Finn Balor Beats Ilja Dragunov at WWE Worlds Collide

Finn Balor and Ilja Dragunov clashed for the first time ever at WWE Worlds Collide on Saturday night, and it was Balor who came out on the winning end.

Although Balor and Dragunov hadn't really interacted at the time, WWE announced a few weeks before Worlds Collide that they would meet at the event. It may have gone somewhat under the radar to many since it was announced at the same time as Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm.

Those familiar with the work of Balor and Dragunov over the years knew their match had show-stealing potential, however, even as part of a card that looked stacked from top to bottom.

While Balor is a much more well-known wrestler who has reached the top of the mountain on the biggest stage, there are some parallels between him and Dragunov.

The 26-year-old Dragunov was born in Russia before immigrating to Germany at a young age. He made a name for himself wrestling across Europe, but especially in Germany and the United Kingdom, before signing on to be part of NXT UK last year.

Balor was born and raised in Ireland, and he too cut his teeth as part of the European wrestling scene. He truly hit it big when he joined New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 2006, though, and parlayed that into a WWE contract in 2014.

Since signing with WWE, the 38-year-old Balor has won the NXT Championship, Universal Championship and Intercontinental Championship.

Following a lengthy run on the main roster, Balor returned to NXT in October and turned heel shortly thereafter. He has been one of the top stars on the brand ever since and is currently embroiled in a feud with Johnny Gargano.

The winner of the Gargano rivalry and match at NXT TakeOver: Portland next month may be in line for a shot at the NXT Championship, but both Balor and Gargano had other matches to focus on at Worlds Collide, which prevented them from looking ahead.

That didn't appear to be an issue for Balor, as he performed at a high level Saturday night and built up a fair amount of momentum for himself ahead of the clash with Johnny Wrestling.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).