Summary

Ilja Dragunov said Dan Henderson was the inspiration behind the H-Bomb, the forearm strike that has become one of the signature moves in his arsenal.

Speaking during a recent interview, Dragunov said the move stood out to him because of how simple it was, and he was happy to adapt it into pro wrestling before someone else had the same idea. In another recent Dragunov interview, he also said Trick Williams earned his own in-ring rise.

Quote from Ilja Dragunov

"My favorite wrestling move?… That's a tough one. I really don't have a favorite wrestling move. I gotta be so accurate and say it's my H-Bomb, and honestly, that's such a simple move and I completely stole it from Dan Henderson in MMA. It's such a simple move but I'm very happy that I was able to pull it off before somebody else came up with the idea."

How Dan Henderson connects to Ilja Dragunov's H-Bomb

Dragunov described the H-Bomb as his favorite move, which says plenty about how central it is to his presentation. Tying it back to Henderson gives the strike a clear combat-sports lineage, and it helps explain why the move feels so direct and violent when Dragunov uses it.

That does not point to any immediate storyline change, but it does give WWE fans a better look at how Dragunov built one of the attacks most closely associated with him.

Sources

Ilja Dragunov on The Ringer Wrestling Show