Ilja Dragunov didn’t have to leave his identity behind when he walked out of WWE. Unlike plenty of wrestlers who have been forced to rebrand after leaving the company, Dragunov was able to take his name straight to AEW with him.
Speaking on the Battleground Podcast, Dragunov was asked about keeping the same ring name following his WWE departure. As it turns out, there was never much of an issue because “Ilja Dragunov” belonged to him long before WWE came calling.
Dragunov explained that he’d already spent his entire independent career wrestling under that name. When WWE signed him, the company didn’t ask him to change it or come up with a new identity.
“They never asked me to change it. I had this name before. I had this name for my entire independent career. I came to WWE with this name, and I left WWE with this name.”
That also meant Dragunov didn’t suddenly find himself searching for a new name once his WWE run was over. He confirmed that he kept the rights to Ilja Dragunov, something he’s especially happy about considering how closely the name is tied to everything he’s accomplished in wrestling.
“So, there was never a point where they asked me to change the name or anything like that. So, I kept the rights for this name, and I’m very happy about that because, I mean, this name is connected to my entire career.”
For Dragunov, there really wasn’t an alternative identity sitting around anyway. From the independents to NXT UK, NXT, WWE’s main roster and now AEW, he’s always been Ilja Dragunov.
“There was never another name.”
That made at least one part of Dragunov’s jump from WWE to AEW incredibly simple. He may be starting a completely new chapter of his career, but fans won’t have to get used to calling him anything different.
What do you think about Ilja Dragunov being able to keep the name he’s used throughout his entire wrestling career after leaving WWE? Let us know in the comments below.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
