Ilja Dragunov on The New Level’s AEW Debuts Catching His Attention, His AEW Debut Entrance At WrestleDream 2026, His Praise of Bandido, His Goal of Wanting To Wrestle In Japan, Potential Rematch With Kyle Fletcher, Gunther’s Impact on His Wrestling Career, & More

Sports Illustrated’s The Takedown on SI held a recent interview with former WWE and current AEW talent Ilja Dragunov. One of the topics discussed included Dragunov’s thoughts about how The New Level’s (Kori & Austin Creed) debut in AEW caught his attention.

“I mean, it would be a lie if it wouldn’t, right? You see people perform in a way that they didn’t perform in a while anymore. I can tell, hopefully, or just feel, or can try to imagine a certain happiness if I watch them, what they’re doing, and just reconnecting with these people that you shared some time with. You can just tell that it’s definitely a new place and something they appreciate [being] a part of.”

In a separate recent interview with TMZ’s Inside The Ring podcast, Dragunov also gave his thoughts about the importance of his AEW debut entrance at WrestleDream 2026.

“This entrance already meant the world for me. The music that I had is the music that I had in the beginning of my career. To have this back means everything to me because my most memorable moments were all connected to that, in my humble indie days, and just the atmosphere of the arena, the warm welcoming of the people, the entire world that AEW put into that detail by detail and the devotion of working together on that and making this beautiful day, this beautiful beginning possible is something that I possibly will carry in my heart for the rest of my life.”

Dragunov also gave his thoughts about his belief that he sticks out on the AEW roster and he is always betting on himself.

“I didn’t consider how stacked the roster is because it’s a fear I don’t have. I was always betting on myself. I bet on myself when I left WWE. I’m betting on myself still, and I’m betting on what my gut is telling me and the way the people, the company introduced me, I think it speaks for itself that I stick out from all the rest on that roster. People who stick out and are not like anybody else, you kind of put the objective on them and only if you are like everybody else or try to be like everybody else — which is also like an unfortunate thing happening nowadays, unfortunately — then you get overlooked. But, I haven’t been overlooked once in my 14 years of career.”

Dragunov also gave his thoughts about his praise of Bandido and being someone who has caught his attention in AEW.

“This is also somebody I have been impressed about, like, at all times, is a person like Bandido. What this person is just capable of is just like somebody just straight out of a video game. That is incredible. Some things he makes so effortlessly that I don’t have the capacity to describe that.”

Dragunov also gave his thoughts about his career goal of wanting to wrestle in Japan.

“I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily who I want to work with, but where I want to work.

Back in the day when I started with wXw, they had a working relationship with Big Japan Pro Wrestling. And when I joined wXw, it’s kind of like this time was passed.

And the one thing that I didn’t do in my career so far, multiple things that I didn’t do in my career so far, but specifically something that I need to do is to wrestle in Japan. I need to wrestle in Japan. Because that’s the place where I think my style belongs, and I think I would connect with the people, with this culture for professional wrestling in a whole different way.”

In a separate recent interview with the Battleground Podcast, Dragunov also gave his thoughts about him potentially having a singles rematch with Kyle Fletcher for the first time since 2019 after Fletcher recently spoke of the possibility of another match between the two.

“Because he’s simply just an entirely progressed version of the last time that I’ve seen him. We spend a lot of time on the German indies because in times where he wasn’t in the tag team as the Aussie Open. They spent some time in Germany. I spent my time there with wXw as well. We were touring together. It was like years ago, and then when our way split it up and I signed, he signed, he did his thing. Like to see from the person that he was to the person that he has become, it’s like incredible. Like he definitely made the most out of everything that he got, and I did the same thing. I grew. I’m a different performer than I have been, and to see what happens when these two performers will, go at it one more time, another time it’s intriguing.”

Dragunov also gave his thoughts about the impact and influence Gunther has had on his wrestling career.

“It is the value of a true fight like Gunther, a dear friend of mine since I don’t know 2015, for such a long time no other person that could, especially in professional wrestling formed me more than he, a mastermind. He is one of the greatest and he will be one of the greatest of all time when he decides to leave the boots in the ring. All the biggest peaks of progression I always had when I faced him. It’s just as simple as that. And what I could take is directness always gives you the best, they give the best enhancement of your talents and strengths.

He was always very straightforward with me. No sugar coating in friendship also as in business relationships. However, you look at him and you look at the physicality and brutality and the kind of dominance that he expresses and oozes and especially as a person like I, that was thriving through pain and suffering and connecting with people on a deeper level through that. That’s what I learned from that possibly the most is I bet on my strength and I will always do that.”

Dragunov also gave his thoughts about his belief that the expressive part of pro wrestling is ‘the real exhausting part’ of the industry.

“It is definitely the part of expressing yourself. It is the vocality. It is the expressions. This part of portraying what you’re doing is at times much harder than any move that you can do. Like this pressure that your body handles. You’re screaming out when you punch, when you get hit. You constantly focus to include the audience, to have this roundabout vision at all times, it is extremely exhausting, and also, it’s not just comes down to what’s the next cool looking thing that I can do. It’s like, how do I handle what happened right now to me? How does it change me as a person during this beautiful fight that I’m expressing, during this play with my opponent? That’s the real exhausting part, and it’s physically exhausting.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5, F4WOnline.com 1 & 2