Ilja Dragunov Teaser Vignette Airs On AEW Collision (AEW News)

The Mad Dragon is on his way to AEW.

by Andrew Pollard
Ilja Dragunov
WWE.com

After months of speculation, last night's AEW Collision saw a teaser vignette air to tease the impending arrival of Ilja Dragunov.

This 22-second video showed somebody conducting an orchestra, mixed with footage of a metronome, a person walking down some steps, and someone running the ropes in a wrestling ring.

While this mystery figure wasn't identified, the belief is that it's Ilja Dragunov, the hugely talented 33-year-old Russian who reportedly signed with AEW last month.

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For Dragunov, he opted to leave WWE in the summer, despite the market leader being keen to keep him. Instead, the former NXT Champion and WWE United States Champion decided to let his contract expire and try his hand elsewhere. And now, it's clear that 'elsewhere' is Tony Khan's AEW.

After making waves on the European independent scene, most notably for wXw and PROGRESS, Ilja Dragunov signed with WWE in 2019, initially being assigned to the NXT UK brand, before then heading to main NXT, and then hitting the main roster in 2024 on the Raw after WrestleMania 40.

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Dragunov last wrestled in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the SmackDown before WrestleMania 42, with initial plans in place for him to make a grand return after this year's SummerSlam. Ultimately, those plans didn't come to pass, with Ilja deciding to leave the company.

As for the future, it remains to be seen what moniker Ilja will use. The real-life Ilja Rukober has used the Ilja Dragunov name dating back to 2012, though there are some questions about whether WWE now owns that name. Of course, with Ilja being, well, Ilja's real first name, he'll definitely be fine to use that first name.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.