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 injury.[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]

  1. ^ "Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database". www.wrestlingdata.com.
  2. ^ "Ilja Dragunov « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  3. ^ a b "Ilja Dragunov". WWE.
  4. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (30 September 2024). "Ilja Dragunov Suffers Torn ACL, Will Miss Six To Nine Months | Fightful News". Fightful. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  5. ^ Sutter, Robbie (23 August 2021). "Ilja Dragunov Wins NXT United Kingdom Championship at TakeOver 36". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Titles « Ilja Dragunov « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  7. ^ a b "411MANIA". Hamilton Looks Back at the History of WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  8. ^ "wXw 16 Carat Gold night two results: World title match surprise". F4W/WON. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  9. ^ Talk, Wrestle (29 October 2020). "Recent NXT Match Dubbed "Most Brutal" In WWE History, Given Five Stars". WrestleTalk. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  10. ^ Winnard, Liam (26 August 2021). "Dave Meltzer Awards WALTER Vs. Ilja Dragunov 5.25 Stars". WrestleTalk. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  11. ^ "WALTER vs Ilja Dragunov Temporarily Becomes Highest Rated WWE Match Ever". itrwrestling.com. 1 November 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  12. ^ Rathi, Ishaan (23 August 2021). "Twitter erupts as Ilja Dragunov defeats Walter in a stunning match". FirstSportz. Retrieved 10 October 2024.