Ilja Dragunov Makes AEW Debut At WrestleDream

The rumours were true as Ilja Dragunov officially arrived in AEW at WrestleDream.

Making his first appearance at the October 17 pay-per-view, Dragunov appeared following the conclusion of the Trios Title match, where Adam Page and Brodido defeated The New Level and Swerve Strickland to win back the titles. A metronome appeared at the top of the ramp, and the lights went out in the arena.

Dragunov’s music then played and the crowd erupted when it was revealed that The Mad Dragon was the promotion’s newest signee. Dragunov posed in the ring and pyro went off at the top of the ramp to cement his arrival in All Elite Wrestling.

Dragunov’s debut was heavily teased ahead of time with multiple vignettes signalling his arrival. The former WWE star will continue to use his real name moving forward.

As well as garnering a reputation as one of the toughest wrestlers today, Dragunov found success in WWE by capturing the United States Championship on the main roster. Additionally, Dragunov was the one who ended Walter’s [Gunther’s] 870-day reign as United Kingdom Champion.

Ilja Dragunov Joins AEW Roster After WWE Exit

News broke back in August that the Russian star had left WWE. The departure was due to Dragunov’s contract expiring as opposed to a release. This meant that Dragunov would be a free agent following the expiration date instead of the 90-day no-compete.

There were rumours that Dragunov could make his AEW debut at All In: Wembley in late August, but this did not transpire. Instead, Tony Khan chose to wait a little longer before confirming what many had previously suspected.

Featured image: WWE