GUNTHER Says The Empty Arena Added To His First WWE Match With Ilja Dragunov

GUNTHER reflects on his NXT UK match with Ilja Dragunov.

When the pandemic hit, crowds were suddenly gone from live events, changing a fundamental aspect of wrestling. This meant matches from the period took place in eerie silence, leaving many without much rewatch value today. But, GUNTHER has now said one of his matches actually benefitted from having no audience and no noise outside of the in-ring action.

Speaking to No-Contest Wrestling, GUNTHER discussed feeling like wrestling with no crowd was an advantage when he met Ilja Dragunov in October 2020.

“I was in a position with Ilja back then to actually turn this whole thing [wrestling with no crowd] into an advantage. I think the first match Ilja and I had in NXT UK wouldn’t have been as good, or as well received if it wouldn’t have been in an empty arena. I think that atmosphere really added to it.”

-GUNTHER

When the pair clashed, fans at home could hear the impact of each strike, with GUNTHER’s chops particularly echoing through the empty arena. That night, it was the Austrian who retained the NXT UK Championship, though Dragunov would get the opportunity to hold the gold when they met in a rematch in August 2021.

Up next, GUNTHER will look to add his name to the historic lineage of the WWE Championship as he battles Cody Rhodes this Sunday at Clash In Italy.

Elsewhere in the interview, GUNTHER addressed whether he’d want Paul Heyman as his manager after their recent interactions on RAW. You can read more about that here.

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