Ilja Dragunov has been praised by a fellow WWE Superstar for his dedication to wrestling.
WWE Superstar Ilja Dragunov is back in action. The Czar made his surprise return on the October 17 episode of SmackDown by answering Sami Zayn’s open challenge for the United States Championship.
Both men tore the house down in a match that earned major praise from WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry. After catching Zayn with his Torpedo Moscow headbutt, Dragunov sealed the win with his H-Bomb finisher.
Natalya on Ilja Dragunov’s dedication to wrestling
During a recent appearance on The Joe Vulpis Podcast, former SmackDown Women’s Champion Natalya revealed that Ilja Dragunov trained at her and Tyson Kidd’s Dungeon 2.0 facility prior to his in-ring return.
“Ilja Dragunov, he just came back, just won the US Title,” Natalya said. “Two days before he won the title, he came to our Dungeon and he was working on stuff. “He was just pouring sweat. I was watching him work and I was like, I told TJ, ‘I can’t get over Ilja. I can’t get over how good he is.’
“He’s so good. He’s wrestling in our ring with no air conditioning in the middle of nowhere, and he’s wrestling like it’s WrestleMania. And I love that passion. So everyone in the class was stepping it up that night, they were trying to be so much better because they were so inspired by Ilja.” [H/T: WrestleTalk]
Ilja Dragunov retained his United States Championship in an open challenge against Aleister Black last week on SmackDown. The open challenge is set to continue this Friday on the blue brand.
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