The past year-plus has seen a number of high-profile departures from WWE, from John Cena to AJ Styles to Kofi Kingston and most recently Brock Lesnar. Joining the list of people departing is longtime superstar Ilja Dragunov.
According to PWInsider.com, Dragunov has officially left WWE following the expiration of his current contract. He has already been moved to the “alumni” section on the WWE website.
“Ilja [Dragunov] is exiting World Wrestling Entertainment, PWInsider.com can exclusively confirm,” the outlet reported. “We are told that Dragonuv’s deal has expired. He was removed internally from WWE roster this week.”
Dragunov in WWE
Dragunov (whose real name is Ilja Rukober) first joined WWE in 2019 after wrestling in Germany and England since he was a teenager. He was promptly moved to the NXT developmental side, where he emerged as one of its top stars and even won the NXT Championship.
In 2024, the day after WrestleMania XL, Dragunov made his debut on the main roster. Sadly, a torn ACL suffered during a live event removed him from action for most of 2025. He returned in October and captured the United States Championship from Sami Zayn.
Over the course of his title defense, Dragunov would defeat Aleister Black, Nathan Frazer, Johnny Gargano, Axiom, JD McDonagh, Carmelo Hayes, and Tommaso Ciampa. He finally dropped the title to Carmelo Hayes in December and would continue to compete throughout the first few months of 2026.
At the 2026 Royal Rumble in January, he entered the iconic match at 17th but was eliminated by Brock Lesnar after 11 minutes.
Dragunov competed in a battle royal on an April 17 edition of Smackdown in what would be his final appearance in a WWE ring.
It’s unclear what led to Dragunov’s absence for several months prior to his release. At just 32 years of age, he should have plenty more years of wrestling if it’s something he wants to pursue.
Where should Dragunov take his talents next?
