Who is Ilja Dragunov? All you must know about the new NXT Champion

Ilja Dragunov made history at NXT No Mercy 2023. The Czar defeated Carmelo Hayes in an extremely physical match to win the NXT Championship. Fans might be wondering who the new titleholder is and what his win could mean for the white-and-gold brand.

Dragunov's Wikipedia page describes him as a "Russian-born German professional wrestler." He's a world-traveled veteran with critically acclaimed matches in numerous independent promotions such as PWG, wXw, and Progress.

Ilja Dragunov signed with WWE in 2019 and subsequently joined the company's UK brand. He went on an undefeated streak before suffering his first loss at the hands of Kassius Ohno (better known as Chris Hero).

It is worth mentioning that Dragunov had great matches against Antonio Cesaro (Claudio Castagnoli) and Finn Balor during his early run in NXT UK. He had a brief rivalry with Imperium before setting his sights on the group's leader, Walter (Gunther), as they feuded over the NXT UK Championship.

Dragunov's rivalry with The Austrian Anomaly resulted in some of the finest matches in their careers. After failing to beat the champion for the title at an NXT UK taping, Dragunov finally ended Walter's historic championship reign at NXT TakeOver 36.

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Ilja Dragunov's road to NXT No Mercy 2023 wasn't easy

Ilja Dragunov's path to glory was filled with many roadblocks. He failed to beat Bron Breakker for the NXT Championship in a triple threat match that also involved JD McDonagh at NXT Halloween Havoc 2022.

He also failed to defeat Carmelo Hayes at NXT: The Great American Bash 2023. However, Dragunov's grit and determination allowed him to finally put an end to Hayes' championship reign at NXT No Mercy 2023.

The two stars put on a clinic in front of a red-hot Bakersfield crowd at the Mechanics Bank Arena. The closing moments of the title bout saw Dragunov hit Hayes with an avalanche forearm strike to win his first NXT Championship. The era of the Czar has finally arrived.