Ilja Dragunov has been one of the hottest topics in wrestling over the past week following his departure from WWE. The former United States Champion’s contract expired on August 20, and he left the company immediately.
His departure quickly fueled speculation about a potential move to AEW. At the post-show press conference following ROH Death Before Dishonor on August 21, Khan had called Dragunov a “tremendous” wrestler but stopped short of claiming any knowledge of his contractual situation.
Speaking with TalkSPORT in a new interview, Khan revisited the subject and made it clear he is keeping a close eye on Dragunov’s situation.
“Well, I can’t speak about the contractual status of wrestlers outside of the promotion because I don’t know everyone’s contract. There’s no way for me to keep track of all that, but I do know that that’s a great wrestler. That’s somebody that is a very excellent athlete and somebody that has competed at a very high level and somebody who I respect imminently. I am a big admirer of his and I will always be on the lookout to see what happens with him.”
Despite Khan’s comments, there has been no confirmation of any negotiations. Fightful Select reported that backstage sources within AEW had received no indication that Dragunov was headed to the company.
Industry chatter about a potential AEW signing has been described as speculation rather than anything concrete.
Dragunov has not wrestled since April 17, when he competed in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on SmackDown and was eliminated by Aleister Black.
With his contract now expired, Dragunov is free to appear with another promotion immediately.