Thoughts on Ilja Dragunov's WWE Departure
World Wrestling Entertainment loses another. Earlier this afternoon, Mike Johnson of PW Insider revealed that Ilja Dragunov has opted to depart WWE following an uneven seven-year tenure. Dragunov, 32, was quickly and unceremoniously shifted to the Alumni section of WWE.com's roster page. False Finish, a WWE-friendly media outlet, added that WWE hoped to retain Dragunov, but he ultimately chose to let his contract expire and officially enter free agency. Dragunov, a gifted professional wrestler, last competed in this year's Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal - where Aleister Black eliminated him. Let's cut right to the chase: Tony Khan should aggressively pursue Dragunov : On paper, it's difficult to imagine a better fit than Dragunov and All Elite Wrestling. He's only 32 years old and wrestles a style that is far more appropriate for AEW and its partner promotion, New Japan Pro Wrestling, than it was for WWE. I've already seen a million tweets pegging him as ...