It's now been nearly a month since Ilja Dragunov shocked the wrestling world by deciding to not renew his contract with WWE, followed by him shocking everyone again by not making an immediate move to another promotion. As it turns out though, Dragunov seems to have a destination in mind, even if it may take a few minutes for him to get there. Fightful Select reports that, while it remains unconfirmed whether he's officially signed, Dragunov is expected to join AEW in the not too distant future, barring "unforeseen circumstances."That does not mean that Dragunov will be debuting on AEW television this week, or even at AEW All Out in Chicago next weekend. The former WWE United States Champion, along with other recent WWE departures from outside the US, has been affected by what was described as "visa issues or visa hurdles" brought upon by leaving WWE, and had thus prevented Dragunov and others from appearing elsewhere. It remains unclear how long these issues would prevent Dragunov from debuting in AEW, or if they were close to being resolved.As Ilja is his birthname, Dragunov will be able to go by Ilja in AEW upon his arrival, though there are questions about whether he will be able to keep the Dragunov name as well. Despite going by the name "Ilja Dragunov" since debuting as a wrestler back in 2012, it remains unclear whether WWE now has the rights to the name, asWWE did file to trademark "Ilja Dragunov" back in 2020, when he was a member of the NXT UK roster. No updates on the trademark were made after October 13, 2020, which at the time was listed as Live/Pending, suggesting the trademark wasn't finalized, and the name would still be available for Dragunov to use.
There's not much to say about Ilja Dragunov being signed by AEW, beyond stating the obvious that it's a great signing for the promotion and a great thing that Dragunov, one of the most talented wrestlers alive, will be back applying his craft on television. My strongest thoughts regarding the situation are what happens now that Dragunov will eventually be showing up, and in my opinion there's a ready-made spot for him. Not even two weeks ago, Will Ospreay kicked off his AEW Men's World Championship reign by declaring he missed having a group around him, and would be looking to form an AEW branch of his United Empire stable. Personally, I can't think of a better member for the group than Dragunov; he fits the feel of United Empire (top tier international wrestler) and it would immediately put him in an important AEW faction that would have him involved in a lot of top programs.I'm sure some would argue that being either the top lieutenant, second from the top lieutenant, or "just another guy" in another wrestler's stable would be beneath a talent like Dragunov, but I don't think so. There's absolutely no shame in starting out in a stable led by the guy AEW is clearly trying to position as their top star, and like I said, there's two major positives to putting him with a guy, and a group, like Ospreay and United Empire. Depending on if he could debut sooner than later, Dragunov could also be set up as a perfect opponent for Jon Moxley and the Continental Championship after Ospreay goes through Moxley at All Out, and it would fit even seamlessly if Dragunov and Ospreay were associated. I'm sure Dragunov would be fine on his own as well, but to me, this is a no brainer decision. Putting Dragunov with the AEW version of United Empire immediately gets him involved, and immediately establishes him as a key talent who has the potential to become an even bigger star within the promotion.
