Fans have seen some surprising WWE departures throughout the year, and it was confirmed last month that Ilja Dragunov had parted ways with the company after his deal expired. Dragunov has been a free agent for a few weeks now and it looks like he’s already found a new home.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select is reporting that as of right now the plan is for Ilja Dragunov to land in AEW. According to the report this has been the plan for some time, but some final details are getting nailed down.
It was also noted that those who Fightful spoke to said that a number of recent WWE departures outside of the United States have been dealing with visa issues which was impacting their free agency process, and Ilja Dragunov happened to be one of them. As of this writing a deal has not officially been signed, but barring any unforeseen circumstances Ilja Dragunov will be joining All Elite Wrestling.
Moving forward he will be able to use the name Ilja, but it’s not clear if the former United States Champion will be able to use the name Dragunov, which he previously used before joining WWE.