Ilja Dragunov explains why he left WWE for AEW
At the 2026 AEW WrestleDream PPV event, Ilja Dragunov made his official debut with the company. While speaking to media after the show, Dragunov explained why he left WWE for AEW…
“I’ve been doing this for almost 14 years now, and I’ve been through a lot of phases when it comes down to my indie wrestling career and my professional wrestling career in general. I’ve traveled to places. I’ve been under contract.
I’ve never had the chance where I couldn’t bet on myself. And if I feel that this chance is limited and it gets more limited, and I feel like I’m getting stuck somewhere—not because of external factors, just feeling stuck in general—because I have this urge to fight. I really love to fight, and I want to compete. I want to step up, and if I feel that the air in a certain environment gets thinner for me, I need to breathe. And that’s what I did today here.
I need a place to breathe new, fresh air, see a new landscape, and see what the world can offer me to satisfy this hunger for competition.”