Ilja Dragunov has been a free agent for less than a week, and Tony Khan is doing little to quiet speculation about a possible move to AEW.
Dragunov’s WWE contract expired August 20 after the two sides failed to reach a new agreement. Because his deal reached its scheduled conclusion rather than being terminated early, the former NXT and United States champion is immediately free to appear for another promotion.
Khan was asked about Dragunov during the ROH Death Before Dishonor media scrum on August 21. Although the AEW president said he could not speak to Dragunov’s contractual situation, he described him as “a tremendous, tremendous professional wrestler.”
He offered even stronger praise in a subsequent interview with talkSPORT, calling Dragunov an exceptional athlete whom he greatly respects. Khan added that he is a “big admirer” and intends to monitor what happens with Dragunov next.
Those comments led Dave Meltzer to predict on Wrestling Observer Radio that AEW will eventually make Dragunov a substantial offer. Meltzer pointed to the frequency and enthusiasm of Khan’s public praise as the basis for his assessment.
Previous inquiries with sources inside AEW had produced no indication that Dragunov was preparing to join the company. Other industry sources reportedly viewed AEW as a possible destination but had no firm information regarding his plans.
