WWE Star Names Ilja Dragunov The ‘Stiffest’ Wrestler He’s Worked With

Published: Mar 5, 2026 by Liam | Last Updated: Mar 5, 2026 by Liam

Liam has been reporting & analyzing wrestling news for over eight years, and is currently the Managing Editor at WrestleTalk.com. Immersed in wrestling for 18 years, he has over 11,000 published articles in addition to leading and overseeing WrestleTalk.com's coverage.

WWE Star Names Ilja Dragunov The ‘Stiffest’ Wrestler He’s Worked With

A WWE star has, perhaps unsurprisingly, named Ilja Dragunov as the “stiffest” wrestler he’s ever been in the ring with.

Dragunov has long had a reputation of being a hard hitter in the ring, which has been showcased on SmackDown in recent months with his United States Championship open challenge when he was champion.

When he was still in NXT, one of Dragunov’s top rivals was Trick Williams, with the pair feuding over the WWE NXT Championship and gaining a good amount of respect for each other in the process.

In a new interview with My Mom’s Basement, Williams was asked to name the “stiffest” wrestler he’s ever worked with, to which he replied:

“Ilja Dragunov. He kicked me one time and my vision turned off. Then he kicked me again and it cut back on. He said, ‘Protect yourself Trick!'”

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Williams was also asked to name the strongest wrestler he’s been in the ring with, to which he replied Oba Femi, the funniest wrestler who he named as Tony D’Angelo and R-Truth, and the best technical wrestler as Ricochet or Rey Fenix.