Ilja Dragunov is one of the most intense and violent wrestlers in , and his own family refuse to tune in to watch.
The former NXT United Kingdom Champion has a reputation for delivering – and taking – as he blurs the lines between sport, art and showmanship with every match.
The proud father, who has young son Constantine with his wife, exclusively told Metro.co.uk: ‘You’ve gotta play it down a lot. So, I know my family doesn’t watch my stuff – which I fully understand, and totally support that.
‘You take different performers – their stuff might be more watchable than mine, because my stuff is very, very extreme, very close to the possible limit.’
Ilja admitted for someone who doesn’t know , it can be ‘really hard’, and his loved ones are too worried about him to tune in.
‘They gave it a try, they don’t like it too much – there’s too much concern about me,’ he added, admitting when he reports back he has to give a slightly sanitised version.
He laughed: ‘I’ve gotta always be like, “Yes, I’m good! Nothing bad happened! It’s okay!” And I know how I actually feel, but I always play it down. So having a family definitely affects that, it’s kind of like a hard choice sometimes.
‘Because I always think of how far I can possibly go. And then I remember, I still have a family so it’s not only about me.’
There is a balance to be struck, although for Ilja, that’s something he struggles to find.
‘I’m just like the real person I am in real life, I’m not balanced,’ he admitted. ‘I’m absolutely everything, but I’m not balanced. So this is one of those complicated things.’
Ilja has a high pain threshold that helps him push through, but he noted that his adrenaline comes from his love for wrestling, rather than needing any other source to keep him going.
he explained: ‘It doesn’t matter to me if there are thousands of people sitting in the audience, or zero. I love this business, I love this job, I love this art – which it is for me – that much, that I’m willing to give so much of my soul into that.
‘This is a love that I have this, I don’t expect to get something back from this. I feel so alive, I feel so understood, I see so much sense in what I’m doing, that I don’t make my performances depending on anything except myself.’
This weekend, he’ll be facing off with Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Championship, and he’s excited to get in the ring with the charismatic highflyer and ‘prove’ himself.
‘I feel very good. If people watch my matches, you know what my mental state is, always. I go in and I’m gonna fight for my life every single time,’ he smiled.
‘I’m gonna give everything that my soul is capable to give. I’m just not willing to ever put anything less than my entire soul into this. I’m more than ready, and I’m more than looking forward to this.’
NXT Great American Bash airs Sunday (July 30) at 1am on the WWE Network.
