Ilja Dragunov
| Ilja Dragunov | |
|---|---|
Dragunov in 2020 | |
| Birth name | Ilja Rukober |
| Born | 10 October 1993 Moscow, Russia |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Ilja Dragunov |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Billed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Billed from | The Soviet Union Moscow, Russia Dresden, Germany |
| Trained by | Axel Tischer Rick Baxxter |
| Debut | 21 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 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 Newsletter rated five-plus-star matches for the NXT United Kingdom Championship, the second of which Dragunov won at NXT TakeOver 36.