Ilja Dragunov BUSTED OPEN On WWE NXT, Stitches Needed
Dragunov got bloodied up ahead of his TakeOver 36 clash with WALTER.
Ilja Dragunov was busted open on last night's episode of WWE NXT, suffering a nasty cut while wrestling Diamond Mine's Roderick Strong on the show.
Strong was originally supposed to challenge for Kushida's NXT Cruiserweight Title last night. When Kushida was pulled from the show after not being medically cleared, Strong's Diamond Mine group threw down an open challenge.
Dragunov answered, besting Strong ahead of his TakeOver 36 clash with United Kingdom Champion WALTER this weekend, but the victory came at a cost. Blood poured from his head when he was split open roughly halfway through the match, though this didn't stop him hitting his Torpedo Moscow flying headbutt for the win.
Ilja ended up getting taken out by WALTER and Imperium later in the evening.
WWE provided an update on Dragunov after the show, stating that Dragunov's cut needed eight stitches to close. Whether or not this has been exaggerated for kayfabe purposes is currently unknown.
Nonetheless, the Russian is known for his incredible pain threshold and ability to absorb immense punishment in the ring, particularly in his matches with WALTER. It'll take worse than a cut to stop Dragunov competing at TakeOver this Sunday.