Shawn Michaels thinks "The Mad Dragon" is special.
"The Heartbreak Kid" spoke about NXT World Champion Ilja Dragunov being a special type of performer during a recent appearance on the Cheap Heat podcast.
"To me, once again, the passion and the intensity," Michaels said. "Again, learned it with him in the UK too, and I’m so proud of that, that some of these well-kept secrets, I guess, from a global standpoint, I was so fortunate to get to see it from the beginning over in the UK. You could see then that he unique and different and special. He’s another one that I think, what he’s doing now is unbelievably impressive. But I think when he has an opportunity to do that globally, again, we’re going to see something special, and also something…I don’t know. Ilja’s not the biggest person, but he’s got such a great look and an intensity, you can feel his passion."
Michaels continued, "He can come out in a rehearsal and have that kind of passion and intensity, so that’s the thing that’s so fantastic about that. What you see from Ilja is who he is and what you get. I think people see that, they connect with it right away because they know authenticity when they see it, and that’s what Ilja has. We’re thrilled to have him here, but like I said, it would not surprise me if one day, he gets snatched up. But I’m so happy that he’ll have an opportunity, and happy for the people that have not seen him to be able to have the chance to see him because he is a special kid for sure."
Check out the complete interview at Spotify.com. H/T to Fightful.com for transcribing the above quotes.
