The Mad Dragon’s days in WWE have come to an end.
News first started making the rounds early Thursday afternoon that Ilja Dragunov had chosen to let his contract with the company expire, and that he was officially a free agent. His profile on WWE’s website was shifted to the alumni section around that same time, seemingly confirming the authenticity of those reports.
Dragunov missed over a year of his career after he tore his ACL in a live event match with Gunther, but he made an impactful return to the ring this past October when he defeated Sami Zayn to win the Men’s United States Championship. By the time the calendar flipped to 2026, however, his usage on television started to dwindle.
According to Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of his Wrestling Observer Newsletter, contract negotiations between Dragunov and WWE played a huge role in the decision to pull him from television following WrestleMania 42 weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“[Dragunov] signed what was termed a very good contract and it was coming due. In talks over a new deal, the sides were far enough apart that the decision was made in April not to use him anymore. He would be free to wrestle anywhere at this point as there is no non-compete for a contract running out.
It was reported by the Wrestling Observer and False Finish on Thursday that both parties were strongly discussing a return to SmackDown for Ilja as recently as June, but those negotiations obviously fell apart.
“It was essentially conceded [Dragunov] was a great worker but not a numbers mover, and evidently for the level of money he was asking and getting, you needed to be a numbers mover,” Dave Meltzer wrote in his newsletter Friday. “He had incredible matches in NXT, including bouts with Walter (Gunther) that are among the best matches in company history. He used the name Ilja Dragunov starting in 2012, so [he] would have the prior-use ability to continue using it.”
There have not been any reports, as of this writing, about Dragonov’s next career move, but considering his spectacular in-ring ability, he should garner heavy interest on the open market.
Unsurprisingly, AEW is seen as a natural fit for The Mad Dragon by many fans and critics, but Tony Khan already has a very full roster. Plus, both Kofi and Austin Creed, formerly known as The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, are expected to debut with All Elite Wrestling in the near future.
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