Tony Khan Speaks on the Possibility of Signing Ilja Dragunov Following WWE Departure

This is something that has become a fairly routine practice in professional wrestling. When an incredibly talented in-ring performer departs WWE, fans will immediately begin to question whether said performer will show up in rival All Elite Wrestling.

Ilja Dragunov is the latest WWE Superstar to find himself on the free agent market. The 32-year-old was reportedly negotiating a contract extension with the company while on a creative hiatus this summer, but decided last week to allow his deal to expire. He's now free to sign with any promotion he chooses.

AEW President Tony Khan has been doing the media rounds ahead of All In: London this coming Sunday afternoon inside of Wembley Stadium, and during a conversation with talkSPORT, he was asked about the possibility of signing Dragunov now that his WWE contract has expired.

Could Ilja Dragunov end up in All Elite Wrestling?

Khan was tight-lipped about the potential of Dragunov being AEW-bound in the near future, but that said, he did have a fairly large smile on his face while the question was being asked.

“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," Khan said.

Now, let's make sure not to read into Khan's smile too deeply. When someone like Ilja Dragunov hits the open market, it's exciting to imagine what his future may hold, and every promoter in the world should take an interest in acquiring his talents. Khan did tell talkSPORT that he'd been keeping an eye on The Mad Dragon's next steps.

"That’s somebody that is a very excellent athlete, and somebody that has competed at a very high level, and somebody who I respect eminently. So, I am a big admirer of his and will always be on the lookout to see what happens with him.”

Dragunov's free agency comes at a time when AEW management has already added the Motor City Machine Guns, who were released from WWE in April, to the company's already stacked roster. Kofi and Austin Creed, formerly known as Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of the New Day, are also expected to be joining AEW in the coming days.

And let's not forget that former WWE Champion Sheamus is going to be hitting the open market later this fall as well, with members of the AEW roster expected to push for the Celtic Warrior to be signed in some capacity.

Chances are that the roster shuffling between the world's top two wrestling promotions will not be slowing down any time soon. A number of WWE and AEW stars are reportedly on track to see their contracts expire before the end of the year, with Bayley being a big one in WWE to watch over the next several weeks.

The Takedown on SI will continue to keep you updated on all the latest contract news, as soon as new information becomes available.

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