Bio
Ilja Dragunov is a Russian-German professional wrestler who is currently under contract with WWE and he made his main roster debut on Monday Night RAW recently. He has worked in a number of European promotions before joining WWE in 2019. He won both the NXT Championship and NXT UK Championship from the developmental territories of WWE.
Ilja Dragunov Height, Weight, Age & More:
The billed height of Dragunov is 5’10” and his billed weight is 210 lbs. He was born on 10 October 1993 and currently the former NXT UK Champion is 30 year old. He joined WWE in 2019 and since then he has been working in the developmental territories of WWE. He made his main roster debut at RAW of WrestleMania episode of 2024.
Ilja Dragunov: Age, Height, Weight, Wife, Net Worth, Family, Injury Details, Tattoo, and Other Unknown Facts
Ilja Dragunov Early Life
Dragunov was born on 10 October 1993 and currently he is 30 year old. Moscow, Russia is the place where Dragunov born. She was raised by her mother and they migrated to Germany when he was five year old. They had to face difficulties in Germany because they did not know German. He worked in various places before joining wrestling like at a pizza parlor and a gas station.
Who is Ilja Dragunov
Ilja Dragunov is a 30 year old Russian-German professional wrestler who is best known for his excellent in the NXT and NXT UK which are the two developmental territories of WWE. He has also worked in a number of European wrestling promotions and won multiple championships. He is presently under contract with WWE and he made his main roster debut on Monday Night RAW recently.
Ilja Dragunov WWE Debut
Dragunov signed a professional contract with WWE in early 2019 and he made his in ring debut in the promotion in April 2019 in an episode of NXT UK. He defeated Jack Starz in his debut match in NXT UK. He made his main roster debut in the episode of RAW after WrestleMania XL and he made an instant impact by defeating former two times NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura.
Professional Wrestling Career
Training
Dragunov joined the world of professional wrestling in 2012 at the age of 17. He started his training at German Wrestling Federation GWF which is a famous German wrestling promotion. He was trained by Alexander Wolfe in the training school of the German Wrestling Federation. Wolfe was a famous WWE star and worked thoroughly in WWE.
Westside Xtreme Wrestling
In 2013, he got a big opportunity when he signed a professional contract with Westside Xtreme Wrestling. It is one of the leading journal professional wrestling promotions based in Germany. He remained active in the mentioned promotion. Until he got the opportunity to sign a professional contract with WWE in 2019.
Success in wXw
Dragunov turned out to be one of the biggest stars of the mentioned promotion as he won multiple top Championships in his six year long career with the promotion. He won multiple prestigious championships in the promotion including the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship, the Tag Team titles of the promotion three times, and the wXw Shotgun Championship too.
Dragunov worked in the mentioned promotion for six long years and he became the first Triple Crown Champion of Westside Xtreme Wrestling wXw. In 2018 he got the opportunity to work in Progress Wrestling which was one of the leading professional wrestling promotions based in England. He had a short run in the mentioned promotion.
Other Promotions
Dragunov did not have to spend a long time in this British professional wrestling promotion nor in the German Wrestling Federation as in 2019 he got the biggest call of his career as he signed a professional contract with the biggest giants in the world of professional wrestling; WWE. He would be hired by the NXT UK brand of WWE.
Professional Information Table
|
Ring Name |
Ilja Dragunov |
|
Ilja Dragunov Nick Names |
The Mad Dragon |
|
Profession(s) |
Professional Wrestler |
|
Ilja Dragunov Height |
5’10” |
|
Ilja Dragunov Weight |
210 lbs. |
|
Relationship Status |
Married |
|
Ilja Dragunov Net Worth |
$5 Million |
|
Ilja Dragunov Eye Color |
Blue |
|
Hair Color |
Blonde |
|
Wrestling Debut |
2012 |
|
Mentor |
* |
|
Ilja Dragunov Signature Moves |
T-bone Suplex, Jumping Senton, Spinning Knife Edge Chop, Buckle Death Valley Driver |
|
Finishing Move(s) |
Torpedo Moscow, Super H-Bomb |
|
Theme Song / Ilja Dragunov Song / Ilja Dragunov Music |
Death Waltz |
|
Catchphrases |
*
|
Ilja Dragunov Net Worth & Salary
According to reports from various media sources, the current net worth of the Russian-German professional wrestler is estimated to be somewhere around $5 million. Reports also suggest that he earns something around $200,000 as his annual salary in WWE. He recently made his main roster debut so we can expect him to get a pay rise soon.
Ilja Dragunov Family
Dragunov was born on 10 October 1993 in Moscow, Russia. Dragunov might have born in Russia but soon after his birth, his family migrated to Germany. He was only five year old during the time. Reports suggest that he lived with his mother and neither he nor his mother knew German so they had to face great difficulties in Germany.
Championships and Accomplishments
Dragunov did not work in the independent circuit regularly before joining WWE in 2019. He mostly worked in Westside Xtreme Wrestling which is a Germany based professional wrestling promotion where he won multiple top championship. He joined WWE in 2019 and he won the NXT UK Championship and NXT Championship.
Championships and Accomplishments Table
| Championships and Accomplishments / Trophy (WWE) | NXT Championship (1 time, current), NXT United Kingdom Championship (1 time), NXT Year-End Award (2 times) |
| Awards & Achievements (Outside WWE) | CBS Sports – Match of the Year (2020) vs. Walter
ESPN – Ranked No. 26 of the 30 best Pro Wrestlers Under 30 in 2023 Next Step European Championship (2 times) Pro Wrestling Illustrated – Ranked No. 72 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2022 wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship (1 time), wXw World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Robert Dreissker (1), Dirty Dragan and Julian Nero (1) and Walter (1), wXw Shotgun Championship (2 times), First wXw Triple Crown, International Tag Team Tournament (2018) – with Avalanche, 16 Carat Gold Tournament (2017), Mitteldeutschland Cup (2013), wXw Shotgun Championship Tournament (2013) |
| Records | One time NXT Champion, NXT UK Champion |
Personal life & Lifestyle
Dragunov signed a professional contract with WWE in 2019 and since then he had been working in the promotion. But he got an opportunity to attend a WWE tryout back in 2013. But he suffered a skull injury during the time which not only prevented him from getting a WWE contract but it also kept him out of action for around a year.
Personal Information Table
|
Ilja Dragunov Real Name / Full Name |
Ilya Rukober |
|
Birth Date
|
10 October 1993 |
|
Ilja Dragunov Age |
30 |
|
Relationship Status |
Married |
|
Zodiac Sign |
Libra |
|
Birthplace |
Moscow, Russia |
|
Nationality |
Russian-German |
|
Hometown |
Moscow, Russia |
|
School/College/University |
Not known |
|
Educational Qualification |
Not known |
|
Religion |
Not known |
|
Ilja Dragunov Ethnicity |
White |
|
Current Residence |
Dresden, Germany |
|
Hobbies |
Not known |
|
Ilja Dragunov Tattoo |
* |
Ilja Dragunov Movies and TV Shows
Dragunov never got the opportunity to work in any movies or television series as of now. He is active in the wrestling world since 2012 and he signed a contract with WWE in 2019. He is earning a lot of success in the wrestling world and we can definitely expect him to appear in movies and television series in the future.
Ilja Dragunov Wife
Dragunov got married on 17th December, 2021 and he made this announcement by posting a photo of his wedding on Twitter. There is no information available about the wife of the current NXT Champion. The only thing is known is his wife is Russian. Her is not known at this moment either.
Success in WWE
NXT UK
In 2018, WWE started a new developmental territory based in the UK called NXT UK. They mostly hired wrestlers from Europe to work in the mentioned brand. A lot of rising stars from Europe got the opportunity to work in NXT UK as a platform. In 2019 WWE signed Dragunov and he started working in the NXT UK brand of WWE.
Success in NXT UK
Dragunov got the opportunity to attend a WWE tryout in 2013 but a skull injury prevented him from getting the biggest opportunity of his career. He had to wait for six long years to finally grab the contract from the biggest promotion of them all. Dragunov received a very strong booking in the NXT UK. He had back to back big matches and victories.
Defeating Walter (Gunther)
In August 2021 he set a huge upset when he defeated Walter (currently known as Gunther) to win the NXT UK Championship and end 870 days’ title reign of Walter. Dragunov remainder the only wrestler to beat Gunther in WWE until WrestleMania XL where The Ring General was beaten by Sami Zayn who ended his 666 days of the Intercontinental Championship reign.
Success in NXT
Dragunov transitioned to the other developmental territory of WWE which is the NXT in 2022. He kept on receiving strong bookings in the NXT as well. He picked up some very strong victories over some of the top stars of the NXT. At the No Mercy event of NXT of 2023, he defeated Carmelo Hayes to win the NXT Championship.
Main Roster Debut
A lot of fans wanted Dragunov to be the one to dethrone Gunther. But WWE had other ideas. At the RAW after WrestleMania XL episode, Dragunov made his main roster debut as the NXT Champion. He made an instant impact by defeating former two times NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura in his main roster debut. We hope he has an excellent future lying ahead of himself in the main roster of WWE.
Notable Feuds and Rivalries of Ilja Dragunov
Dragunov had some excellent rivalries with some of the top stars of WWE throughout his career. Among his recent rivals, former two times NXT champion Brona Breakker would top the list. Together they had some excellent matches. He also had some amazing rivalries with the likes of Tony D’Angelo and Carmelo Hayes.
The longest reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther who was also known as Walter can definitely be considered as the biggest rival of Dragunov. They even had a very strong rivalry during their wXw days. Dragunov remained the only wrestler to beat Gunther until WrestleMania XL. We seriously hope to see their rivalry reignited in the main roster soon.
Ilja Dragunov Injury
Before joining WWE in 2019, he got to attend a WWE tryout back in 2013. He could have end up earning a WWE contract during the time but unfortunately, he suffered a skull injury at that time which took him out of action for around a year. It not only cost him his WWE contract but kept him out of action for a long time as well.
Other Details
Dragunov made his first appearance in a WWE video game as a playable character WWE 2K22 as a playable character. In WWE 2K23 he appeared in the main roster of the video game. He has also appeared as a playable character in WWE 2K24 which is the latest installment in the WWE video game series. He has been rated 81 in this video game.
|
Ilja DraguSalary |
$200,000 |
|
Brand Endorsements |
WWE Merchandise |
|
Sponsors |
* |
|
Charity |
Not known |
Ilja Dragunov Social Media Accounts
Dragunov is active on Instagram from a verified account. There is an account in Twitter by his name which is not verified, even though it is believed to be his real account. His Twitter account has a total following of 56.9K and his verified Instagram has a total following of 135K. Here are links of his social media accounts where you can follow him. Ilja Dragunov Twitter, Ilja Dragunov Instagram.
Ilja Dragunov Win Loss Record
| Promotion | Win % | Draw % | Loss % |
| BJW/CZW/WXw | 2 (66.67%) | 0 (0.00%) | 1 (33.33%) |
| FCP | 0 (0.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 1 (100.00%) |
| NXT | 25 (67.57%) | 3 (8.11%) | 9 (24.32%) |
| NXT UK | 27 (81.82%) | 1 (3.03%) | 5 (15.15%) |
| OTT | 1 (50.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 1 (50.00%) |
| PROGRESS | 11 (52.38%) | 1 (4.76%) | 9 (42.86%) |
| PWG | 0 (0.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 2 (100.00%) |
| Wrestle Gate | 0 (0.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 1 (100.00%) |
| WWE | 1 (100.00%) | 0 (0.00%) | 0 (0.00%) |
| WXw | 119 (65.03%) | 9 (4.92%) | 55 (30.05%) |
| WXw/GWF | 2 (66.67%) | 0 (0.00%) | 1 (33.33%) |
Ilja Dragunov Manager
Dragunov is active in WWE since 2019 and the Russian-German professional wrestler has mostly worked as a singles wrestler in the promotion. He had been pretty successful in the developmental territories of WWE as he won both the NXT UK Championship and NXT Championship. He never worked with any professional managers in WWE yet.
FAQS
Q. When did Ilja Dragunov start wrestling?
A. Ilja Dragunov started working in 2003
Q. How tall is Ilja Dragunov in feet?
A. Ilja Dragunov is 5’10” tall in feet
Q. Who is Ilja Dragunov manager?
A. Ilja Dragunov does not have a manager
Q. What is current Ilja Dragunov song?
A. Ilja Dragunov uses the song ‘Death Waltz’
Q. Who is Ilja Dragunov mother?
A. Not known
Q. Who is Ilja Dragunov father?
A. Not known
Q. Who is currently Ilja Dragunov girlfriend?
A. Ilja Dragunov got married in December 2021 but her name is not known
Q. Who is Ilja Dragunov brother?
A. Not known
Q. How much is Ilja Dragunov worth?
A. Ilja Dragunov’s net worth is something around $5m
Q. How many times Ilja Dragunov won the NXT title?
A. Ilja Dragunov had been a one time NXT Champion