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Ilja Dragunov became the first person in WWE NXT to defeat WALTER in singles competition last month at TakeOver: 36.
Not only did Dragunov end his opponent's 800-plus day reign as NXT United Kingdom Champion, but he also forced the Austrian star to submit.
Whilst speaking to Vicente Beltrán of ViBe & Wrestling recently, the current NXT UK Champion was asked about what he learned from his match against WALTER.
Dragunov, who has faced WALTER twice in singles NXT competition, noted that he adopted a smarter approach towards their match the second time around.
"The first match was a different version of Ilja Dragunov. So it was a version of Ilja Dragunov that just relied in his intensity, but being this intense is like being blind running into a wall and that's not the answer to be the best in the world like WALTER is so I needed to be a more intelligent version of Ilja Dragunov and I showed this progression on TakeOver; I had a gameplan for WALTER, I knew what he was doing. I knew how to get control over him and to make him realize that I'm not gonna fall like the last time. I already put him on his limits the last time but this time I put him on his limits by being intense and smart," said Dragunov.
Ilja Dragunov has a bright future in WWE
Dragunov has been the subject of a substantial push in WWE over the past few weeks, and his recent victory over WALTER has put him under the microscope and opened him up to a whole new fanbase.
Ending WALTER's unstoppable streak shows that WWE must have some huge plans for the current NXT UK Champion.
Ilja Dragunov has also set bigger goals for himself, as he recently spoke about a dream WWE match against a top main roster star. You can read more about that story HERE.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
