NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov did not compete as advertised at NXT New Year’s Evil.
Draguniv was scheduled to defend his title against Trick Williams in the January 2 episode of NXT. However, Dragunov suffered an apparent injury during a match against Ridge Holland on the December 19 episode of NXT. On the December 26 episode, Dragunov stated that nothing could stop him, so the match was still on.
However, on the January 2 episode, WWE announced that Dragunov was not currently cleared to compete. As a result, the title match was postponed. Ava later stated that Dragunov would defend the gold against either Trick Williams or Grayson Waller once he gets cleared.
Corey Brennan of Fightful (via Fightful Select) previously reported that Dragunov’s injury was a storyline.
As of this writing, there is no word on when Ilja Dragunov will return to the ring. WrestleZone will provide more information as it becomes available.
Catch up on our coverage of the January 2 episode of WWE NXT here.
