Kemo
08-31-2023, 08:16 PM
Gunther has been a dominating force in WWE ever since he joined the company in 2019. Before he was making records with his Intercontinental Championship reign in the main roster, he was making records in NXT UK. The Ring General was the longest-reigning NXT UK champion. He held the belt for 870 days before Ilja Dragunov finally beat him for the title in August 2021.
The importance of this win is not lost on the NXT star. Dragunov talked about his victory over Gunther during his most recent appearance on Out of Character podcast. He mentioned that beating Gunther felt like the greatest accomplishment to him, because it shaped the impression fans have of him:
"It feel like one of the greatest accomplishments to me because you are standing in the ring with one of the absolute best. Without any doubts if there's one person who made me into this form I am today and this impression that people from the audience have about me or all the critics or whoever then it was Gunther. No one else. This made the story about me even more deep and even more connectable."
Ilja Dragunov was also asked what would be the one thing he would change in the world if given a chance. The former NXT UK star said that he would take away the ability to be anonymous on the internet in some situations:
"Probably being anonymous on the internet, at least having the real names sometimes," said Ilja Dragunov, "Because it's just too easy to insult people by a different name with having no picture at all. I think social media made it a lot easier for people to be disrespectful."
He continued: "To stand up or take responsibility for what they're saying. At the end of the day it doesn't matter because even in normal conversations, you will not always have a person who agrees with you or likes you or whatever. That is totally normal. But taking responsibility and standing your ground, [being] honest for your opinions if you want to assault someone. It would much rather happen in a real conversation."
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The importance of this win is not lost on the NXT star. Dragunov talked about his victory over Gunther during his most recent appearance on Out of Character podcast. He mentioned that beating Gunther felt like the greatest accomplishment to him, because it shaped the impression fans have of him:
"It feel like one of the greatest accomplishments to me because you are standing in the ring with one of the absolute best. Without any doubts if there's one person who made me into this form I am today and this impression that people from the audience have about me or all the critics or whoever then it was Gunther. No one else. This made the story about me even more deep and even more connectable."
Ilja Dragunov was also asked what would be the one thing he would change in the world if given a chance. The former NXT UK star said that he would take away the ability to be anonymous on the internet in some situations:
"Probably being anonymous on the internet, at least having the real names sometimes," said Ilja Dragunov, "Because it's just too easy to insult people by a different name with having no picture at all. I think social media made it a lot easier for people to be disrespectful."
He continued: "To stand up or take responsibility for what they're saying. At the end of the day it doesn't matter because even in normal conversations, you will not always have a person who agrees with you or likes you or whatever. That is totally normal. But taking responsibility and standing your ground, [being] honest for your opinions if you want to assault someone. It would much rather happen in a real conversation."
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