3 Reasons why Ilja Dragunov is missing WWE Bash in Berlin

When Ilja Dragunov was promoted to Monday Night RAW on Night Two of the 2024 WWE Draft, there were a lot of expectations from him, given his resume in NXT. However, in comparison to his counterpart Bron Breakker, Dragunov has yet to make the expected impact.

While Dragunov was not part of the recently concluded episode of Monday Night RAW, it seems like the Russian won't be part of Bash in Berlin as well. On the red show, a tournament to determine the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship was announced for next week.

With the tournament expected to go on for a week or two, fans may not get to see Ilja Dragunov compete at Bash in Berlin as he will be a favorite to win the tournament. In this article, we will look at three reasons why the RAW Superstar will miss the premium live event.

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#3 WWE wants Ilja Dragunov to win the Intercontinental Championship number one contender tournament

Whether WWE has Ilja Dragunov in the Intercontinental Championship number one contender tournament or not, if the promotion wanted him to compete at Bash in Berlin, they could have booked him in some other feud. However, they did not choose to do that, which indicates Dragunov will be a part of the competition.

It also seems like WWE probably wants Dragunov to win this tournament and challenge Bron Breakker for the Intercontinental Championship. After all, Breakker and Dragunov have a history from their time together in NXT.

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#2 Triple H has his five-match PLE streak going

Besides SummerSlam, which is one of the big five shows for WWE, Triple H has booked every other premium live event to have a five-match card. At Bash in Berlin, The Game is probably looking to continue this streak. As of now, Triple H has already booked four matches for the card.

Gunther vs. Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship is confirmed, Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship is set, Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley vs. Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan is confirmed, and last, but not least, Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk is also set.

With these four matches already being booked, there is a chance Triple H does not have a spot for Ilja Dragunov. The last match on this card could be filled by superstars from The Bloodline story on SmackDown.

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#1 WWE wants Bron Breakker vs. Ilja Dragunov to take place at Bad Blood

After WWE is done with Bash in Berlin, the next big event will be Bad Blood. And if anything, Bron Breakker and Dragunov have had bad blood since their days in NXT. Hence, it would only make sense for these superstars to collide on a show that will capture the essence of their rivalry.

This could be another reason why Triple H is probably not thinking about booking Ilja Dragunov for Bash in Berlin. Regardless of what the reason is, it will be interesting to see when Dragunov can make a major impact on the main roster.