Ahead of his big match tonight against NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes, Ilja Dragunoz was interviewed on “After The Bell with Corey Graves” to promote the match.
Ilja Dragunov talking about the impact Gunther had on his career:
“There’s only one thing, and the one thing I can say is I would never be the person I am today without him. Not even slightly. There’s not one person to push me that hard, who shaped me this way, who taught me. The only reason that I am this good right now and making a name for myself is because of him. There’s not one person like him. There’s no Ilja Dragunov without Gunther.”
Ilja on viewing wrestling as art:
“Everything is art. Life itself is art. I think if you put soul into something, if you breathe soul into a thing, it becomes art. It doesn’t matter what it is. It doesn’t matter if it’s this business, this industry, or anything else that people do. If you put a part of your soul into it, then it becomes art.”
Thoughts on his upcoming match with Carmelo Hayes on September 30th at No Mercy after losing to him in their last match:
“Those kinds of setbacks like losing the first time, some people, they would quit. I’m not those people. Like you see, usually in my performances I get to my best when people really hurt me, when they really pushed me to the ground, and they stomp on me and hit me down. This is why I do my best because I just get mad. I just get more angry. We’re talking about art, like pain is my art, and I gotta bring such a ridiculous amount of pain on Carmelo Hayes. It’s gonna be impossible for him to handle that.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit After The Bell with Corey Graves with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
