Ilja Dragunov is no longer the NXT UK Champion.
After successfully defending the NXT UK Championship against Wolfgang on the July 28 episode of NXT UK, Ilja Dragunov came out to address the crowd at the beginning of Thursday's episode. Dragunov came to the ring with a crutch-type mechanism, which seemed to worry fans in live crowd almost immediately.
In a passionate promo, Dragunov announced that his doctors are recommending that he relinquishes the title due to the timetable of his injury being unclear for the time being. Although Dragunov never disclosed what his injury was, he was wearing a giant cast on his left foot. The broadcast also showed a replay of Dragunov landing weird on his foot during last week's championship bout.
Dragunov ended his promo by saying that nobody beat him except for himself and that he will be stronger than ever when he returns from his injury.
.@UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR vows to come back even stronger! #NXTUK pic.twitter.com/ECAXyCky6d
— NXT UK (@NXTUK) August 4, 2022
A few moments after the promo aired, NXT UK officials Johnny Saint and Sid Scala confirmed that a new champion will be crowned through an eight man tournament. You can see the full tournament bracket below.
Everyone in the NXT UK Championship tournament is a valid contender.@trentseven Vs @WolfgangYoung@olivercarterGH vs Charlie Dempsey@MandrewsJunior vs @Joe_Coffey@KennyWilliamsUK vs Tyler Bate. #NXTUK#NXTUK pic.twitter.com/2jaEt66Cs8
— Rik Moran (@TheRikMoran) August 4, 2022
Fightful will continue to update fans regarding news about the tournament. To see full results from today's NXT UK episode, visit our results section.
