“SAY YOU’RE LYING RIGHT NOW”—Wrestling fans devastated after popular WWE star set to miss 6–9 months due to ACL injury

Former NXT champion suffers major setback after sustaining a torn ACL, which will keep him out of action for over 6 months.


“SAY YOU’RE LYING RIGHT NOW”—Wrestling fans devastated after popular WWE star set to miss 6–9 months due to ACL injury

Ilja Dragunov (via WWE)

This week’s Raw was a packed show with some stellar progressions of the ongoing feuds. However, there was also a heartbreaking update by WWE regarding a popular star. It was announced that a former NXT Champion suffered a torn ACL and is expected to be sidelined from programming for over 6 months.

The star is none other than Ilja Dragunov. The Invincible faced Gunther at a house show in Columbus last week. After putting on a banger match for the World Heavyweight Championship, Dragunov suffered a torn ACL. Therefore, it was revealed on Raw this week that the latter is set to miss out over 6 to 9 months of his career recovering from his injury.

Moreover, as a sign of respect, the crowd in Columbus gave a standing ovation to the Russian star for his incredible performance. Unfortunately, it looked like WWE was about to pull up the trigger on a major push for the 30-year-old considering his popularity among the WWE Universe. In fact, WWE had been teasing a rivalry between Dragunov and The Judgment Day in the past few weeks.

FS Video

As things stand at the moment, Drganuov might make his return following WrestleMania 41 next year. There have been a number of dream matches in store for the Unbesiegbar in WWE. Nonetheless, fans will be hoping for Dragunov to recover quickly and return to the ring as soon as possible.

WWE Universe saddened following the injury announcement of Ilja Dragunov

Ilja Dragunov’s injury was an unfortunate update for his fans. They took over the internet to express their reaction following the announcement. Some users on X were in disbelief to hear this update, while others called it a ‘bummer’ for the night. Moreover, fans even expressed grief over the young star missing his first WrestleMania

Ilja Dragunov
Ilja Dragunov (via WWE)

Here are the top reactions of the fans on X:

Furthermore, fans called it an unfortunate setback for the industry, as they believe Ilja has the potential to be the next face of the company. In addition to that, fans lambasted Gunther for being a dangerous opponent inside the ring.