Ilja Dragunov ended WALTER’s 870-day reign as NXT United Kingdom Champion at TakeOver 36, marking the culmination of a 10-month search for redemption by the Moscow Madman. Here, we take a look at who could be Dragunov’s first challenger for the NXT UK.
Dragunov winning the NXT UK title from WALTER was one of the finest stories told on the brand since its inception. Having been beaten within an inch of his life in his first contest with WALTER, Dragunov suffered rage blackouts and lost control of who he was. Over time he managed to control things and work his way into the title picture before achieving ultimate absolution by winning the NXT UK Championship. But where does Dragunov’s story go from here?
Who Will Be Ilja Dragunov’s First Challenger
Pete Dunne
Dragunov will head back to the UK and defend the title on NXT UK, but before he does he may make one last appearance on NXT in America. If a title defense is on the cards, it’ll have to be against Pete Dunne. Dunne pinned Dragunov a few weeks ago on NXT thanks to a distraction from WALTER. This means the Bruiserweight can legitimately claim he deserves a shot at the Championship he previously held for 685 days. Dragunov defeating Dunne and putting right his loss would act as a final way for the NXT UK Champion to leave the States with his head held high.
Rampage Brown/ Joe Coffey
Rampage Brown will take on his nemesis Joe Coffey on this week’s NXT UK. It will mark the second time the two men have tried to end their feud with a third and final showdown. The last time they had a match planned, Dragunov interjected himself in proceedings and made it a triple threat. This acted as an unofficial No.1 Contender Match for the NXT UK Championship. Dragunov won it and went on to face WALTER.
Rampage Brown and Joe Coffey will both feel like they had a shot at WALTER taken from them by Dragunov. So they will look to challenge the new champion as soon as they’ve put their personal beef to one side.
Whoever loses the Rampage Brown vs. Joe Coffey showdown will have to get to the back of the queue though.
Jordan Devlin
Since Jordan Devlin returned from his jaunt over to the U.S. he has been making some pretty big claims to be better than anyone else on the NXT UK roster. He has, however, kept his mouth shut when it comes to WALTER and the NXT UK Championship. Now the belt is around the waist of Dragunov, The Irish Ace will no doubt feel more confident challenging for the richest prize in NXT UK. Devlin has put on some extraordinary matches recently and a contest with Dragunov will certainly keep eyes on NXT UK. Back in 2019, Dragunov and Devlin had a much-praised match in PROGRESS that they would look to top.
WALTER
This one seems unlikely as you’d imagine the reason WALTER dropped the NXT UK Championship was so he could be permanently added to the NXT roster and compete in the U.S. full-time.
But there’s a chance The Ring General could demand a rematch, especially if NXT UK is looking to make a return to hosting shows with live fans. Nothing would pack people into a building in the UK more than WALTER vs. Dragunov III. Even if WWE does decide to make the rivalry a trilogy, WALTER will probably not be Dragunov’s first challenger. Dragunov will probably have a couple of title matches against other people first to build up to the mammoth showdown.
