A major update has emerged on Ilja Dragunov’s next move, following the former US Champion’s recent WWE departure.
PWInsider reported in August that Ilja Dragunov had finished up with WWE following his contract expiring, with WWE moving his profile to the Alumni section of the roster page shortly afterwards.
Amid speculation about his in-ring future, we now know where Dragunov is set to land, “barring unforeseen circumstances”.
Per Sean Ross Sapp and Fightful Select, the plan is currently for Ilja Dragunov to land in AEW. Fightful Select didn’t confirm that Ilja Dragunov has signed, but wrote that is is set to join AEW “barring unforeseen circumstances”
The report noted that this has been the plan for “some time”, but final details are now being nailed down to make the move a reality.
Ilja Dragunov was reportedly one of the recent WWE departees from outside of the US who was facing hurdles surrounding their visa, with those Fightful spoke to revealing that a number of talents were facing visa expirations or issues which affected their free agent process.
The report pointed out that the former WWE star would be able to keep his first name, Ilja, as it’s his legitimate first name, however whether or not he’d be able to keep “Dragunov” is unclear.
Following his WWE contract expiration, reports stated that the real-life “Ilja Rokober” and WWE were far enough apart in negotiations for a new deal that the decision was made in April to not use him anymore.
Ilja Dragunov last wrestled on the April 17 SmackDown episode, competing in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Royce Keys notably won this match, last eliminating Talla Tonga.
With Dragunov’s hard-hitting style, many fans expected to see the Mad Russian join AEW. Some had predicted that he would show up at All In London at Wembley Stadium, although he ultimately didn’t appear at the August 30 pay-per-view.
Two former WWE stars who did make their AEW debuts on this date were Austin Creed & Kofi (fka Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston), who reintroduced themselves as the New Level.
The duo teamed with Swerve Strickland to win the AEW World Trios Championship in the Trios Roulette Royal.
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