Ilja Dragunov Doesn’t See Royal Rumble Moment With Brock Lesnar As a Defeat

Ilja Dragunov shared his thoughts on his Royal Rumble moment with Brock Lesnar and why he doesn’t think of it as defeat. This year’s iteration of the Rumble saw Dragunov and Lesnar come face to face, with Lesnar screaming off a series of chops by Dragunov before eliminating him. The moment received pushback online from fans, who believed it undercut Dragunov as a character.

The new AEW star spoke about the moment on The Ariel Helwani Show, noting that he appreciated that people were “passionate” about it on his behalf. He said that he felt it played into his character in terms of someone who faced monsters and got beaten down but would recover and fight back. You can see the highlights from his comments below:

On the Fan Outrage About It:

“First of all, that’s a shoutout to all of the fans that are feeling with me, and are passionate with me, and get angry for me in that sense. I love all of you guys, and you’ve been sticking with me for forever, so I appreciate your concern.”

On How He Feels About It:

“But I said it before. Honestly, if you really understand the persona that I have been in the ring for most part of the time, like — I’ve been facing monsters, you know? And at the end of the day, you can’t change certain things. You have a person like Brock Lesnar standing in front of you. Most people would run away as soon as that happens. That’s simply what would happen. But me as a persona, me as Ilja Dragunov, who’s tough mentally and physically. I think for what I was given and how this whole situation occurred, I did the best [that] I could do about it. And I can’t change anything about it.

“But my best career moments were made by my vulnerability. I wasn’t becoming a name by being the person who dominates at all times. I became a name on moments where I got beaten down. Like, beaten down badly… it’s always the way [that] I fought back and how I recovered after those moments, because these moments make great stories. So I don’t see it as a defeat. Like, I’m glad that people are upset for me. And maybe it could have worked out a different way, I don’t know it today. But I can tell you so much that I didn’t spare a second or third thought about it.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Ariel Helwani Show with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.