A former WWE star made a huge statement after AEW WrestleDream yesterday. The pay-per-view had many surprises in store. One of them was the introduction of the newest signee of All Elite Wrestling, Ilja Dragunov. The former United States Champion left the global sports entertainment juggernaut in August 2026. Almost two months after his WWE departure, he has made his blockbuster debut in the Jacksonville-based promotion.
At WrestleDream, the Conductor of Violence made his debut. Fans lost their minds as the former United States Champion made his way to the ring. The Mad Dragon spent almost five minutes in the ring and hyped up the crowd. In the post-media scrum of the pay-per-view, Tony Khan announced that he will even make his in-ring debut on the upcoming edition of Dynamite this Wednesday. Dragunov teased facing stars like Kyle Fletcher and Samoa Joe.
Recently, Ilja Dragunov took to X and announced that he is All Elite. He seems to be excited to be part of his new company.
“UNBEATABLE/All Elite,” he wrote.
AEW President Tony Khan talked about Ilja Dragunov’s visa issues
International stars who perform in America always have to go through visa issues. The same issues have kept multiple stars off TV for many months. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case with the former United States Champion, as he got his on time.
While speaking at the WrestleDream post-media scrum, Tony Khan addressed Ilja Dragunov’s visa issues. The AEW President claimed that the Conductor of Violence’s visa wasn’t confirmed until the latest edition of Dynamite. He also said that he got the confirmation during the live broadcast of the Wednesday Night show.
“Thanks to the process, it can be an unpredictable process of acquiring a visa. It’s something that I wasn’t sure until this Wednesday night, during a live broadcast, that I would be able to bring you. It’s a great surprise, and it’s something that I was so pleased that we were able to do tonight,” he said.
It will be interesting to see what is in store for the former United States Champion’s in-ring debut in AEW this Wednesday.
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Edited by Tejas Pagare
