Ilja Dragunov Out For Several Months With Torn ACL

Ilja Dragunov has suffered a torn ACL and will be out of action for several months.

Dragunov suffered the injury during a match with Gunther at a recent WWE house show in Columbus, Georgia, with the injury publicly announced during the September 30 WWE Raw broadcast. Raw lead commentator Joe Tessitore stated that Dragunov is expected to be out of action for six to nine months.

The former NXT Champion was called up to WWE’s main roster in April 2024, with reports in September suggesting that WWE were planning on reigniting the Dragunov vs. Gunther feud on WWE TV, with the pair having worked together on WWE’s house show loops in Europe and North America.

Dragunov has been with WWE since 2019, wrestling primarily across NXT and NXT UK. In WWE, Dragunov is a former NXT and NXT United Kingdom Champion, holding the latter for over 300 days, and the former for over 200 days.

WWE officials are said to think highly of Dragunov, with reports from his NXT days stating management found him easy to work with as he required very little direction, and was said by NXT talents to be somone who ‘elevates everyone he wrestles’.