Ilja Dragunov breaks silence after first loss on WWE RAW

The newest addition to the roster of Monday Night RAW, Ilja Dragunov, has a huge fanbase among the WWE Universe. Those who followed him in NXT, where he is a one-time NXT UK and NXT Champion, know about his stellar work.

Since arriving to the flagship show, the Russian-born wrestler has defeated Shinsuke Nakamura and Ricochet before taking a loss at the hands of "Main Event" Jey Uso this week. His facing Gunther is a match people are looking forward to happening. Ilja Dragunov ended the Austrian's record-setting 870-day reign as NXT UK Champion at NXT TakeOver 36 in August 2021.

WWE was smart to foreshadow an inevitable clash between the two this past Monday night. The Ring General marched to the ring and had a brief staredown with Ilja before standing toe-to-toe with Jey in the show-closing moment. While a section of the fans were groaning online that he lost his first match already on the main roster, the former NXT Champion perhaps does not see this as a setback:

"Pride in every version that brought me here," wrote Ilja.

Jey Uso will face the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time next week on RAW in the King of the Ring semi-finals. The winner of that match will fly to Saudi Arabia to face a SmackDown superstar in the finals. Meanwhile, Ilja Dragunov's win over Ricochet a week prior has put the latter in a pickle. In a backstage interview post-match, he teased something is about to happen.

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WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray thinks it was smart to book Ilja Dragunov vs. Jey Uso in the main event of RAW

Among the four semi-final contests in the King of the Ring tourney on Monday Night RAW this week, Ilja Dragunov vs. "Main Event" Jey Uso got the main event slot. Despite the loss, Bully Ray believes it is still a win for the former NXT Champion. Speaking on the Busted Open podcast, Ray credited WWE for making the effort to build the new members of the RAW roster:

"Great job of positioning Dragunov in a main event last night, despite losing the match, still great perception. Main event. Got over in the match despite not going over."

For those who do not follow NXT, these names will need to be introduced. The Hall of Famer admitted that now there is good reason for the three hours given to the weekly program.