WWE NXT star Ilja Dragunov recently appeared as a guest on WWE After The Bell With Corey Graves & Kevin Patrick for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling. During the discussion, Dragunov talked about the impact Gunther had on his career:
“There’s only one thing, and the one thing I can say is I would never be the person I am today without him. Not even slightly. There’s not one person to push me that hard, who shaped me this way, who taught me. The only reason that I am this good right now and making a name for myself is because of him. There’s not one person like him. There’s no Ilja Dragunov without Gunther.”
Viewing wrestling as art:
“Everything is art. Life itself is art. I think if you put soul into something, if you breathe soul into a thing, it becomes art. It doesn’t matter what it is. It doesn’t matter if it’s this business, this industry, or anything else that people do. If you put a part of your soul into it, then it becomes art.”
His upcoming match with Carmelo Hayes on September 30th at No Mercy after losing to him in their last match:
“Those kinds of setbacks like losing the first time, some people, they would quit. I’m not those people. Like you see, usually in my performances I get to my best when people really hurt me, when they really pushed me to the ground, and they stomp on me and hit me down. This is why I do my best because I just get mad. I just get more angry. We’re talking about art, like pain is my art, and I gotta bring such a ridiculous amount of pain on Carmelo Hayes. It’s gonna be impossible for him to handle that.”
You can check out the complete podcast below:
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
