Backstage Reaction To Brock Lesnar No-Selling Ilja Dragunov At The Royal Rumble

The 2026 Royal Rumble premium live event prompted a lot of controversy when it came to booking decisions, crowd reactions, and more. There were several issues that fans had with the men’s match in particular, one of which being an interaction between Brock Lesnar and Ilja Dragunov that preceded Dragunov’s elimination. 

During the match, Ilja Dragunov approached Brock Lesnar and nailed him with a violent strike, typical of his usual strong style. However, Lesnar no-sold the move and instead laughed right in Dragunov’s face, before picking up the former United States Champion like he was nothing, throwing him easily over the top rope in an elimination that ultimately meant very little. It wasn’t just fans online who were a little dejected about this spot, but also those in WWE too.

According to Fightful Select, the backstage reaction to this moment was a negative one. Although some in the stadium popped for Lesnar’s no-selling, several wrestlers reportedly sent Fightful eye-rolling emojis at any positive reactions to Lesnar failing to react to Dragunov’s offense, indicating a tiredness at Lesnar’s way of working in WWE. It was reported this week that WWE did not have 100% confirmed plans for Lesnar at WrestleMania.