WWE RAW Superstar GUNTHER has lavished praise on former nemesis Ilja Dragunov following the ex-NXT Champion’s move to RAW.

On a recent edition of the “Gorilla Position” podcast, GUNTHER spoke about the man who ended his historic reign as WWE NXT UK Champion. He said,

“I think that’s somebody that is like kind of waiting to explode right now. I think he would be the guy that I would single out right now that performs at a stage that he’s, I would say, almost too advanced for right now.”

When asked if he’d ever consider Dragunov for Imperium, possibly as a replacement for the recently-ousted Giovanni Vinci, he said,

“I think Ilja is definitely a better enemy than a friend. It has to come down to that. Ilja is one of us in the terms of like [Ludwig] Kaiser, Ilja and I, we all wrestled each other years back, so I naturally want him to be where I am. I think he’s somebody that brings out the best in me, and I’m someone that brings out the best in him.”

GUNTHER will compete on the upcoming episode of RAW where he will face another old rival, Sheamus, in a King of the Ring first-round match.