Ilja Dragunov is back!
The former NXT Champion made his surprise return last Friday when he answered Sami Zayn’s open challenge for the United States Championship. Zayn and Dragunov had an incredible back and forth match that ended with the 33-year-old pulling off the huge victory.
That officially marked the end of Sami Zayn’s title reign.
Dragunov is coming off the high of capturing the United States title and issued a little warning to anyone who dared to challenge him for the prestigious belt.
“It’s been such a long year, and nobody understands how I feel sitting on the sidelines for a year, waiting and hoping and training to come back better than anybody else more ruthless more ambitious, fearless, more courage, all these things and everything that I accomplished over this year, this is a symbol of it. Me as a United States champion. So one thing is so clear to me right now. I got a very, very clear message to everyone who is coming for this My dear friends and my dear enemies, if you step with me into the ring, pain shall entertain you.”
Where does IIja Dragunov go from here? We’ll surely find out on Friday Night Smackdown. Last Friday was the first time he competed since September 2024. Dragunov was out of action due to a torn ACL.
The newly crowned U.S. Champion made his WWE debut in 2019 under the NXT UK brand. Dragunov’s incredible match against Gunther at the final TakeOver in August 2021 started off his journey as the NXT UK Champion. He managed to retain the belt for 319 days. Sadly, he was forced to vacate the title due to injury. He returned back under the American NXT after the UK brand folded.
The WWE star would capture the NXT Championship in 2023, beating Carmelo Hayes at No Mercy. Dragunov would keep the title for 206 days, successfully defending his belt against talents such as Dominik Mysterio, Baron Corbin, and Tony D’Angelo. He lost it to Trick Williams at Spring Breakin’ in 2024. He was then moved up to the RAW brand in 2024 on April 8, beating Shinsuke Nakamura in his debut match.
When Dragunov was injured, he was on the RAW brand; however, it’s clear that he’s now on the blue brand. It should be very interesting to see how Dragunov is booked as the United States Champion. Given his wrestling ability, it wouldn’t be shocking if WWE continued the open challenge.