Ilja Dragunov Says He Felt ‘Nostalgia’ Before AEW WrestleDream Debut

Ilja Dragunov says that he felt a sense of nostalgia before he made his AEW debut at WrestleDream earlier this month. Dragunov made his debut at the October 17th PPV and signed a contract with the company.

Dragunov was asked during an interview on The Battleground Podcast what he was feeling before he came out from behind the curtain, and who he spoke to after he came back through. You can see the highlights below:

On What He Was Feeling Just Before His Debut:

“Nostalgia to a certain extent. Because I don’t remember when I felt the last time something is actually, in the version that I am today, taking me back to the days [when] wrestling was just a passion only, and not what I do majorly with my life.

“But also freedom, trust, excitement. Because even if it’s an entrance, a 30-minute match, whatever it is that I need to do, I will get it done with all the devotion and all the heart that I have. Which is also like one of the major characteristics that make me stick out. It is respect, it is — specifically to the point with the trust again, it is also gratefulness for the approach of the company to — even for this entrance, even for this part of the presentation, how much work was flowing into that. And how everything on so many different nuances was like a 10 out of 10.”

On Who He First Spoke To Backstage After the Promo:

“Tony. It was Tony Khan. I was talking to him, we were [exchanging] some words. I was expressing my gratitude for the moment that happened. He said similar nice words to me. And it was a very fulfilling moment to know like, ‘It feels right. It just feels right.’ A feeling that I was — this kind of moment of like. ‘Something feels so right’ was a moment that I was thinking about for a longer period of time.”

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