Ilja Dragunov

Ilja Dragunov
Dragunov in 2020
Birth nameIlja Rukober
Born (1993-10-10) 10 October 1993 (age 31)[1][2]
Moscow, Russia
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Ilja Dragunov
Billed height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[3]
Billed weight210 lb (95 kg)[3]
Billed fromThe Soviet Union
Moscow, Russia
Dresden, Germany
Trained byAxel Tischer
Rick Baxxter
Debut21 April 2012

Ilja Rukober (Russian: Илья́ Руко́бер, romanized: Ilʹya Rukober; born 10 October 1993), known by his ring name Ilja Dragunov (Russian: Илья Драгунов, romanized: Ilʹya Dragunov), is a Russian-born, German-naturalised professional wrestler. As of January 2019, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand, but is currently inactive due to a torn ACL.[4] He formerly competed on the NXT UK and NXT brands, where he won each brand's main title: the NXT United Kingdom Championship and the NXT Championship. He is the first non-kayfabe Russian-born male wrestler to compete and win a championship in the WWE.[5]

Before signing with WWE, Rukober competed on the European independent circuit and is also known for his time with Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw), where he is a former Unified World Wrestling Champion, three-time wXw World Tag Team Champion and two-time wXw Shotgun Champion.[6] He is also best known for his inter-promotional rivalry with Walter,[7] which spans from wXw, when, notably, Dragunov won the 2017 16 Carat Gold tournament and the Unified World Wrestling Championship against him the next year,[7][8] to the NXT UK and NXT brands, when Dragunov and Walter had two Wrestling Observer Newsletter rated five-plus-star matches for the NXT United Kingdom Championship,[9][10][11] the second of which Dragunov won at NXT TakeOver 36.[12]

Early life

Ilya Rukober was born in Moscow, Russia, and migrated to Berlin, Germany with his mother when he was five years old. During this move, neither he nor his mother could speak the German language.[13] Prior to entering wrestling, Rukober worked various jobs from a young age to help provide for his family, including working at a pizza parlor and a gas station.[13]

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2012–2018)

Rukober started his professional wrestling training at the German Wrestling Federation (GWF) training school under veterans Axel Tischer (who wrestled for WWE under the ring name Alexander Wolfe) and Rick Baxxter. He made his in-ring debut in 2012. A year later, he became a regular with wXw and would remain there until signing with WWE.[13]

Progress Wrestling (2018–2022)

On 14 May 2018 at Super Strong Style 16, wXw general manager Christian Michael Jakobi arrived in Progress Wrestling, and challenged Pete Dunne to a match with Dragunov at an undetermined date.[14] At Chapter 69, Dragunov appeared in the promotion for the first time, squaring off with Dunne, much to Jakobi's delight.[15] At Chapter 72, Dunne accepted the challenge and the match would be set at Progress' upcoming event at Wembley Arena.[16] At Chapter 75, Jakobi continued to insult Dunne, to which he would drag Jakobi to the ring to attack him, before Dragunov made the save and the two faced off again.[17] During Progress' tour of Germany, at the Oberhausen show, Dunne called out Dragunov, following British Strong Style's win over Rise (Ivan Kiev, Lucky Kid and Pete Bouncer). Once again, the two had a scuffle which had to be broken up by the officials.[18] On 1 October, Dragunov's debut match for Progress ended in defeat, when Dunne trapped Dragunov's arm and then manipulated his hand to force the submission.[19]

Dragunov began 2019 with a win over Timothy Thatcher at Chapter 83,[20] but did not appear for the promotion until Super Strong Style 16. On night one, Dragunov defeated Chris Brookes in the first round.[21] On night two, he quickly defeated Trevor Lee in the quarter-final,[22] and on night three, he was in a three-way elimination match in the semi-final with David Starr and Travis Banks. Dragunov was the first wrestler to be eliminated when Banks defeated him by pinfall.[23] At Chapter 91, he defeated Jordan Devlin in a number one contender match for the Unified World Championship,[24] but the following day, at Chapter 92, he was defeated by Walter.[25]

At Chapter 95, Dragunov took part in a rumble match for the Proteus Championship, which replaced the Atlas Championship. Dragunov entered in at number two in the match, and eliminated Niwa, TK Cooper and Chuck Mambo, before he and William Eaver simultaneously eliminated each other.[26][27] From October to December, he was involved in a series of matches with Cara Noir. Having traded wins over each other at Chapter 96 and Chapter 97,[28][29] the feud was ended at Chapter 99 in a two out of three falls match, in which Dragunov lost.[30]

WWE (2019–present)

Early beginnings (2019–2021)

During January 2019, it was reported that Rukober would be signing with WWE, with the intention of performing for the promotion's NXT UK brand.[31] He previously had a tryout for the promotion in November 2013, but suffered a skull injury which kept him out for almost a year.[32] He had a second tryout in Cologne during WWE's European tour in November 2018, where he was said to have "turned heads".[33] On 27 February 2019, WWE officially announced his signing.[33] On the 15 May episode of NXT UK (taped 19 April), Dragunov made his debut for the brand as a face, defeating Jack Starz.[32] He then began a short undefeated streak, defeating Joseph Conners on the 12 June episode (taped 20 April),[34] and Ashton Smith on 10 July episode (taped 16 June).[35] However, this ended on 15 August episode (taped 19 July), when Dragunov was defeated by Kassius Ohno.[36] On 31 August, at NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff, Dragunov answered Cesaro's open challenge in a losing effort.[37]

On 17 October episode of NXT UK (taped 4 October), Dragunov defeated Saxon Huxley under the watchful eye of Alexander Wolfe. Following the win, Wolfe applauded Dragunov, which turned into a brief staredown with the Russian when Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner joined him. However, it did not turn into a fight, as Barthel and Aichner walked past Dragunov for their match against The Hunt (Primate and Wild Boar), while Wolfe took him to the back, presumably to convince him to join Imperium.[38] On 11 November episode of NXT UK (taped 5 October), Dragunov seemingly joined Imperium in their ongoing feud with Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey and Wolfgang), before allying himself with the Scotsmen, who then proceeded to have a brawl in the ring as the show went off the air.[39] On 21 November episode of NXT UK (taped 15 November), Dragunov was defeated by Wolfe, and after the match, was beaten down by the other members of Imperium before Gallus made the save.[40] On 28 November episode of NXT UK (taped 15 November), Dragunov alongside Gallus, fought Imperium to a double countout. Although he got some offence in on Wolfe, he was mostly overpowered by the other members of Imperium, including a call back to the 2017 wXw 16 Carat Gold final with its leader Walter.[41] On 5 December episode of NXT UK (taped 15 November), Dragunov appeared during the main event negotiation segment between Walter and Joe Coffey, for their title match at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II. Walter wanted Dragunov to face Wolfe in a no disqualification match at a future date, but Coffey refused, since Dragunov was not a member of Gallus. Walter then said "No Ilja, no deal", to which Dragunov came out from the back and told Coffey to make the agreement. Following the negotiations, Walter told Dragunov that he had made a really bad decision, and the Russian was ambushed by the other members of Imperium before being powerbombed by Wolfe through a table.[42] On 2 January 2020, episode of NXT UK (taped 16 November 2019), Dragunov defeated Wolfe in the no disqualification match. In retaliation, he was beaten down by Barthel and Aichner after the match.[43]

On 12 January, during the main event title match between Walter and Coffey, Wolfe interfered in the match attacking the latter, leading to Dragunov coming out and hitting the Torpedo Moscow on Wolfe, which caused him to accidentally fall on Coffey's left knee, exacerbating the injury.[44] On 13 February episode of NXT UK (taped 18 January), after Gallus had retained the NXT UK Tag Team Championship over Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch, Dragunov came out to confront Gallus, but was outnumbered and suffered a beat down.[45] This was due to Coffey earlier stating that Dragunov owed "the Gallus firm" a debt, and it led to a match between the two men on 20 February episode of NXT UK (taped 18 January), resulting in Dragunov defeating Coffey. After the match, the other two members of Gallus appeared in order to commit a post-match assault on the Russian, but Coffey stopped them and informed Dragunov that he had paid his debt and that matters were now settled.[46] Parallel to the Coffey storyline on NXT UK, Dragunov also appeared on NXT programming in promos with Finn Bálor.[47][48] He accepted Balor's challenge to a singles match at Worlds Collide on 25 January, where he was defeated.[49]

On 2 April episode of NXT UK (taped 7 March), Dragunov won a 20-man battle royal to become the #1 contender for the NXT United Kingdom Championship, last eliminating Tyler Bate.[50] Due to the United Kingdom's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, NXT UK was put on hold and was relaunched in September, being filmed behind closed doors at Here East. On 17 September episode of NXT UK, after Dragunov defeated Noam Dar, he was confronted by Walter and their feud was reignited.[51] On 1 October episode of NXT UK, Dragunov made the save on guest referee Pete Dunne, who was being beat down by Walter and Wolfe, following the latter's loss to Dar in the NXT UK Heritage Cup first round.[52] This led to a tag team match between the four men on 15 October episode of NXT UK, in which Dragunov and Dunne were victorious.[53] On 22 October episode of NXT UK, during the contract signing segment, Dragunov was stopped from finishing his catchphrase as he was struck in the face by Walter, who then tore his shirt off and started chopping him. He escaped but withstood more damage as Walter chopped him in mid-air, hit a powerbomb to him on the ring apron, followed by more chops. However, it was not enough to put him down, as he ran at Walter through the railings.[54] On 29 October episode of NXT UK, he was defeated by Walter by referee stoppage, due to him passing out after being put in a rear naked choke.[55] The match gained critical acclaim,[56][57] and Dave Meltzer in particular, rated it 5 stars out of 5.[58] WWE were quick to capitalize on this, uploading a playback video eight days after it aired, with commentary by Shawn Michaels, William Regal, Wade Barrett, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Cesaro, Tyson Kidd, Killian Dain and Drake Maverick.[59]

Dragunov returned to the brand in January 2021. Haunted by the loss to Walter, he struggled to keep his emotions in check, resulting in his matches ending by referee stoppage.[60][61] He then had a short feud with Sam Gradwell, who kept trash talking him throughout his match with Tyson T-Bone. On 4 March episode of NXT UK, their first match initially ended by referee stoppage and was changed to a win for Gradwell by disqualification, as Dragunov kept attacking him after the bell.[62] On 25 March episode of NXT UK, the second match (a no disqualification match) ended by referee's decision, after Dragunov forced Gradwell to tap out following several ground-and-pound strikes to the Englishman.[63] On 6 May episode of NXT UK, Dragunov faced Dave Mastiff, who had offered to fight him the previous week. The bout was cut short due to referee stoppage, but this was legitimate instead of scripted, as Mastiff actually had his nose broken, and the storyline of Dragunov's matches ending in this way was scrapped.[64]

NXT United Kingdom Champion (2021–2022)

On 3 June episode of NXT UK, Dragunov defeated Dar in a singles match, following an altercation the two had on "Supernova Sessions". He later appeared after the main event, staring down Joe Coffey and Rampage Brown.[65] On 24 June episode of NXT UK, Dragunov defeated Coffey and Brown in a triple threat match to again become the #1 contender for the NXT United Kingdom Championship. Afterwards, Walter held Dragunov in a sleeper hold until he passed out.[66] On 15 July episode of NXT UK, during the in-ring press conference segment, Walter berated and belittled Dragunov. In turn, he told Walter that while he once respected him, he no longer did and all that is left is hate.[67] It was revealed that Walter had an injured hand and was unable to defend the title on 22 July.[68] Triple H, Michaels and Regal announced that the match would happen a month later, at NXT TakeOver 36.[69] Dragunov made his debut for NXT on 10 August episode of NXT, where he addressed the crowd but was interrupted by Dunne (who, by this point, had turned heel since their brief alliance in NXT UK). In the main event, Dragunov was distracted by Walter turning up, leading to him being defeated by Dunne, who countered the Torpedo Moscow with a forearm, followed by The Bitter End.[70] On 17 August episode of NXT, Dragunov answered Roderick Strong's open challenge in a winning effort.[71] On 22 August, at NXT TakeOver 36, Dragunov defeated Walter in yet another critically acclaimed match by submission, ending the Austrian's two-year hold on the NXT United Kingdom Championship.[72] On an episode of NXT UK, Dragunov defeated A-Kid to retain his NXT UK Championship.[73] On 27 January 2022 episode of NXT UK Dragunov made another successful title defense against Jordan Devlin in an empty arena match. On another episode of NXT UK, Dragunov would successfully defend the NXT United Kingdom Championship against Roderick Strong. After back and forth verbal shots with Jordan Devlin, another match for Dragunov's NXT UK championship was made, under the stipulation that the loser leaves NXT UK. The match would take place on the 200th episode of NXT UK where Dragunov retained his title, and Devlin had to leave (kayfabe) NXT UK.[74] He was forced to vacate the title on 7 July 2022 after having suffered a leg injury, ending his title reign at 319 days, although WWE recognizes the reign as lasting for 346 days due to the episode airing on tape delay.[75]

NXT Champion (2022–2024)

On the 20 September 2022 episode of NXT, Dragunov made his return from injury, interrupting a segment between NXT Champion Bron Breakker and number one contender JD McDonagh.[76] On 22 October, Dragunov fought Breakker and McDonagh in a triple threat for the NXT Championship at Halloween Havoc, but was unsuccessful. At Stand & Deliver on 1 April 2023, he would take part in a fatal five-way match for the NXT North American Championship, but was pinned by reigning champion Wes Lee in a match that also featured JD McDonagh, Axiom, and Dragon Lee.[77] At NXT Battleground on 28 May, he defeated Dijak in a Last Man Standing match.[78] On the 14 July episode of NXT, Dragunov defeated Breakker to earn an NXT Championship match against Carmelo Hayes at NXT The Great American Bash, but failed to win the title.

On the 12 September episode of NXT, Dragunov defeated Wes Lee to earn another shot at Hayes' NXT Championship. On 30 September, Dragunov defeated Hayes at NXT No Mercy to win the NXT Championship for the first time in his career, becoming the first person to have won the NXT and NXT United Kingdom Championships.[a][79] On Night 2 of NXT: Halloween Havoc on 31 October, Dragunov defeated Hayes in a rematch to retain his title, but was attacked by Baron Corbin after the match.[80] At NXT Deadline, Dragunov successfully defended his title against Corbin.[81] On 19 December episode of NXT, Dragunov was challenged to a title match by a returning Ridge Holland, who was trying to find himself after leaving his tag team partner Butch and to re-write his history, which Dragunov accepted. During the match, Holland dropped Dragunov on his head, where Dragunov kayfabe injured his neck and had to be stretchered off.[82] Despite Dragunov signing the title match contract to face Trick Williams, who had won the Men's Iron Survivor Challenge at NXT Deadline for an NXT Championship match at NXT: New Year's Evil on 2 January 2024, it was later announced that Dragunov was not medically cleared to wrestle and the title match was rescheduled to NXT Vengeance Day, where Dragunov defeated Williams to retain the title.[83][84]

On the following episode of NXT, Dragunov called out Carmelo Hayes for attacking Williams after their match at NXT Vengeance Day, only to have Dijak come out, leading to a brawl between the two. The two would have a match later that night, in which Dragunov defeated Dijak after interference from Joe Gacy. After the match, Hayes came out and attacked Dragunov. At NXT: Roadblock, it was made official that Dragunov was going to defend the NXT Championship against D’Angelo at NXT Stand & Deliver on 6 April 2024, where Dragunov successfully defended the title.[85] On the 8 April edition of Raw, Dragunov made his main roster in-ring debut defeating Shinsuke Nakamura.[86] The following day on NXT, Dragunov was called out by Williams for a title shot. Dragunov agreed to a title match at Spring Breakin' on the condition that Williams leave NXT if he loses, which Williams accepted.[87] At Week 1 of Spring Breakin' on 23 April, Dragunov lost the title to Williams, ending his reign at 206 days in what would be his final match in NXT.[88]

Raw (2024–present)

At Night 2 of the 2024 WWE Draft, Dragunov was promoted to the Raw brand.[89] Dragunov entered the King of the Ring tournament where he defeated then-Speed Champion Ricochet in the first round but lost to Jey Uso in the quarterfinals.[90][91] On the 15 July episode of Raw, Dragunov fought Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship to a no-contest after Bron Breakker's interference.[92] Two days later on Speed, Dragunov and Carmelo Hayes fought to the first time limit draw in their Speed Championship #1 Contender's Tournament semi-final match. It was decided that both men were eliminated from the tournament and the winner of the other semi-final, Baron Corbin, will have a bye to the tournament final to face Speed Champion Andrade for the title.[93] On 30 September, it was announced that Dragunov had suffered a torn ACL during a live event over the weekend and will be side-lined for 6 to 9 months.[4]

Other media

Rukober made his video game debut in the Most Wanted Pack DLC for WWE 2K22. He is also a playable character in WWE 2K23[94][95] and WWE 2K24.

Championship and accomplishments

Notes

  1. ^ While Bron Breakker unified the NXT United Kingdom Championship into the NXT Championship at Worlds Collide on September 4, 2022, Breakker is not recognized as the final NXT United Kingdom Champion.

References

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