Tony Khan Praises Ilja Dragunov Following WWE Departure

Whilst unclear on the contractual situation, Khan is a big fan of Ilja Dragunov.

This past week, it was revealed that Ilja Dragunov had left WWE at the end of his contract. The former NXT Champion was moved to the alumni section of the WWE roster page following unsuccessful negotiations between the two parties on a new deal. Naturally, Dragunov’s departure has sparked speculation amongst fans on where he will show up next, with many believing he will sign with AEW. As Tony Khan faced the press last night, he was asked about this possibility.

Speaking at the ROH Death Before Dishonor post-show media scrum, Tony Khan expressed his admiration for Ilja Dragunov.

“I’m not sure about the contractual status, but that’s a tremendous, tremendous professional wrestler, absolutely. Again, I don’t know exactly what the contractual status is of people that don’t work here. I can’t keep track of those things and there’s no way for me to know that, but one thing I do know is that’s a great wrestler.”

-Tony Khan

During his time with WWE, Ilja Dragunov held both the NXT and NXT UK Championships, as well as a recent reign as WWE United States Champion. It was for the NXT UK Championship that he reignited his fan-favourite feud with WALTER, now known as GUNTHER. Prior to signing with WWE, Dragunov made his name in Germany’s WXW, being a former World, Tag Team, and Shotgun Champion in the promotion, as well as winning the coveted 16-Carat Gold Tournament.

WXW is one of many promotions to now have their shows available on MyAEW. You can read more about that here.

As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on both Ilja Dragunov and AEW as soon as we hear more.

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