AEW's Ilja Dragunov Comments On How WWE Has Used GUNTHER Since He Retired John Cena

One of the most acclaimed rivalries to have ever come out of the now defunct "WWE NXT UK" was between former WWE star Ilja Dragunov and the former NXT United Kingdom Champion GUNTHER (WALTER). Refusing to give up, despite having it all stacked against him, Dragunov was the only man to topple GUNTHER of his historic 870-day reign to become the new champion at "WWE NXT" TakeOver 36. Since their brutal rivalry, GUNTHER went on to retire the likes of Hall of Famers Goldberg, AJ Styles, and the former "Never Seen 17" World Champion, John Cena. But now, it seems GUNTHER's push has plateaued, which fans, along with Dragunov, have seen as of late.

"I guess my feelings are the same feelings as a lot of other people share. If you are the person to retire John Cena, it's kind of like a standard that you should keep a certain level of that, in my opinion," GUNTHER's former on-screen adversary told Ariel Helwani. "For me, he is one of the best. He will be one of the best of all time. He's a dear friend of mine for, I don't know, maybe since 2014, '15...We are dear friends to each other... I know he's good. I know he will always do good and whatever he does, it's going to be awesome. But I can, of course, imagine that after the standard that he set and the standard of how he got betrayed, that this is not necessarily the level that we're working at right now."

Not able to reach a contractual agreement, Dragunov left the WWE after seven years this past August to join AEW, where he made his first appearance for the promotion at WrestleDream. As for GUNTHER, he is still waiting in the wings for another shot at the Undisputed Championship. In the meantime, he's feuding with Finn Balor.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Ariel Helwani Show" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.