Former WWE Champion Reportedly Nearing In-Ring Return
An update has been provided on the potential return of Ilja Dragunov, who has been sidelined with an injury for the past nine months.
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. 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.
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. He is also best known for his inter-promotional rivalry with Walter, 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, to the NXT UK and NXT brands, when Dragunov and Walter had two Wrestling Observer…
This description was generated automatically and may contain inaccuracies.
An update has been provided on the potential return of Ilja Dragunov, who has been sidelined with an injury for the past nine months.