More details are coming out about Ilja Dragunov’s future following his WWE exit, and people across the European wrestling scene are already trying to figure out where he goes from here.
Fightful Select reports that Dragunov’s situation caught plenty of people off guard, including wrestlers who had actually been in contact with him over the summer. Several wrestlers reached out to Dragunov while he was missing from WWE television, but even they weren’t given much information about what was happening.
“We’ve heard that a number of wrestlers actually reached out to him this Summer about his whereabouts in WWE, and hadn’t heard anything. He did train with some wrestlers that we spoke to, but they hadn’t heard of his situation at that point.”
The surprise apparently extended to wXw, where Dragunov became one of the biggest names of his career before eventually making the jump to WWE. Sources connected to his former promotion weren’t expecting his WWE run to end this way.
“In speaking with sources across independent wrestling in Europe, his exit came as a surprise to those we spoke with in wXw, his former home promotion. Those we spoke with expected more from Ilja’s time on the main roster due to his ability to connect with fans.”
Dragunov hadn’t appeared on WWE television since April, although he was spotted attending a wXw event in Hamburg in May. Now that he is officially free, wrestlers across Europe are already hoping they might get a chance to step into the ring with him. That doesn’t mean anyone expects Dragunov to suddenly head back to working a regular independent schedule.
It was also noted that one source within wXw would actually be surprised if Dragunov returned to the independent scene. A promoter in the United Kingdom expressed similar doubts, pointing out that Dragunov’s asking price could make him difficult for many European companies to book.
“One wXw source we spoke with noted that they would be surprised to see Dragunov return to the independent scene, while a UK promoter noted that while they’d love to book him, they would be surprised to see Ilja return to the indies with a bookable rate for most promotions on the continent.”
There are already predictions about where Dragunov could ultimately land instead. One European promoter believes AEW will end up signing him, while also leaving the door open for Dragunov to make an appearance for PROGRESS Wrestling.
“Another European promoter expects that Dragunov will sign with AEW, while also predicting that Dragunov could end up back in PROGRESS.”
That doesn’t mean an AEW deal is already done. Fightful previously noted that sources within AEW had not heard about Dragunov coming into the company, so the belief that he could sign there remains an expectation from people within the industry rather than confirmation of an agreement.
For now, the biggest takeaway is that Dragunov’s WWE departure surprised people who knew him from the European wrestling scene, and there is already serious interest in what he does next. While plenty of independent wrestlers would love to face him, there are doubts that a full return to the indies makes financial sense for most promotions. Dragunov now has plenty of options in front of him, and the wrestling world clearly isn’t expecting him to stay unemployed for long.
Where do you think Ilja Dragunov should wrestle next, and would you rather see him sign with AEW or make select appearances around Europe? Let us know what you think and leave your feedback in the comments.
