Ilja Dragunov has opened up about what truly drains a wrestler’s body in the ring — and it’s not the moves. Speaking to the Battleground podcast, the former WWE star said the expressive part of wrestling is the “real exhausting part” of the job, harder than any physical bump he takes.
Ilja Dragunov (Credits: AEW)
Expression Over Athleticism
Dragunov has built his reputation on being one of the most intense and expressive performers in wrestling, and he explained that constantly projecting emotion is what wears him down. It’s the vocality, the facial expressions, the screaming on every punch and every blow taken — all while keeping the audience engaged with total awareness at all times.
“It is extremely exhausting,” he admitted, noting that the pressure his body handles through expression rivals anything in the physical arsenal. For Dragunov, the question in a match isn’t about finding the next cool-looking move, but about how each moment changes him as a performer mid-fight — “during this beautiful fight that I’m expressing.”
A Career Built on Intensity
Fans have long pointed to Dragunov’s expressiveness as a core part of his all-around package, from his WWE NXT UK and NXT runs to his current chapter in AEW. His comments underline why his matches feel so visceral: the performance isn’t layered on top of the wrestling — it is the wrestling, and it costs him every time.
Elsewhere in the same interview, Dragunov also addressed a potential rematch with Kyle Fletcher, keeping the door open for another chapter in that rivalry.
Also Read: Ilja Dragunov Gets Emotional Over AEW WrestleDream Debut: “I’ll Carry It in My Heart”
Source: Fightful — read the full story there.
