Ilya Dragunov is officially “All Elite” and he wastes little time in making his presence felt.
After Dragunov’s official introduction WrestleDream:AEW CEO Tony Khan confirmed that The Mad Dragon will next grace his AEW ring, with Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite set to take place in Coral Gables, Florida.
“It’s an honor to have you here because I think you’re one of the greatest wrestlers in the world,” Khan told Dragunov at the festival. WrestleDream post-show media scrum. “You said you wanted to start. Do you want to start the fight? We are here in the wonderful state of Florida. We have some great members of the Florida wrestling media here. How about this Wednesday night, based on what we said backstage, you said you’re ready to start the fight this Wednesday night with Dynamite. Let’s do it. I’m excited about it.
As of this writing, Dragunov’s AEW debut opponent has yet to be announced. The former WWE star already has some potential in mind, however, as he named AEW Continental Champion John Moxley, former AEW World Champion Samoa Joe and former AEW TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher as some of his dream in-ring opponents from his new home.
“I’m starving for competition,” he said. “I know whoever I’m going up against has a serious problem because now I’m here. Now I’m here, and this is going to be a serious problem for a lot of people.”
Dragunov departed WWE over the summer after not renewing the contract. His last WWE match pitted him against several others at the 2026 Andre Giant Memorial Battle Royal in April 2026.
