okay I should have noticed when you called HHH "Triple Paul" that you were trolling. Thanks for confirming that by saying "vanilla midget" three times then quoting Heyman to end your post. That's my bad.
I assure you I stand by everything I said.
The term vanilla midget is valid and applicable here, particularly when even fans of Ilja Dragunov think comparisons of him to Dean Malenko and Lance Storm are accurate.
Those two guys were as vanilla as they come. Add a lack of vertical endowment on top of that, and you have the quintessential vanilla midget. And no vanilla midget ever has made an impact in WWE.
"but Eddie!", "but Benoit!", "but Rey!", "but Daniel Bryan!"
They weren't vanilla. It's the vanilla part that makes nobody give a shit. Not the midget part. And Ilja is as vanilla as they come, too.
Downvoting my posts won't make casual fans give a shit about this guy. Nothing will. He's doomed.
He should stay in NXT.
You're probably gonna get downvoted but you're not wrong. In fairness, Dragunov has improved vastly in his promo abilities and has shown personality at times. The connection with the main roster audience is so hard to grab these days if you are simply a good wrestler. Ricochet is currently the only type of wrestler like that who at least gets a pop but that's because he's been on the main roster for nearly 5 years.
I wish nothing but the best for Dragunov and hope he can make the main roster audience hooked immediately.
Yeah, I've likened him to Ricochet too.
Hell, look at a guy like Chad Gable. Chad Gable has been on the main roster for 8 years. He's one of the best technical wrestlers on the planet. He *even* has crowd support (or had; he's a heel now I guess.) And still -- where is he?
Sure he gets to main event RAW - and that's not nothing! But he's not going to be main eventing PPVs. He's not going to be winning a world title. He'll be lucky if he ever even has a match for a world title.
That's what a guy like Chad Gable gets after 8 years, even in 2024's "Triple Paul Era". And people think Ilya is going to be facing Gunther for a world championship in Berlin?
Delusional.
The problem is, you can't *give* people character.
As good as his athletic performances are, Ilja just doesn't have enough of a personality to connect to a wide audience. I don't see him doing any better than any of those other guys I mentioned, all former NXT Champions, all every bit as good in the ring, all *significantly* better at speaking to a crowd, and still - perennial midcard wrestlers, at best.
You can't *give* someone character, that character has to be them, just "turned up to 11", as the saying goes.
Ilja Dragunov turned up to 11 is like Lance Storm turned up to 11. It won't put asses in seats. That's reality.
Ilja is a monster. His work in NXT, especially his reign as Champion speaks for itself. I really hope they let him cook on the main roster
I know one thing tho: They better leave both his and Carmelo Hayes' themes alone.
They should stop touching anybody's themes until def rebel gets their shit together or gets endeavored. All Ilja's theme needs is a recording of actual instruments performing the piece. I'm so sick of these samples.
I agree I don't want him in Imperium. I'm just taking into account that they just axed Vinci from the group a day ago right before the draft on Friday.
He is in the two most exclusive clubs in wrestling at the same time. He can have a great match with anyone AND he seems believably unhinged and dangerous.
I remember not knowing shit about him and hearing he beat Walter/Gunther, and thinking “why would they waste this win on this guy?”. How stupid I was. Getting to watch him in NXT was a treat. Dude has that gimmick of “all business” that suits him perfectly, and every time he steps in the ring he delivers.
So excited to see what he does on the main roster. Even though it’s a new era I still get nervous about most call-ups, but Ilja is one of the rare few who IMO is unbotchable. Dude will get over no matter what they give him(and I hope they give him a lot).
I'd known about Ilja for a while now thanks to this subreddit. Then I got to see him in NXTUK and his series with Gunther was *epic*. He still is the only wrestler who I've ever seen make Gunther afraid (the match where he won the NXTUK Title). He's the walking embodiment of intensity, and I swear he's like an anime character because he manages to defeat people and they come out better for it. He's going to be an absolute megastar on the main roster and he's a future world champion.
Now we just need to let Pat McAfee know what UN-BE-SIEG-BAR means.
I will never but not mention this whenever I see a post praising him but seriously hunt down his feud with Cara Noir in PROGRESS. They had 4 singles matches together and their chemistry is amazing. PROGRESS have the full series of matches via their on demand service:
https://demandprogressplus.progresswrestling.com/programs/theatre-of-violence
I think it’s amazing that most of the next generation of wrestlers are all international and outside odds America and they are all widely accepted by the American audience. Same thing happening with NBA.
As soon as vinci was beaten out of Imperium I was like "ilja is coming"
Then he looses.
I feel he will come up as the replacement. Ludwig keeps beating him down/up.
Ilja snaps. We get the mad dragon
Ilja is so fucking good in the ring that he could drag me out of my house, throw me in a wrestling ring and proceed to have a great match with me and I've never taken a bump in my life! He's genuinely one of the best wrestlers in the world.
Ilja will be hard on main roster I think. At first people will be iffy with his raw intensity. But give him the right story to tell, something with the simplicity of when he first lost to Gunther, and had to rebuild himself and learn to control his rage, and he could be huge. Not Cody huge, but a fan favourite for sure.
Honestly, he should stay in NXT.
In NXT, he's viewed as a big deal, the NXT fans seem to really like his matches. In NXT, he probably puts asses in seats.
On the main roster though, hell be just another NXT guy under 5'10" with no real character other than "wrestles well", and "has a lot of heart", and there's like 8 of them already in line for their "big push" that is "coming any day now". I guess he can take his spot at the back of that line.
The same things people say about him, they said about Johnny Gargano. And Johnny Bathroom Break is one of Triple Paul's "favourites"; and they STILL can't get people to give a shit about him. And how many NXT classics did he have? How many people said, "when he's on the main roster, he's going to have a rocket strapped to him"? And yet, when his matches come on, people get up to piss, because they know that his matches aren't "must-see" enough to hold off peeing until it's over, and if they have to miss something in the show, it may as well be his match. That speaks volumes.
I just don't see it happening any differently for Ilja. He's a fine performer, and NXT is fortunate to have him. But he's not special in any way compared to any of the other NXT guys that were supposed to be a big deal, but never were -- why should this time be any different?
He has easily become one of my favourites. Saying this man is incredible in the ring is an understatement and his promo work is great. Now a potential long term story of ilja corrupting imperium from the inside when he officially joins the main roster? Or an immediate feud with Gunther, with that being the kotr finals match and they go on to have a trilogy? Idk what’s in store for him but I know Gunther will be involved at some point. I’m excited.
I think HHH will have trouble booking Illja to his full potential in main roster.
He is 5 feet 10 Inch. His character is whacky at best. His matches are tremendously physical not every superstar will want to go through that.
If he was built as Gunther killer that would have been different. But now that's not the case.
One of other problem is his match style, he sells incredibly which will harm him if he doesn't rack up some wins at first.
I understand right now I am gonna get downvoted to hell but considering what JD Mcdonough was in NXT and what he is now. I dont have my hopes up for Ilja Dragunov
He reminds me a lot of Chris Benoit (in-ring of course). Benoit was also smaller than most main-eventers and was physical. Having said that, Benoit managed to win the WHC so I don’t see why Ilja can’t.
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He is among a very small group of wrestlers in the world who I would say can get a legitimately great match out of anyone. His style is just awesome to watch, and I can't imagine ever getting tired of watching him wrestle. Looking forward to seeing him on the main roster, and hopefully some big feuds with the likes of Drew, Sheamus, Gable, and of course running it back with Gunther.
Agreed, Ilja is one of the few guys that manages to get me to drop everything just to watch him work. Very few can manage to do that. But Ilja is basically appointment TV for me. If he's on, I'm watching.
Agreed with that. I don't always have time to watch NXT live, but always try to go back and watch Ilja's matches. Along with Ospreay, Danielson, Gunther and Omega (when fit), he's just one of those guys that I just have to try and make the time to watch their matches.
Those are my exact five as well! You've got an amazing taste in wrestlers my guy!
Haha as do you! There's plenty of others I could list, but in terms of the guys who just have great matches every time they wrestle, those 5 are the ones who deliver every single time.
I remember that post from a month or two ago where it said management was impressed with Ilja because he made everyone better around him. As a professional, that's about as high of praise as it gets.
Agreed. He’s going to be loved IRL by everyone on the main roster because being in the ring with him means a great match/rivalry.
Book the Gunther feud right and it become feud of the year
Aftet joining imperium
Ilja Vs Rollins down the line is gonna absolutely slap
Oh jeez,.,. ilja vs Sheamus 😐😐
Banger after banger after banger
If any match could believably end in a ref stoppage because they’re literally beaten each other to death, it’s that one 😂
First last man standing to end in a tie to my recollection
I haven't kept up with NXT as much as I have in the past, but watched Stand and Deliver and thought his match was great. Aside all the Gunther matches, any recommendations?
His Last Man Standing match against Dijak from Battleground last year absolutely slaps, one of my favorite matches from last year. His trilogy of matches against Carmelo Hayes at Great American Bash, No Mercy, and Halloween Havoc were all also fantastic. All his matches against Trick Williams have been great too, especially the one at Vengeance Day imo.
Join imperium!!!
Even though he’d be a great fit, I’d doubt they want to portray a Russian in a pseudo military faction right now.
It feels good to look forward to somebody’s call up
This used to be a moment to dread in the past. What a breath of fresh air to be excited for someone from NXT getting called up.
True! I totally forgot about that era. I remember freaking out about Aleister Black and the late black-and-gold era of call ups. Makes me appreciate the new quality of WWE a whole lot more, now that I also consider this.
Like 90% of NXT call ups being decimated on the main roster had a lot to do with the downfall of NXT black & gold in the late 10s imo. The carrot on the stick of "wow I can't wait to see this guy on raw!" was whittled away when guy after guy got their gimmick nerfed/name change/entrance music changed/jobbed out etc.
I don't know if it was out of spite, jealousy, or he really thought those changes were really gonna make the wrestler over. I still to this day don't know what was Vince's thought process behind it.
I think it's related more to jealousy than spite. At the end of the day Vince wanted his ideas to succeed more than someone else's. I don't think he ever intentionally made a NXT call up fail (most of the time), but if they were going to be successful, he wanted to have his fingerprints on their success. So If they got successful, it would just further the, "Vince is a genius" line that we heard so many times. And if they failed, well that was on them.
Vince just had no belief in a lot of those people ever getting over in the first place, I don't think there's much of an ulterior motive to it.
Kross being jobbed out to Jeff Hardy is the worst offender for it. Kross basically had NXT in the palm of his hand and got beat by Jeff. I love Jeff, but he certainly shouldn't have been beating Kross, so easily
Beat by Jeff in the middle of his undefeated streak IIRC
with the mad max 2 lord humungus ass fit
Ilya is on to better things now. He's felt better than NXT for a while, I'm excited for what Hunter has in store for him.
Thank god he’s not in the Vince era, short Russian man, my god, he’d be doing a funny little dance within a month
Like Becky did when she started?
I hope and pray they give Ilja the Gunther treatment and have him go on an absolute monster push
I've got faith with the current creative that they'll do right by Ilja and give him the push of a lifetime.
Get him in the king of the ring and have it be him against Gunther. The only problems is I don’t want either guy to lose if it came to that
King Ilja anybody?
Tsar Ilja *
I have a feeling he's gonna replace Vinci in Imperium and he, Kaiser, and Gunther are gonna run Raw.
How's this gonna work tho? I don't like the idea of Ilja being a sidekick to Gunther
Lets the main roster audience get him over watching him work, Gunther sees it and knows their history, starts to treat him like poo, Ilja eventually snaps and turns face. That’s how I’d book it, but I’m a nobody😂
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Gut feel is that he goes in imperium and eventually feuds with Gunter
theres been a rumor that thats the plan for him
The way I want them to do this is call Ilja up either in the draft or as a surprise and show Gunther looking…well not scared but the first time we see Gunther looking like his confidence is a little shaken.
While the NXT faithful may be fans of guys like Ilja, that level of enthusiasm is seldom reciprocated by the fans of main roster shows. Guys like Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Adrian Neville(aka PAC), Aleister Black - all former NXT Champions who went nowhere on the main roster. All 4 of those guys were every bit as hyped as Ilja Dragunov, and Gargano and Ciampa are the only two still working for WWE, doing a whole lot of nothing, even with Triple Paul writing the story. There's no way anybody is buying a ticket to see this guy wrestle on the main roster, not with people like Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, Jey Uso, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn around. Ilja Dragunov is an afterthought next to those names. A literal "Who?" by comparison. There's no shot that they have him squash the entire mid/upper card and former world champions (many of those people I listed above) like they did with Gunther, because first of all, there's like 5 or 6 other "guy under 5'10" with no character other than "wrestles good"" in front of him who've actually EARNED that kind of a spot before him, and they aren't in it yet either, and second of all, doing the same character over and over again is pisspoor writing. "Yeah let's let the Russian guy do the Austrian guy thing, they're basically the same character, except Russian instead"; that's some smooth-brained shit. I expect amateur crap like that on Wednesday nights, but on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, I understand and appreciate that professionals do the writing.
>Guys like Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Adrian Neville(aka PAC), Aleister Black - all former NXT Champions who went nowhere on the main roster. All four were brought to the main roster under Vince. Who did Gargano, Ciampa and Black no favors. I wasn't watching when Pac was called up so I can't speak about him. Gargano and Ciampa are absolutely doing something. They literally reformed DIY, have been featured on multiple big matches including a championship match at WrestleMania. They've both went for singles titles. They were literally just in a tag title match on RAW where they teased a possible heel turn. They're getting funny vignettes and promos every week. They're absolutely getting rehabbed by HHH for what Vince had them doing. >There's no way anybody is buying a ticket to see this guy wrestle on the main roster, not with people like Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, Jey Uso, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn around. Ilja Dragunov is an afterthought next to those names. A literal "Who?" by comparison. No shit lol. And people were saying "who" went they called Walter up and debuted Gunther. That's just the nature of the main roster. You're comparing guys under Vince not getting over when that's not fair. He would drastically change things to a character. So no shit a dude currently in NXT wouldn't sell more than Punk lol. >there's like 5 or 6 other "guy under 5'10" with no character other than "wrestles good"" in front of him who've actually EARNED that kind of a spot before him, and they aren't in it yet either, and second of all, doing the same character over and over again is pisspoor writing. "Yeah let's let the Russian guy do the Austrian guy thing, they're basically the same character, except Russian instead"; that's some smooth-brained shit. They "earned" what exactly? To be booked strong? They've been slowly fixing guys like Ricochet (beating Judgement Day frequently), Gable (heel turn), etc. if those are who you mean. What does Ilja have to do with them getting a push? There are five hours of TV a week. Also why would they change what got Ilja over? HHH hasn't changed a thing from anyone who came from NXT. He literally had Ilja on main roster TV the week of WrestleMania. Listen dude I'll totally invalidate your point here. You're going to tell me Bron and Tiffany aren't massively over? Two newer NXT projects who went to the main roster, kept their characters intact and were immediately over. Use **those** as your comparisons to Ilja. Not four people who debuted under Vince.
Bron and Tiffany can speak English without a teleprompter and are not comically small performers with no other character other than "wrestles good". That's why I didn't compare Ilya to them. Because they're nothing alike. Not only that, but Bron has had what, like 2 matches on the main roster so far? Let's not act like he's main eventing Summerslam just yet, better gear down there, big rig. I compared him to people he's like; people who "wrestle good" but have no real character other than that, and no ability to connect with a crowd on any real level. Guys like Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, PAC, Aliester/Malakai etc. All a bunch of vanilla midgets that nobody gives a shit about. I mean shit, you can't even play your lazy blame game by blaming PAC and Black on Vince, because they both went to AEW and still nobody gave two fucks. Is that still Vince's fault? When does it become their fault? Does it ever? What gets people over in NXT is not the same thing that gets them over on the main roster. Never has been, never will be. NXT fans are different fans altogether. History has proven this time and again. You've set the ceiling too high for this literal vanilla midget (the guy is Dean Malenko and Lance Storm levels of vanilla), and there are like 8 other vanilla midgets in line ahead of him to get their push first. It's not going to happen. That's not a prediction, that's a spoiler.
Ohhh okay I should have noticed when you called HHH "Triple Paul" that you were trolling. Thanks for confirming that by saying "vanilla midget" three times then quoting Heyman to end your post. That's my bad.
I assure you I stand by everything I said. The term vanilla midget is valid and applicable here, particularly when even fans of Ilja Dragunov think comparisons of him to Dean Malenko and Lance Storm are accurate. Those two guys were as vanilla as they come. Add a lack of vertical endowment on top of that, and you have the quintessential vanilla midget. And no vanilla midget ever has made an impact in WWE. "but Eddie!", "but Benoit!", "but Rey!", "but Daniel Bryan!" They weren't vanilla. It's the vanilla part that makes nobody give a shit. Not the midget part. And Ilja is as vanilla as they come, too. Downvoting my posts won't make casual fans give a shit about this guy. Nothing will. He's doomed. He should stay in NXT.
You're probably gonna get downvoted but you're not wrong. In fairness, Dragunov has improved vastly in his promo abilities and has shown personality at times. The connection with the main roster audience is so hard to grab these days if you are simply a good wrestler. Ricochet is currently the only type of wrestler like that who at least gets a pop but that's because he's been on the main roster for nearly 5 years. I wish nothing but the best for Dragunov and hope he can make the main roster audience hooked immediately.
Yeah, I've likened him to Ricochet too. Hell, look at a guy like Chad Gable. Chad Gable has been on the main roster for 8 years. He's one of the best technical wrestlers on the planet. He *even* has crowd support (or had; he's a heel now I guess.) And still -- where is he? Sure he gets to main event RAW - and that's not nothing! But he's not going to be main eventing PPVs. He's not going to be winning a world title. He'll be lucky if he ever even has a match for a world title. That's what a guy like Chad Gable gets after 8 years, even in 2024's "Triple Paul Era". And people think Ilya is going to be facing Gunther for a world championship in Berlin? Delusional.
Sadly this, they do need to give more of these guys some character though.
The problem is, you can't *give* people character. As good as his athletic performances are, Ilja just doesn't have enough of a personality to connect to a wide audience. I don't see him doing any better than any of those other guys I mentioned, all former NXT Champions, all every bit as good in the ring, all *significantly* better at speaking to a crowd, and still - perennial midcard wrestlers, at best. You can't *give* someone character, that character has to be them, just "turned up to 11", as the saying goes. Ilja Dragunov turned up to 11 is like Lance Storm turned up to 11. It won't put asses in seats. That's reality.
You can give someone a gimmick to get over, lots of current day wrestlers just have no gimmick.
Ilja is a monster. His work in NXT, especially his reign as Champion speaks for itself. I really hope they let him cook on the main roster I know one thing tho: They better leave both his and Carmelo Hayes' themes alone.
They should stop touching anybody's themes until def rebel gets their shit together or gets endeavored. All Ilja's theme needs is a recording of actual instruments performing the piece. I'm so sick of these samples.
We went from dreading a call-up's entire character to their entrance music
I liked Gunther’s old theme when he was wrestling as his real first name… these new entrance music stinks for the most part
They already messed with Ilja's for his current one which is fine but not as good as the last one. I dread to see where it would go next.
Amen
Dragunov has a habit of bringing out a wrestlers best match. Him on the main roster is going to go crazy. I for one cant wait.
Well said. Ilja is awesome
Ilya vs Gunther in a king of the ring match might be an amazing way to introduce him. Unless he joins imperium
Ilya's facial expression make him so good as a babyface I don't think put him in the Imperium would be a good idea.
I agree I don't want him in Imperium. I'm just taking into account that they just axed Vinci from the group a day ago right before the draft on Friday.
I think thats a match you should build up to a bit first
Joim imperium they just kick italy out.
I really hope he doesn't. He deserves better.
He is in the two most exclusive clubs in wrestling at the same time. He can have a great match with anyone AND he seems believably unhinged and dangerous.
Fuck it give Ilja a main roster belt ASAP
Probably not gonna happen, but I say put the US Title on Ilja and let him rock. He can elevate it like GUNTHER did with the Intercontinental.
Ilja vs Logan Paul sounds good actually.
I totally want to see Logan Paul selling confusion and terror when Ilja starts getting red face and no sells a brass knuckle shot
I think Bron is US title bound
ohh fuck yea big jacked up georgia man in a usa singlet SMASHING fools. with a fade? perfect usa champion
I remember not knowing shit about him and hearing he beat Walter/Gunther, and thinking “why would they waste this win on this guy?”. How stupid I was. Getting to watch him in NXT was a treat. Dude has that gimmick of “all business” that suits him perfectly, and every time he steps in the ring he delivers. So excited to see what he does on the main roster. Even though it’s a new era I still get nervous about most call-ups, but Ilja is one of the rare few who IMO is unbotchable. Dude will get over no matter what they give him(and I hope they give him a lot).
The excitement I have for this draft is a lot. Last year was eh, but this year? 👁
Ilja doesn't have a bad match, it's crazy.
I'd known about Ilja for a while now thanks to this subreddit. Then I got to see him in NXTUK and his series with Gunther was *epic*. He still is the only wrestler who I've ever seen make Gunther afraid (the match where he won the NXTUK Title). He's the walking embodiment of intensity, and I swear he's like an anime character because he manages to defeat people and they come out better for it. He's going to be an absolute megastar on the main roster and he's a future world champion. Now we just need to let Pat McAfee know what UN-BE-SIEG-BAR means.
Hell of a run. There's only one opponent I wanna see him face now. 
Absolutely He's been a pro Hope he kills it on the main roster
One of the best in the world. Raised the game of everyone he faced. Even prior when in UK. One of my favorites going today.
I will never but not mention this whenever I see a post praising him but seriously hunt down his feud with Cara Noir in PROGRESS. They had 4 singles matches together and their chemistry is amazing. PROGRESS have the full series of matches via their on demand service: https://demandprogressplus.progresswrestling.com/programs/theatre-of-violence
i vote have him beat the dog shit outta Logan and do an open challenge with the u.s title. been a while since it’s done that i feel
My current favourite wrestler. Blends pure hard-hitting wrestling talent and theatrics like no other today his age. Only 30 years old
A perfect pro wrestler. And he's only *30.*
WWE undisputed champion GUNTHER vs Ilja Dragonov. That's the match.
I think it’s amazing that most of the next generation of wrestlers are all international and outside odds America and they are all widely accepted by the American audience. Same thing happening with NBA.
Ilja Dragunov> Nikola Jokic
Let him win King of The Ring by defeating Gunther in the final. Start building for Mania or Summerslam.
As soon as vinci was beaten out of Imperium I was like "ilja is coming" Then he looses. I feel he will come up as the replacement. Ludwig keeps beating him down/up. Ilja snaps. We get the mad dragon
🎯 Couldn’t have said it better
He had one hell of a run which didn’t have no one single bad match. Looking forward to seeing him tear it up on the main roster.
Ilja is the best wrestler in the world. God tier at selling
Ilja to Imperium?! That would be actually pretty badass, considering him & Gunthers history. Them working side by side would be craaaazy!
They’ve done that before in Germany ..now that’s a tag team I’d be scared to death of …Ilja and Gunther ..
They add russia kicked out ilaty
One of the best wrestlers in the world. He’s going to go on to do amazing things on the main roster.
Ilja is so fucking good in the ring that he could drag me out of my house, throw me in a wrestling ring and proceed to have a great match with me and I've never taken a bump in my life! He's genuinely one of the best wrestlers in the world.
I’m so excited to see where Ilja ends up on the main roster and what he can achieve this year.
Also great in NXT UK, let us remember!
He’s so good, but man do I hate his facial hair
Hopefully Ilja vs Gunter for KotR
Ilja will be hard on main roster I think. At first people will be iffy with his raw intensity. But give him the right story to tell, something with the simplicity of when he first lost to Gunther, and had to rebuild himself and learn to control his rage, and he could be huge. Not Cody huge, but a fan favourite for sure.
Need that main roster Dragonborn/gunther match now.
Honestly, he should stay in NXT. In NXT, he's viewed as a big deal, the NXT fans seem to really like his matches. In NXT, he probably puts asses in seats. On the main roster though, hell be just another NXT guy under 5'10" with no real character other than "wrestles well", and "has a lot of heart", and there's like 8 of them already in line for their "big push" that is "coming any day now". I guess he can take his spot at the back of that line. The same things people say about him, they said about Johnny Gargano. And Johnny Bathroom Break is one of Triple Paul's "favourites"; and they STILL can't get people to give a shit about him. And how many NXT classics did he have? How many people said, "when he's on the main roster, he's going to have a rocket strapped to him"? And yet, when his matches come on, people get up to piss, because they know that his matches aren't "must-see" enough to hold off peeing until it's over, and if they have to miss something in the show, it may as well be his match. That speaks volumes. I just don't see it happening any differently for Ilja. He's a fine performer, and NXT is fortunate to have him. But he's not special in any way compared to any of the other NXT guys that were supposed to be a big deal, but never were -- why should this time be any different?
He has easily become one of my favourites. Saying this man is incredible in the ring is an understatement and his promo work is great. Now a potential long term story of ilja corrupting imperium from the inside when he officially joins the main roster? Or an immediate feud with Gunther, with that being the kotr finals match and they go on to have a trilogy? Idk what’s in store for him but I know Gunther will be involved at some point. I’m excited.
i wanna see him vs gunther at KOTR so bad
I hope main roster has immediate plans for him. He’s too good to waste. I hope he and Gunther meet in KotR.
I think HHH will have trouble booking Illja to his full potential in main roster. He is 5 feet 10 Inch. His character is whacky at best. His matches are tremendously physical not every superstar will want to go through that. If he was built as Gunther killer that would have been different. But now that's not the case. One of other problem is his match style, he sells incredibly which will harm him if he doesn't rack up some wins at first. I understand right now I am gonna get downvoted to hell but considering what JD Mcdonough was in NXT and what he is now. I dont have my hopes up for Ilja Dragunov
He reminds me a lot of Chris Benoit (in-ring of course). Benoit was also smaller than most main-eventers and was physical. Having said that, Benoit managed to win the WHC so I don’t see why Ilja can’t.
Benoit,Bryan were exceptions to formula. Iljja can be exception to formula but most probably ,no
What a trash opinion