John Klinger vs Ilja Dragunov (wXw - 12/23/2017)
Jan 20, 2022 7:46:18 GMT -5
Post by nova on Jan 20, 2022 7:46:18 GMT -5
Am I the only person who will consider this match? Its very likely.
This entire match is extremely uncomfortable, even to someone who loves it. Dragunov has spent all year climbing after the World Title, yet at every point Klinger has been one step ahead, getting assistance from his new group RISE. Fortunately for Ilja, the match is No Holds Barred and if RISE interferes, they will be suspended.
The real story behind the match is tragic. Ilja had been only wrestling for about 5 years, but his reckless style resulted in him wanting to retire so he can take care for his newborn son. Ilja decided that the best way to go out, would be to have his skull demolished in a purposefully unsettling way, there are some gruesome moments in this match that resulted in a comment on PWO saying that they feel like they just saw someone get shot and killed. It's not too far off, Klinger delivers head trauma that I can only assume would be considered over the top even in ECW. I refer back to what I said earlier, this match is just straight up uncomfortable, especially when you know the real life story. Though, I would be lying to myself if I said I didn't love this match and consider it to be one of the greatest spectacles in wrestling I had ever seen.
Thankfully, this ends up having a happy ending. In 16 Carat Gold 2018, Ilja is a surprise return on the annual Day 2 World Title match, defeating both WALTER and Klinger to become World Champion.
This entire match is extremely uncomfortable, even to someone who loves it. Dragunov has spent all year climbing after the World Title, yet at every point Klinger has been one step ahead, getting assistance from his new group RISE. Fortunately for Ilja, the match is No Holds Barred and if RISE interferes, they will be suspended.
The real story behind the match is tragic. Ilja had been only wrestling for about 5 years, but his reckless style resulted in him wanting to retire so he can take care for his newborn son. Ilja decided that the best way to go out, would be to have his skull demolished in a purposefully unsettling way, there are some gruesome moments in this match that resulted in a comment on PWO saying that they feel like they just saw someone get shot and killed. It's not too far off, Klinger delivers head trauma that I can only assume would be considered over the top even in ECW. I refer back to what I said earlier, this match is just straight up uncomfortable, especially when you know the real life story. Though, I would be lying to myself if I said I didn't love this match and consider it to be one of the greatest spectacles in wrestling I had ever seen.
Thankfully, this ends up having a happy ending. In 16 Carat Gold 2018, Ilja is a surprise return on the annual Day 2 World Title match, defeating both WALTER and Klinger to become World Champion.
