Ilja Dragunov says he does not see Brock Lesnar no-selling his offense at the Royal Rumble as a defeat.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Dragunov was asked whether he felt disrespected by the spot in the men’s Royal Rumble match on January 31 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Lesnar shrugged off Dragunov’s offense before eliminating him, and many fans were upset on his behalf.
“First of all, that’s a shout out to all to all the fans that are feeling with me and are passionate with me and get angry with like for me,” Dragunov said. “I love all of you guys, and you’ve been sticking around with me for forever. So I appreciate your concern.”
Dragunov said his character has always been built around facing bigger opponents.
“If you really understand the persona that I have been in the ring for the most part of the time, like I’ve been facing monsters, you know. And at the end of the day, you can’t change certain things,” he said. “… Like most people would run away as soon as that happens. Yeah, that’s simply what would happen. But me as a persona, me as Ilja Dragunov, who is tough mentally and physically. I think for what I was given, and how this whole situation occurred, I did the best what I could do about it, and I can’t change anything about it.”
“But my best career moments were made by my vulnerability. I wasn’t becoming a name by being the person who dominates at all times. I became a name on moments where I got beaten down, like beaten down badly,” Dragunov continued. “I don’t know how good the camera angle is, but my nose is actually making a right turn because it has been broken a couple of times.”
“But it’s always the way how I fall back and how I recovered after those moments because these moments make great stories. So I don’t see it as a defeat,” he said. “I’m glad that people are upset for me, and maybe it could have worked out a different way. I don’t know it today, but I can tell you so much that I didn’t spare a second or third thought about it.”
Ilja Dragunov reflects on Brock Lesnar no-selling his offense at the Royal Rumble:
"For what I was given and how this whole situation occurred, I did the best I could do. My best career moments were made by my vulnerability.
I became a name in moments where I've gotten beaten… pic.twitter.com/aVIPWf9iSm
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 20, 2026
Dragunov entered the Royal Rumble at No. 17. He had lost the United States Championship to Carmelo Hayes in December, about two months after winning it from Sami Zayn in his return from a torn ACL.
Dragunov’s WWE contract expired in August. He was introduced as AEW’s newest signing at WrestleDream on October 17 in Orlando and is scheduled to wrestle his first AEW match on tonight’s Dynamite at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida.
