Ilja Dragunov - Full Interview

What goes through your head when you enter the curtain and you walk down to the squared circle?

Leave everything, all your emotions in that ring and be as much as you can yourself because everything else will be a lie.

What would you say is more important to you, the storyline or the actual match?

I mean, the match itself carries a story already, you know.

It's a competition.

It's a fight, so it's kind of a story for me, but of course people are connected to.

The great stories, otherwise everything is just a choreography.

Would you say that when it comes to the overall ring and in ring, is there any performer that you work best with that brings the best out of you?

No, as a great performer, you've got to work with everyone, and that's a good sign.

If you just have a person, it's easy to wrestle a person you have instant chemistry with, but wrestle a person where you feel like, oh, I don't know about it and I don't, that's as a professional you can wrestle this chair.

And have an amazing fight.

Has there ever been a moment in a match where somebody wowed you so much that you had to snap out of it quickly and say, holy crap, I can't believe that actually happened?

No, I want to get hit hard, because I'm also not gonna hold back.

Is there any either athlete or celebrity that you would love to be a surprise guest this weekend at WrestleMania, show up unannounced.

No, because the best celebrity.

I announced and it's the host of WrestleMania, John Cena.

When you look at a guy like Siena last year, he may invented.

You still have a lot of future years ahead of you.

When, I'm gonna say when your main event at WrestleMania, how much about these type of experiences, putting in all the work will be and lead you to that moment and know that I worked so hard to get to this moment and now it's paying off.

And that is a that is a hard question to uh to answer because I'm not, I'm not nothing special in that sense, I'm just a very good example because everyone is working very, very hard.

But I kind of, I will definitely have a moment and say, OK.

To always believe, putting my true self into that ring, another thing that I believe will work because people like that, that's gonna be the biggest achievement of my life.

Couple of rapid fire questions.

The Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady called out pro wrestling recently, made some comments about it being quote unquote cute.

What would be one word that you would describe Tom Brady if he fails to show up to WrestleMania this weekend?

Yeah, words are just smoke and dust.

Is there any celebrity or athlete that you would like to put your finishing move on in the middle of a ring?

If you can have anybody.

There has to be somebody.

11 celebrity.

Aye.

Good, it's, I I never thought about that.

Obously I can't grudge it.

I, I, I, I have no one because the age bump is so violent.

I don't wish any harm on anyone.

Well, how about this?

Anybody that you would want to tag team with in a storyline or angle that's a famous person that you can bring in, pro athlete, celebrity, singer, anybody like that that you would love to join you in a tag team in a future angle?

I mean, that's a that's an obvious one.

I would take, I would take Keanu Reeves because nobody's gonna get messed with John Wick.

Well, there's a lot of people that mess with him.

They just all die.

I mean, they're, they're, they make the stupid decision to mess with him.

And then lastly, Dan Han has clearly become a star among stars here in the WWE.

If you can pick one current WWE superstar for him to curse next, who are you handpicking to get cursed?

Brock Lesnar.

Because, because I'm so, I'm so big on the, on the match between Obafemi and Brock Lesnar.

But actually, no, I gotta, I gotta take it back because Obafemi is gonna solve it just by himself.