WWE Talent Dissatisfied with Fans Celebrating Brock Lesnar’s No-Sell for Ilja Dragunov in Royal Rumble Match

Some within WWE were unhappy about fans taking Brock Lesnar's no-sell for Ilja Dragunov during the men's Rumble on a positive note.

WWE Talent Dissatisfied with Fans Celebrating Brock Lesnar’s No-Sell for Ilja Dragunov in Royal Rumble Match

Brock Lesnar no-sold for Ilja Dragunov [via- WWE]

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Brock Lesnar had quite an eventful Royal Rumble match this year. One of the most viral moments was the brief-yet-intense exchange of blows between ‘The Beast’ and Ilja Dragunov. The latter belted Lesnar with some wicked chops that the 10-time world champion no-sold at all. ‘The Conqueror’ screamed right back at Dragunov and grabbed him by his neck before tossing the ‘Czar of WWE’ over the top rope.

That mini interaction between Lesnar and Dragunov made rounds on social media, with the majority of fans relishing that Brock Lesnar did the right thing by manhandling Ilja Dragunov instead of selling for him. That didn’t sit well with a number of WWE stars. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful spoke to them to explore what they thought about it and the positive online reaction to Lesnar’s no-sell of Dragunov.

The pro wrestling scoopster revealed he received a number of eye-roll emojis from undisclosed members of the WWE roster expressing their disappointment over those fans that were elated about the Lesnar/Dragunov spot. The Beast’s longtime advocate Paul Heyman posted a caricature of Lesnar screaming at ‘The Mad Dragon’ and dubbed it as his favorite moment from this year’s Royal Rumble.

Interestingly enough, Dragunov reposted Heyman’s reaction on his Instagram Stories. While it’s currently not in the cards, Lesnar vs. Dragunov could be a major PLE-worthy match for WWE. At the moment, the former UFC ace is reported for a mega clash with Oba Femi at WrestleMania 42, given that Lesnar eliminated Femi from the men’s Rumble.

A potential Brock Lesnar bout with Ilja Dragunov could be a great addition to this year’s SummerSlam, which happens to be in Minneapolis, where Lesnar has deep-rooted ties. It was previously rumored that the ‘Biggest Party of the Summer’ could serve as a retirement event for Lesnar due to it being held in the state where he attended his college and even played for in the NFL.

What has Brock Lesnar been like since returning at SummerSlam?

Brock Lesnar remained absent from WWE for two years due to his alleged involvement in the Janel Grant lawsuit filed in January 2024. The company higher-ups decided to keep the 48-year-old off WWE programming until the dust settled down.

The two-time Royal Rumble winner eventually re-emerged at last year’s SummerSlam after John Cena had just lost the Undisputed WWE title to Cody Rhodes.

Drew McIntyre, Brock Lesnar, Logan Paul
Drew McIntyre, Brock Lesnar, Logan Paul [via- WWE]

Lesnar would go after Cena and lay him out. They had a match at Wrestlepalooza. At the ESPN-debuting WWE PLE, the ‘Beast Incarnate’ inflicted a beating on the 17-time world champion quite reminiscent of the time they collided at SummerSlam 2014.

The ex-UFC Heavyweight Champion disappeared from WWE television for a while and came back on the go-home Raw edition of Survivor Series to join The Vision and Drew McIntyre‘s quest against Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, and The Usos.

Lesnar had an intense spot with Reigns during the WarGames match. They went at each other outside the double-caged structure where Brock Lesnar planted his longtime rival with an F-5 on the commentary desk.

Neither Lesnar nor Reigns was involved in the match ending that saw a black-hooded masked man attack CM Punk, who ate the pinfall loss to Bron Breakker. It was The Beast’s last WWE appearance in 2025, and he then showed up in the men’s Royal Rumble match in Riyadh last weekend. It’s unknown at this point when he will appear next.

Also Read: