Ilja Dragunov apparently wasn’t supposed to spend the rest of his WWE run sitting at home. WWE had plans to bring him back to television after SummerSlam—only for him to leave the company instead.
According to False Finish, WWE was planning to bring Dragunov back to TV following SummerSlam. That makes the timing of his contract expiration considerably more interesting, because a return seemingly wasn’t just something fans were waiting for. WWE apparently had one in mind too.
Instead, Dragunov never made it back. His final WWE appearance came during WrestleMania weekend, and he basically vanished afterward. There was no injury announcement, farewell angle or television explanation for the absence. Dragunov was even spotted training at the Hart Dungeon while months passed without WWE using him.
The new detail also fits with what was happening behind the scenes during that stretch. Bryan Alvarez previously revealed that WWE and Dragunov were still strongly negotiating a return as recently as June, although he wasn’t sure what ultimately happened.
It was also reported that WWE wanted Dragunov to remain with the company, but Dragunov ultimately chose to let his contract expire.
That makes the sequence pretty shocking. WWE and Dragunov were negotiating in June. The company had plans to put him back on television after SummerSlam. Then August arrived, his contract expired and WWE quickly moved his profile into the Alumni section of its website.
Whatever changed apparently happened late enough that WWE had already been thinking about what came next for him. For months, Dragunov’s absence looked like WWE simply didn’t have anything for him. Now it turns out a post-SummerSlam comeback was on the table, but Dragunov was gone before it ever happened.
What do you think WWE had planned for Ilja Dragunov after SummerSlam, and what changed before his exit? Let us know in the comments below.
