More WWE Roster Releases Coming SOON After Ilja Dragunov Departure (WWE News)
Ilja Dragunov's exit could have a snowball effect on more WWE releases.
The Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez has said that Ilja Dragunov might not be the only one departing WWE over the next few months. In fact, according to Alvarez: "There are a few other main roster contracts of people who haven’t been on TV much coming due in October".
That sounds rather ominous.
Reportedly, Dragunov was the one who decided to let his contract tick down ahead of release. Ideally, WWE wanted to keep him on the roster, but the maddening thing here is that management/creative hadn't been using Ilja since April. So, if they definitely wanted to keep him happy, then they obviously weren't going about it the right way.
WrestlePurists followed up on Bryan's report by suggesting that Bayley could be one of the ones set to leave next. They don't have any concrete proof of that, clearly, but the longstanding women's division stalwart has been linked to an exit for quite some time now - she's yet to sign an extension on her current deal at time of writing.
Bayley also hasn't wrestled on television since losing to old partner Lyra Valkyria on the 18 July edition of Saturday Night's Main Event. However, she has worked a couple of house show dates since then.
Alvarez clearly stated that any coming departures would be for those "who haven't been on TV much". Bayley, like Dragunov before her, could fall into that bracket. Fans will just have to play the waiting game, but it does look like further exits are expected before the end of 2026.