Ilja Dragunov Stretchered Out On WWE NXT
Ilja Dragunov taken out of WWE NXT on a stretcher
Dec 20, 2023
WWE NXT on December 19 ended with a major angle.
Ilja Dragunov faced Ridge Holland in non-title action in the main event of WWE NXT but the match came to an abrupt end after seven minutes following a Futureshock DDT from Holland to the NXT Champion. The move left Dragunov with his arm in the air and unable to move, selling what appeared to be a neck injury for the champion.
The match was immediately waved off and Dragunov was first put in a neck brace before he was stretchered to the back as Ridge Holland looked on dejected. The moment was ultimately an angle as opposed to a genuine injury for Dragunov and he is seemingly being written off TV until New Year's Evil on January 2. Dragunov will defend the NXT Championship against Trick Williams on the special episode of NXT.
Tuesday night was Holland's first appearance on TV since he walked out on Butch during a SmackDown match against Pretty Deadly last month. Holland noted earlier on NXT that he was back on the show so he could redeem himself after so many setbacks which led to the non-title match against Dragunov being booked for the main event.
