Ilja Dragunov on His Decision To Leave WWE Over “Nothing Felt Satisfying”

As noted before, Ilja Dragunov departed from WWE this past August following the expiration of his contract. Dragunov made his official debut for AEW at this past Saturday’s WrestleDream 2026 event in Orlando, Florida and was confirmed to have signed a contract with the company.

A recent episode of The Ariel Helwani Show featured Dragunov as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Dragunov’s thoughts about his decision to leave WWE and if he knew his last match in WWE would be in this past April.

“No, absolutely not. Every tale I have to tell about that is not very exciting. I didn’t know I was leaving at the time. I was just waiting. I love what I do. I want to compete and work. It’s nothing new to anybody. It was pretty obvious. Time just passed by, and I reached the expiration of my contract. I felt that, over time, with how things were working out and how I’m feeling, it was time to breathe new and fresh air.”

Dragunov also gave his thoughts about how WWE did try to re-sign him.

“Yeah, there was no intention of the company to let me go.”

Dragunov also gave his thoughts about if he was unhappy with the offer from WWE.

“It was an accumulation of a lot of things. The offer, as we all know, is a business, but it’s also based on my feelings. How do I want to work creatively? Do I need a scenery change? You have to consider all the factors. I spent most of my 20s in WWE. That’s a very long time. The landscape changed. Now, we have other opportunities. After such a long time being in the company, not seeking out new opportunities at a place where I see myself more fitting- who wouldn’t do that?”

Dragunov also gave his thoughts about if he was asked to take a pay cut or was given a raise for the offer from WWE.

“I’m too discreet and too much of a businessman and a gentleman to talk about these kinds of things. Everything I can say is that there was nothing that I felt satisfied with and nothing that gave me the perspective of, ‘I must stick with this.’”

Dragunov also gave his thoughts about if WWE knew he wouldn’t be coming back.

“Anything I can say is not as exciting as people made it. At some point in time, you don’t have creativity, and you’re waiting for the next opportunity to come. A lot of new people came up. A lot of stories were full. There is only a certain amount of time for certain people. I’m not going to go too deep into that. Everything I knew was that the expiration of my contract came, and negotiations didn’t lead anywhere.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com