#273: Jey Uso vs. Ilja Dragunov, WWE Monday Night Raw (5/13/2024).
This is a King of the Ring Quarterfinal Match.
I will never not be excited for an Ilja Dragunov match.
The bell sounds, and here we go. They lock up, and struggle for control right away. Ilja gets Jey in the corner, and Jey avoids a spinning back fist. Ilja chops Jey repeatedly. Including a ripcord chop. Hilariously, the YouTube video of this match subtitles Mr. Dragunov as “Mr. Dragon Ball.” Running knee in the corner by Ilja, and a diving knee from the second rope. Ilja goes to the top rope, and Jey cuts him off, sending him to the floor. Jey with a nice Tope to the outside, sending Ilja into the announce table.
The crowd is hot with “Yeet” chants. Ilja with a pump kick to the face of Jey, as he now takes apart the announce table. If only he could clear off that dumbass Prime display beside it. Ilja places Jey on the table, and goes on top of the barricade. Ilja goes for the H Bomb, but Jey rolls out of harm’s way, and Ilja’s elbow lands right on the table. As Pat McAfee calls Jey “The Yeet King,” he spears Ilja across the table.
Back from commercial break, Ilja has Jey in the abdominal stretch submission. Jey counters out of it with a hip toss. Big right hand by Jey, and one from Ilja. They exchange strikes back and forth, with Jey winning out. “Yeet Sauce” by Pat. Stop it, please. Nice enziguri by Jey, as he leads the crowd in a Yeet chant. Ilja responds with a pump kick to the face. He then connects with a series of German Suplexes. Jey blocks the last one and hits a kick to the midsection and an uppercut. Ilja responds with the Constantine Special. He gets a nearfall off of it.
Ilja with some machine gun chops, Kobashi style, to Jey in the corner. Nice Face Wash by Ilja, Samoa Joe style! He goes for another German Suplex, but Jey slips free and kicks at Ilja’s arm. Superkicks to the face by Jey, and Ilja kicks out. That last kick was right at the bridge of Ilja’s nose. On the contrary, Jey is bleeding from his ear. Jey goes for the Spear, but Ilja counters it with a knee to the face. He follows with a running knee to the face, and a powerbomb.
Ilja prepares in the corner for the H Bomb, and he connects! Jey is able to kick out, as Ilja sells the affects of his arm from earlier. He measures Jey, and goes for the Torpedo Moscow, but Jey counters with a Spear. He goes to the top rope, and lands the Uso Splash! It’s enough for the 3, and the win. The crowd erupts with Yeet chants, as Jey advances to the Semifinals of the King of the Ring.
That was a lot of fun. A great TV match between two guys who can do it with ease. With Ilja in the match, this had an air of intensity to it that’s not common in Jey’s matches, and that added to the freshness of the encounter. It was stiff at times, and it was a hard hitting affair. I think Ilja looked good here, and he got a lot of offense in on Jey, who is more established than he is at this point. The crowd was hot for the action, which helped. I liked this a lot!