10 Best Wrestling Matches Of 2021
5. WALTER Vs. Ilja Dragunov - NXT TakeOver 36
The sheer intense red-faced f*cking intent behind everything Ilja Dragunov did in the match was blow-away phenomenal.
This was pitched as the fight of his life. He was up against the most formidable champion in the history of the brand, and if that isn't something that truly means much - it's NXT UK - Ilja made the achievement feel like it. His undying spirit, fire and intensity was out of this world. It was a textbook example of how to lose the crowd within the drama. The best wrestling matches suspend the disbelief of the audience, and this had to be real. That was the spell Dragunov cast.
The beauty was in the sheer immersive drama of it, but the match was worked with a deliberate ugliness. Ilja spent the early phase lulling WALTER into strikes, taking a step back, and using his momentum against him to grind him down with various submission attempts. WALTER folded slowly to the mat, but was always one petulant kick away from appearing remotely weak.
Ilja worked his way into the match, batting back disgusting slaps to the throat and head-caving lariats, using desire to fuel his power. With WALTER finally brought down to his knees, Dragunov propelled into him with a sort of flying back attack. It almost looked comical, the way he bounced off WALTER, but he had no concerns over looking silly. He had to use his entire being as a weapon. He needed, literally, everything he had.
He won the match by strangulation, effectively. He had to kill the c*nt and it f*cking ruled.