Ilja Dragunov Reacts To Brock Lesnar No Selling His Chops, Reveals The Real Reason Why He Left WWE

During a recent appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Ilja Dragunov commented on why he left WWE and signed with AEW, Brock Lesnar no selling his shops at the Royal Rumble, and more.

You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:

On Brock Lesnar no selling his chops at the Royal Rumble: “First of all, shoutout to all of my fans that are feeling with me, are passionate with me, and get angry for me. I love all of you guys and you’ve been sticking with me forever. I appreciate you concern. I said it before: if you really understand the persona that I have in the ring for most of my career, I’ve been facing monsters. You have a person like Brock Lesnar standing in front of you. Most people would run away. Me, as Ilja Dragunov, he’s tough, mentally and physically. For what I was given and how the whole situation occurred, I did the best I could do about it. I can’t change anything about it. 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 badly. My nose makes a right turn because it’s been broken a couple of times. It’s always how I fought back and recovered after those moments. These moments make great stories. I don’t see it as a defeat. I’m glad people are upset for me, and maybe it could’ve worked out a different way, but I didn’t spare a second or third thought about it.”

On GUNTHER’s current booking in WWE: “I guess my feeling is the same feeling that a lot of other people share. If you are the person to retire John Cena, it’s a status that you should keep a certain level of that. For me, he is one of the best and he will be one of the best of all time. He is a dear friend of mine since 2014-15. I know he’s good. I know he will always do good, and whatever he does is going to be awesome. After the standard that he set and how he got portrayed that this is not necessarily the level we’re working at right now.”

On his decision to leave WWE: “No [if he knew his last match would be in April], absolutely not. Every tale I have to tell about that is not very exciting. I didn’t know I was leaving at the time. I was just waiting. I love what I do. I want to compete and work. It’s nothing new to anybody. It was pretty obvious. Time just passed by, and I reached the expiration of my contract. I felt that, over time, with how things were working out and how I’m feeling, it was time to breathe new and fresh air.”

On WWE trying to re-sign him: “Yeah, there was no intention of the company to let me go.”

On if he was unhappy with the offer: “It was an accumulation of a lot of things. The offer, as we all know, is a business, but it’s also based on my feelings. How do I want to work creatively? Do I need a scenery change? You have to consider all the factors. I spent most of my 20s in WWE. That’s a very long time. The landscape changed. Now, we have other opportunities. After such a long time being in the company, not seeking out new opportunities at a place where I see myself more fitting- who wouldn’t do that?”

On if he was asked to take a pay cut or was given a raise: “I’m too discreet and too much of a businessman and a gentleman to talk about these kinds of things. Everything I can say is that there was nothing that I felt satisfied with and nothing that gave me the perspective of, ‘I must stick with this.’”

On if WWE knew he wouldn’t be coming back: “Anything I can say is not as exciting as people made it. At some point in time, you don’t have creativity, and you’re waiting for the next opportunity to come. A lot of new people came up. A lot of stories were full. There is only a certain amount of time for certain people. I’m not going to go too deep into that. Everything I knew was that the expiration of my contract came, and negotiations didn’t lead anywhere.”

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