After weeks of talks and reports, Ilya Dragunov is officially “All Elite”. Former WWE Superstar made his AEW debut at the WrestleDream pay-per-view on October 17and already had a successful in-ring debut against “Speedball” Mike Bayley at “AEW Dynamite”. His move to AEW comes after a seven-year stint with WWE that saw the “Mad Dragon” find success but, according to the man himself, could have ended much better.
Dragunov spoke recently The Takedown on Sports Illustrated, and admitted he needed a breath of fresh air after returning from injury last October.
“It was a very difficult time for me because, you see, I came back from a torn ACL, which happened in the most exciting way possible. I was rehabilitating myself, training very hard and being very dedicated. I came back and won the United States Championship basically after my comeback, which was a great, memorable moment. In my heart, everything is different, and I don’t blame anyone, and I have a lot of respect for the last seven years that I spent with the company, but I felt that it was good and reasonable for me to ask myself:
Dragunov has been open about his departure from WWE since arriving in AEW, stating that he doesn’t feel like it; The offer of a new WWE contract was enough for him to deal with his future there and decided to take his talents elsewhere. The length of his AEW contract is still unknown, although AEW fans will be hoping he stays for many more years.
Please credit “The Takedown” when using quotes from this article, and give H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.