SUMMARY
- Ilja Dragunov is currently the NXT Champion and a former NXT United Kingdom Champion.
- Ridge Holland returned to NXT on December 19, 2023, and challenged Ilja Dragunov.
Ilja Dragunov, originally Ilya Rukober, is a Russian pro wrestler who is currently signed with WWE. He is currently the NXT Champion and a former NXT United Kingdom Champion. His in-ring abilities and physical toughness make him stand out from the rest of the roster.
Former rugby player turned pro wrestler Ridge Holland, known most for being a member of The Brawling Brutes stable along with Butch and led by Sheamus, has made the headlines again for a negative reason. Ridge Holland was last seen on WWE in November 2023 during a tag team match where he walked on his partner Butch and dissociated himself from the alliance.
Ridge returned to NXT on December 19, 2023, and challenged Ilja Dragunov, the NXT Champion, for a match, which he accepted. But the match did not end positively for Dragunov, as he was severely injured in between the matches after he landed on his neck.
The match started normally, and the two superstars were seen grappling and hitting each other. Dragunov looked to have control of the match, but it all changed when Holland hit him with a DDT, and immediately after that, Ilja was seen in deep pain and discomfort when the referee stopped the match. Immediately after realizing the injury, Ridge was concerned for the fellow superstar and upset about the incident.
Ilja Dragunov stretchered out after taking a DDT from Ridge Holland. #WWENXT
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) December 20, 2023
He made a return on NXT and interrupted Dragunov to explain how he was trying to find himself in the Stamford-based promotion after leaving his alliance with The Brawling Brutes. In the pre-match promo, Holland was seen addressing his reputation for injuries and accidents and how he needed to change it.
Unfortunately, it did not go as expected for Ridge, and the match resulted in another accident where Dragunov was carried out on a stretcher. While there were speculations about the injury being real, Corey Brennan of Fightful reported that this was not something serious and just a part of the storyline.
Ridge Holland has previously injured other WWE superstars
Ridge Holland has a reputation for causing injuries to fellow superstars. Most recently, he was responsible for causing injuries to Elton Prince in Pretty Deadly. He was injured due to an improper landing and suffered a separated shoulder. Ridge was blindly blamed by the fans for the mishap.
Ridge faced a lot of criticism in March 2022 when he caused a major career-threatening injury to Big E. In an episode of SmackDown, the powerhouse of The New Day landed awkwardly on Belly to Belly Suplex on the floor and suffered a broken neck. Big E has not been seen in the ring since then and has been going through recovery for over 16 months.
Fans criticized Holland heavily after the recent event with Ilja Dragunov on the episode of NXT. One of them wrote, “sh*t, i hope this is fake. if not, plz let Ridge find solace in a profession other than wrestling”. A user went harsh and suggested firing Ridge from WWE, saying, “Fire ridge holland man. First Big E and now this?? That’s 2 necks he’s put through a blender”.
Since it is not the first time Ridge Holland has been responsible for causing injuries, fans are not very happy with him. It would be interesting to see if Dragunov is seriously injured or if it’s just another storyline in WWE.