The WWE roster has gone through some big changes this year as a number of wrestlers have parted ways with the company. Ilja Dragunov happens to be one of them, and it looks like his AEW debut could be coming sooner than later.
During this week’s episode of Collision, AEW aired a special vignette teasing the debut of a wrestler. The vignette did not show the wrestler’s face, but it featured a metronome and showed a wrestler using their hands to conduct music, much like Ilja Dragunov is known to do.
It was reported last month that Ilja Dragunov had signed with All Elite Wrestling, and that the expectation was Dragunov would be making his debut for the company very soon.
Tony Khan was asked about the possibility of AEW signing Dragunov back in August, and he made it clear that he’s a big fan of the former United States Champion when he said, “That’s somebody that is a very excellent athlete, and somebody that has competed at a very high level, and somebody who I respect eminently. So, I am a big admirer of his and will always be on the lookout to see what happens with him.”
At this point in time it’s not clear when Ilja Dragunov will be making his first appearance on AEW programming, but the fact that they are teasing his arrival seems to be an indication that the company has plans for the Mad Dragon.
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— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) October 15, 2026
Stay tuned for more updates as they become available.