Good Wednesday morning and welcome to good news
York. I am your host Mike brindisi Follow me
on all socials that might be TV. We are sponsored
by ads on the go get ads on the go .com I am
alone again. Now, why am I alone? Well, here's
the deal First of all, as you can see, I've got
some WWE belts here. No, I'm not going to get
into a match I already did that that's why Matt's
not here. I suplexed him in the parking lot.
He's out of commission I am beyond excited. My
adolescent self is through the roof as I get
to interview a WWE superstar right here on Good
News York this morning. He is a one time NXT
United Kingdom champion, a one time NXT champion,
and the current WWE United States champion after
defeating Sami Zayn in his return match after
a year long absence. CBS Sports gave him match
of the year in 2020 and ESPN ranked number 26
of the best, the 30 best pro wrestlers under
30 in 2023. He's gonna be featured as one of
the WWE superstars at the WWE Live Holiday Tour
at the Upstate Medical Arena at On Center right
here in Syracuse on January 1st, 2026. Give it
up for Ilja Dragunov. Ilja, how are you? I'm
great. Thanks for asking. How are you? I'm great.
Very excited to talk to you. As a WWE fan, on
and off throughout my life, I have so much admiration
for what you guys do and getting a chance to
talk to you is really exciting. Your story is
awesome. I want to start. with how it all began,
you were born in Moscow, Russia, but you migrated
to Dresden, Germany at five with your mother.
And neither of you knew any of the German language
when you moved there. Do you do you have memories
of that time? And how did you guys adapt to that?
I mean, like, thanks for in the first place to
pointing out my story, because it's a story that
is very, very emotional and deep to me. And like
I can I Lot of hearts to this. So I remember
I remember a lot like especially like before
a kid is probably easy because I picked up on
the German language quick because kid children
are way easier to learn this by especially Talking
about my mom. My mom is my hero for me She is
she came to Germany. She was a teacher in in
Russia had was a university everything and it
heard it heard the most because she her degrees
that she made in Russia weren't accepted in Germany.
So she basically had two choices. Either she's
going to just take a job, whatever there is possible.
But my mom actually went back to school, started
to learn the German language. She went to university
after this. Again, studying English as a language.
but with German instructions, while still not
fully speaking German. And she got her degree
for that one. And nowadays she's a teacher in
adult education. And just looking back at her,
struggling with the language and the amazing
path that she did, the passion, the willpower,
just the sheer veracity, like... You ask yourself
why I performed the way I performed today. It
is definitely a dedication to my mom as well.
That's a beautiful answer, man. And you know,
I was actually gonna say, if people have seen
you wrestle, you wrestle with such passion and
everything you do in WWE is done with such passion
and drive. And I feel like when you're brought
up that way to really earn everything, that comes
your way, you know, and migrating to a new country
and just having to basically start from scratch.
It just it builds your character and you can
you can see that in your performance. I know
you you also help provide for the family. You
worked a couple of different jobs. I know you
worked at a gas station, pizza place. So at what
at what point is professional wrestling kind
of come come across your radar? And, you know,
how did that happen? And, you know, when did
you know, like, hey, That's what I wanna do.
I think pretty much from the beginning. I mean,
yeah, you mentioned the jobs, but honestly, this
is like not even worth managing because for me,
it's like the bare minimum. To know how the real
life works and how to work a job is a part of
being an adult. And I tried to learn this pretty
fast. A little bit also overdo it because it
didn't work pretty well with having school and
the same things at the same time sometimes, but
this is a different topic. with professional
wrestling it started by accident literally like
because i remember the first time it was literally
some connection with a friend they had a i don't
remember the the city anymore either it's freital
or heidenau there was a small gymnasium where
they just played wrestling on a mat so this was
basically the start of it and i kind of liked
it so and i was searching for something that
catches my interest anyway but when this this
was thing was going on a little bit but Through
this thing, we actually met a German professional
wrestler that later, a few years later, opened
up the first wrestling school in Dresden, in
Germany, the town that I grew up in Germany.
And I was definitely willing to give it a try.
And I realized after taking horrible bumps on
very thin mats, because we didn't have a ring
at the beginning, that and having my first performances
that this is my thing and this is my thing because
all the expressive energy that I carry in myself
that you can see in my matches with the faces
that I make and the screams that I do and the
physicality and everything it covers all these
nuances that I wanted to express and because
it gives me the platform to express my true me
and maximize it I Couldn't stop when I started.
Yeah, you know, I love that about you that, you
know, you've gone on record saying that, you
know, the character of Ilya Dragunov really is
just you maximized times 11. And you can see
that in your performance. And I bet, you know,
I bet taking bumps in the gym, you know, in Germany
and going to the ring, I'm assuming that was
that felt like nothing compared to what you were
used to taking. So when I watch you wrestle you
as we talked about you like you're so unique
in that You're very aggressive on your attack
and but more importantly what I noticed And it's
kind of an underrated character. I feel like
with professional wrestlers is you sell it better
Than than most wrestlers I've seen in recent
years and and that is a that's a huge compliment
You know that was one of the best things about
Ric Flair right was Ric Flair made the other
guy just look incredible because he could sell
it. And I see that in you. So I have two questions.
One is, was Ric Flair one of your main influences?
And if not, who was? Well, first of all, thank
you for putting me in the same sentence with
an all -time great legend like Ric Flair. So
thanks for that. I don't even know what to say,
but like, coming back to your question. Rick
Flair definitely, like if you're a student of
the game, you definitely watch the incredible
work and the incredible masterpieces that Rick
Flair put on the stage, put into the ring. Definitely
one of my big inspirations. I mean, I have a
lot of inspirations. There was recently a question
about my dream Survivor series team, and there
were other guys in there, wonderful performers.
uh talking about William Regal talking about
Terry Funk talking about Roddy uh Roddy Piper
yes those I mean if there's something that you
know about these fighters it is passion and uh
this is something that always clicked with me
physicality is something that people will always
believe always if they and those these performers
were like just unapologetically themselves, especially
like when you talk about Roddy Piper. And this
is something that I take for myself because I
think about persona something is very specific.
People either really love what I do or they think
it's the cringiest thing ever and they laugh
about it. But that is exactly what I appreciate
about both sides because that's what I want to
have because if they wouldn't care about me at
all, that would be horrible. That's right. But
if I'm polarizing people, I don't want to be
everyone's darling, as much as I don't want to
be everyone's friend in this life. But if I'm
polarizing people, that's, I believe, is the
formula. And at the end of the day, hey, I don't
lie. I am myself. There's everything I can do.
I think that's why you are so lovable as a person
and as your character, because you can tell.
What you see is what you get, you're very real.
And I think personally, I think that's a great
place to live where people either they love you
or they hate you. And WWE, that's the magic sauce.
Now, like I said, you're so aggressive. It's
so awesome to watch your matches. Has the WWE
brass ever had to come to you and be like, hey,
can you back it off a little bit? And would you
even be able to back it off if they told you
to? Okay, these are a couple of questions. First
of all, I think you know it as well. I just came
back from a long injury at this point. I apologize
to the entire medical department of WWE because
it was not easy to be around me because I always
wanted too much and too fast and I apologize
at that point of time. No, like I don't think
that ever somebody came to me. I think this is
like one of my assets that is very unique to
me. I mean like my friends other my true friends
on the regular base come up to me and to and
say like tone it down relax a little bit more
but then again it is the real me this i couldn't
do it if i can't do it my way and this is something
i think that is a part of me i mean like some
things that i that i take are physically definitely
more demanding but but i'm also kind of like
i recover pretty fast yeah it hurts But I recover
very fast, so I can pull it off. Well, I mean,
look, another amazing part of your story are
the injuries. So you got drafted to Raw in 2024,
and you tore your ACL, which is widely known.
You come back in October 25. You defeat Sami
Zayn. You get the US championship. But you've
also had injuries in the past. So, you know,
when you're trying out for the brand in 2013,
I think you got hurt in NXT in 2022. Is there,
is there ever a worry as a performer and an athlete
that, Oh my God, I, you know, I got injured.
What if they, is there ever a word that they're
going to phase you out? You know, it's kind of
like the best stability is availability. Is there
always that worry or, or do they kind of make
promises that say, Hey, listen, when, when you
recover, And you come back, this is what we're
gonna do, here's where the storyline's going.
Oh no, there are never promises in life. Especially,
there are no promises in life, and there are
no promises especially in their business. Everything
can change at any point of time, but I don't
know if that sounds arrogant or... No. Or not,
but like, the least thing that I'm worried about
in my life is my job. Nice. Because I don't know
I do it for such a long time and I I developed
this Of course, there's sometimes like little
worries, but like in the big picture. I'm never
worried about my job because I Coming back on
all the backstory Being an immigrant knowing
how real life works Knowing how long I do this
and how much it took me and seeing it all my
career so far. I pretty fast changed from the
mentality of What if to even if love that That
is I've you know, i've heard a lot of different
inspirational quotes. I've never heard that one
man. That is I can tell you live by that too.
Um, I I mean I try to do it like at the end of
the day I'll also just human and have my have
my own worries and my own problems, but when
it comes down to fighting What for me is just
what I do is just fighting. It's uh, it's You
know, it's fighting is hard Life is two, I gotta
make it work. What a great attitude. Again, I
think it goes back to your upbringing and the
adversity you faced at a young age that you're
able to handle any adversity that comes your
way now in your career. Sure, sure, but I wouldn't
say I'm nothing special in those regards. I'm
just a very good example. I love that. I love
that. It's just a part of it. So you have two
special moves, the Constantine Special, the Torpedo.
And every every WWE superstar has, you know,
a special move and an entrance song. Now, speaking
for yourself, when you got into the WWE, is this
a very long thought out decision? Because in
the WWE world, your entrance and your special
moves, those are a big deal. Or is it kind of
a quick decision like, you know what? I'm going
to go with this song and these are my moves.
first of all with the signature moves you forgot
the h -bomb i did i know i did but no worries
about it i got a few moves and okay talking about
the music i kind of thought like i always was
very lucky with the music like i always liked
the like the vibe of the music they gave me most
of the times and if i didn't like it i said something
about it um but then part with the moves is always
uh is like a more special thing for me because
like every move has a story and every move is
like a homage and tribute to something. I love
that. Like I mean like when you talk about the
H -bomb it's I mean people that know MMA and
UFC have probably seen Henderson versus Bisping
and seen that kind of knockout and I've seen
it too and I thought okay I can make it my own
and when it comes to the Konstantin special also
it's the most physical expression like I don't
know what is more brutal than that when it comes
down to the Konstantin special I literally came
up with the idea for it and the name for it when
I played for it with my son and my son my son's
name is Konstantin so I thought okay because
he's so like my son is even he's so creative
and so out of the box like with the things he
wants to play sometimes and try are so like i
wouldn't even think about it and then he and
because of his thought process i i he inspired
me to think in a different way and i thought
okay i came up with this idea and you gave me
that idea so this move is going to be you oh
man don't get me crying during this interview
because i My son and I might, you know, I was
a WWE fan growing up and he's the one that got
me back into it. And we have ladder matches in
our, in our house and he brings, he brings it
out in me. And I, and hearing, hearing that your
son brought your special move out of you is it's
just incredible, man. Um, I, I love that. I,
uh, I want to ask you a few more questions. I
want to be respectful of your time, the creative
process. Now I know you can, you can only peel
back the curtain so far, but this is something
as a writer, performer, myself, I've always wondered,
are you and other and the other superstars, are
you sitting in a room full of like a writer's
room regularly or is it more of a nonchalant?
They come up to you in the locker room. They
say, hey, listen, this is what's going to happen
tonight. You're going to face this. And you know,
this is how it's going to end. So like how I
guess what I'm asking is, like, how far out do
you know about your story arc and your character
arc? Well, I would say that there I like to differentiate
things in life So I'm pretty sure that there
are a bunch of colleagues of mine who are probably
reaching out more about this kind of stuff in
advance and possibly sit there and Have this
conversation and want to be aware of everything.
I for my most part Never did never did that in
a big time I mean, of course you reach out that
you asked but I was always like the mentality
of okay I get something and I try to make it
my own or to leave my mark on it like my special
signature as me as a performer so for me it's
mostly like that's what you do I say okay I'm
gonna leave my mark on it and ask how I can do
it in the best way and try to make sure that
every performance that I have could be a promo
could be a fight that I leave my colors on it
So it's really very different to answer your
question. It's very different. But again, like
I said, I take what I get. And until now, if
you look behind me. Oh, I see it. I see it. I
wasn't necessarily not successful with that.
Well, listen. You're clearly very successful.
You you're the US champion the United States
champion You see the belt right behind you which
I love that you have that on display way cooler
than mine You did win that by way of open challenge
against Sami Zayn and now you're you're you're
doing the same thing You're often offering an
open challenge to defend that same title I got
two questions. Here's the first one Is there
a superstar that you would love to face in the
ring in this open challenge? And who is it? There
are a bunch of people that I would love to face.
I can give you just three names, for example.
I can give you the person who actually introduced
me to the main roster in Philadelphia for my
appearance right after media. That would be Shinsuke
Nakamura. That must happen again. It was one
of the people that also inspired me when I started
to wrestle. That was a great match. It is talking
about a person who was talking about that his
time would probably end at some point, rather
sooner than later would be AJ Styles. That would
be, I, there was just like this sub thought of
it, like it's just, would make me very, very
happy. And another one that I only faced in the
three -way dance was Seamus. Oh, nice. Because
when it comes down to physicality, I think what
we could present there, the way we would beat
up each other, that wouldn't be forgotten in
ages. Dude, I agree. I was hoping you would say
AJ Styles because, wow, as a fan, a spectator,
that would be just so great to watch because
both of the way, you know, you're both very aggressive,
aerial. That'd be incredible. All right, here's
one you've probably been asked before, but I
gotta ask it. Living or dead? Sure. Living or
dead? If you could have a match with anyone in
WWE history, who would it be? Your choice. Anyone.
Anyone. Oh, wow. You're the first one asking
me that. Oh, wow. Are you? I'm not sure. Maybe,
maybe not, but I definitely can't remember that
question with anyone. I know, that's a tough
one. now i need to go through and i need to go
through all my oh oh my god of course one of
the people major inspirations i would definitely
let's say two one thing that people don't expect
i would definitely love to fight ruddy piper
yes that i would definitely love to fight ruddy
piper and i would definitely fight uh like an
absolute prime curt angle Oh, dude, great, great
picks, man. Intensity would be off the charts.
Sure. I mean, we all know famously. I mean, shit,
Kurt Angle fought with a broken neck. It doesn't
get tougher than that. And absolutely. Roddy
Roddy Piper. Yeah, he's he's definitely not underrated,
but people don't talk about him enough. I love
that you brought him. He's on my Mount Rushmore.
I loved him. We were talking about AJ Styles.
Again, a couple more questions. What are your
thoughts on Cena's final run and with other superstars
that are on the verge of hanging it up with Randy
Orton, AJ Styles? How do you feel about them
kinda leaving and the changing of the guard?
How do you feel about the new future of WWE wrestling?
I mean, it's amazing. You got amazing talent.
I think we don't need to worry about a thing
right now. But the old guard leaving, I mean,
of course it's a - And first of all, inspiring
to be a part of it, but also inspiring to see
the change and the opportunity that other people
get and how people develop. I mean, like you
see new stars on the horizon that's talking about
Dominic Listerio, talking about Braun Breaker.
These are just two examples of people that are
obviously going to carry this company on their
backs. I have no intention to do less than that
in the future as well. So it is it pushes me
I mean like personally I don't see a competition
for myself because the only competition for myself
is how much I can express myself and I just working
on that I don't really look around me much in
that sense, but this is an obvious thing but
they all got leaving especially when you talk
about John Cena's last run and his upcoming last
match it is having the opportunity to specifically
so I had the opportunity to talk with him like
a little for a few times just knowing how precise
and professional his mind is towards the entire
business and having still the opportunity before
these guys leave to just have a touch of feeling
how their brains work. It is inspiring. I mean
like I don't think that anyone should ever feel
like they need to be the next someone. I think
it's important to be the like the first whole
person you, you know, but it's definitely a good
point. And who are the people that paved the
way for you to those guys? Are they open to giving
advice to the young wrestlers like yourself or
do they kind of keep to themselves? Oh, it's
absolutely there. Absolutely, they are. I mean,
there's is always also about the thing like how
you approach people. Yeah, you know, it's I mean,
at the end of the day, we all started at some
point. We all had people that guided us through
our first steps in this business. And I'm pretty
sure that they know how that feeling is to be
a newbie or trying to make success. So I felt
specifically talking to John Cena, he was very
approachable, Randy Orton as well. I don't have
a bad experience in that sense. That's great.
Two more questions. This one, I know you can
only say so much, but it's something that I really
wondered about. Have you as a WWE superstar,
performer athlete. Have you noticed any major
differences in the way things were under Vince
McMahon's ownership as opposed to how the way
things are now under the new WWE ownership? I
mean, I can't say anything about it because I
think I was never. I mean, it probably affects
the main roster more than it affects NXT or NXT
UK really back in the time because when I came
up to the main roster, the. that thing already
changed, in my opinion. Maybe I might be wrong
about this, but to ask you a question, no, I
didn't feel much about it. No, that doesn't make
sense. I mean, I guess that does line up that
way that you were kind of back and forth while
all that was going on. January 1st, 2026, you're
gonna be right here in Syracuse for the WWE Live
Holiday Tour at the Upstate Medical Arena on
Center. Now, this is a house show. And so for
those of you that are listening or watching,
a house show basically means it's not a live
taping like Raw or SmackDown. I've always felt
like, Elia, I've always felt like wrestlers prefer
house shows sometimes because you can kind of
go off the rails a little bit. You can interact
with the crowd more. How do you feel about house
shows as opposed to live tapings? The USB, again,
coming back to the point of differentiating,
I don't feel different. I like to say how you
do one thing, you do all things. So when the
audience will arrive at the venue and... I will
step into the ring, for instance, and perform
the way I perform. There's no difference for
me. People are in for a real treat. They're in
for a physical performance, for seeing real passion,
real fighting spirit at its purest and its core.
So for me, I don't make a difference because
the major thing what WWE presents is captivating
storytelling and performances. It doesn't matter
if it's TV. or it doesn't matter if it's a house
show, people will come into this venue, into
this arena, and they will go out happy and excited.
Man, spoken like a true performer and true athlete,
man. You've got the right mentality. Thank you.
Can you give us a peek into what WWE fans can
expect from Ilja Dragunov in the near future?
A little hints. And what can they expect in Syracuse
on January 1st? What I can expect from you in
January 20 on the circus is what I said right
now again, you can always expect the absolute
maximum for me a physical Captivating emotional
passionate fight. I think people are captivated
by true emotion and passion Because this is how
we all want to live our life and I live my life
Every day but every path I take with every fight.
I'm in the same way the same way And when it
comes down to 2026, I think for some people think
that how much more has Ilya Dragunov to give.
And I will tell them, I want to let them know
that everything they've seen until now is just
the bare minimum. And there's a lot more that
I can give and a lot more that I can become.
That's an incredible answer because you've already
given so much I have no idea how you could give
any more I want to do one last thing if you're
cool with it. Can we do six rapid -fire questions?
Oh Wait, I don't know if I can react that quick.
I'm very slow. We'll do six Semi rapid -fire.
Hold on. I've got it. I feel like I want to I
want to put this on here I'm too slow. I do my
best. All right, here we go Ilja Dragunov, WWE
superstar, six rapid fire questions. One, an
underrated wrestler, former or current? JD McDonough.
Oh. Best heel of all time? JBL. Love it. Best
finishing move of all time? It's, ah, what comes
for, okay, let's say just what comes out to my
619. Great one, Rey Mysterio. Best theme song
of all time? I gotta go with John Cena. That's
my wife's favorite, actually. Your favorite pay
-per -view event from WWE. You know, like Royal
Rumble, WrestleMania. Which one was Rock versus
Hogan? Oh, I meant like just your favorite to
be a part of. Rock versus Hogan was either WrestleMania
or SummerSlam. No, it was WrestleMania. It was
WrestleMania. Bad with numbers sometimes. Okay,
let's get Deb on. My personal favorite, NXT Vengeance
Day. Okay. Love it. Last but not least, are you
hooded figure? No, I do my open challenge is
pretty pretty straight away. I know I'm kidding.
I had to throw that in there you'll you're dragging
off I It was an honor to meet you and to get
to interview you. Thank you for your time The
WWE live holiday tour at the Upstate Medical
Arena at on Center is on January 1st 26 get your
tickets now Ilia any last words plugs anything
you want to say I think everything that was necessary
to said is to said and done but Don't forget
to tune in on Fridays. Don't forget to tune in
when I fight, because when the dragon steps into
the ring, when the bad dragon steps into the
ring, pain, so entertain you. Yes! Ilya, I liked
you before. You've turned me into a fan. Thank
you so much for coming on Good News York. We
love you. Best of luck in your career, and I
hope we cross paths again. Thanks for having
me. Thank you. Wow. And with that, folks, that
was one of my absolute favorite episodes of Good
News York. Mike Perdice saying goodbye. I don't
know how we're going to top that. You can follow
me on all socials at MikeBTV. Here comes Matt.
Oh, he's attacking me. Oh, nice. All right. I'm
going to give you the H -bomb. He taught me how
to do it. It is Mike Perdice saying goodbye.
on this Wednesday. We'll be back tomorrow. Remember,
we are sponsored by ads on the go. Get ads on
the go dot com. Check us out at Good New York
on all socials. Good New York dot com. Peace.