As "The Beast Incarnate," Brock Lesnar was presented as the most dominant athlete on the WWE roster for years, bulldozing his way through most of the competition. At the men's Royal Rumble match earlier this year, Lesnar had a brief spot with AEW's latest acquisition, Ilja Dragunov, where he "no-sold" Dragunov's offense before eliminating him from the match moments later.

Looking back at the interaction during an interview on "The Ariel Helwani Show," Dragunov offered his take. "If you really understand the persona that I have been in the ring most of the time, like, I've been facing monsters," he argued. "At the end of the day, you can't change certain things. You have a person like Brock Lesnar standing in front [of you]; most people would run away as soon as that happens, you know?"

The wrestler maintained that he did the best he could to stay in character and continue portraying himself as mentally and physically tough, without being able to control Lesnar's reaction. Fortunately for him, Dragunov feels that his character has always been more based around vulnerability rather than domination. "It's always the way how I fought back and how I recovered after those moments, because these moments make great stories," he explained. "So I don't see it as a defeat."

Dragunov acknowledged his fans that were mad about the spot, but expressed that it wasn't something he lingered on. When it comes to his career in WWE, Dragunov claimed he has no regrets. He also acknowledged that his character can be polarizing to fans, but he believes that's a positive thing in the wrestling industry.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Ariel Helwani Show," and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.