Sami Zayn Names Quality That Sets Fellow WWE Star Ilja Dragunov Apart

On this week's episode of "WWE Raw," Bron Breakker and Ilja Dragunov battled for the opportunity to challenge Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship at WWE SummerSlam. In the end, Breakker emerged victorious, but as Zayn points out, fans should also keep an eye on Dragunov in the meantime. While speaking with Wrestling Inc. for an exclusive interview, Zayn identified a rare quality that sets "The Mad Dragon" apart from his cohorts.

"I think [Dragunov] is really good," Zayn said. "He has something that not a lot of people have, which is an innate understanding of the struggle that makes wrestling a beautiful thing. When he's in there, it looks like he's fighting for his life. There's a lot of great guys, a lot of great performers in WWE, but very few have that quality where you just really believe that this guy is deep in the trenches and it's taking everything in him just to keep his head above water. I think that's a great quality to have in a wrestler, and he's got it. I don't see it very often, and he's definitely got it."

Dragunov, a former "WWE NXT" Champion, received his official call up to the company's main roster in the 2024 WWE Draft, specifically assigned to the "Raw" brand. Since then, Dragunov has notably wrestled the likes of Jey Uso, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, and Zayn himself. The clash between Zayn and Dragunov took place on the July 15 episode of "Raw," with Zayn's Intercontinental Championship on the line. This encounter ended in a no contest, however, as Breakker speared Dragunov and subsequently attacked Zayn.