Ilja Dragunov confirmed that he had received an offer from WWE before joining AEW, but he declined it.
This was his latest statement in an interview with Ariel Helwani this week. He confirms that at the time of taking part in the André the Giant Battle Royal at WrestleMania in April 2026, he did not think he would leave WWE.
Dragunov states that negotiations went nowhere and that he was not satisfied with the offer. When asked whether he took a pay cut like The New Day, Dragunov preferred not to say :
“All I know is that my contract had expired and that negotiations went nowhere. If they offered me a pay cut? To be honest, I am a businessperson far too discreet to speak about such things. All I can say is that there was nothing that seemed satisfactory to me, and nothing that made me think: OK I MUST stay here.”
Ilja Dragunov adds that he decided to join AEW for creative freedom and to pursue new opportunities, as he felt blocked on the WWE side.
You can find his full interview right here :
The decision for Dragunov to leave WWE and join AEW is now clearer.
The upcoming AEW shows are worth watching.
