Massive news in the world of professional wrestling as Ilja Dragunov is officially leaving the WWE.
This was first reported by PWInsider in which they say that Dragunov’s deal expired and he was removed internally from WWE”s active roster this week on their website.
Before arriving in the WWE, Dragunov was a massive star during his run with Westside Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) where he is a former Unified World Wrestling Champion, three-time wXw World Tag Team Champion and two-time wXw Shotgun Champion.
Upon arriving in WWE, Dragunov and Gunther had back-to-back 5+ star matches in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter where Dragunov came up short in the first battle but claimed the gold in the rematch against the Ring General.
Dragunov would go on to win the WWE NXT Championship before dropping it to Trick Williams, once he got up to the main roster, he would win the WWE United States Championship where he held it for 70 days and after being eliminated from the 2026 Royal Rumble by Brock Lesnar, then being eliminated from the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal by Aleister Black, Dragunov would not be seen on WWE TV again.
Now, with his deal officially expired and no longer being part of the WWE, he is free to go anywhere he wants, including an opportunity if it rises for him to arrive in All Elite Wrestling before their blockbuster Wembley Stadium PPV next Sunday at AEW All In.
We will keep you updated on any more news we hear regarding Dragunov and his WWE deal expiring.
Rami J. Hanna has written about combat and motor sports, as well sports such as baseball and basketball for a number of publications over the last ten years. In addition to his new role at CBC/DSR, Rami also recently began new roles at WrestlePurists and False Finish, and launched his own YouTube channel, VALUABLE with Rami Afif.