Report: WWE Was Planning To Bring Departing Ilja Dragunov Back To TV After SummerSlam

Ilja Dragunov has left WWE after his existing contract expired. At one point, though, the company reportedly planned to bring him back to television.

Following the news of Dragunov's departure, journalist Bryan Alvarez shared more insight on the final months of the former United States Champion's WWE career. "I can tell you that, as recently as June, I don't know how close they were, but it was kind of in the works that he was going to be coming back," Alvarez said on "Wrestling Observer Live." And I don't know what happened, but obviously, everything fell through."

False Finish HQ has since backed Alvarez's report, noting that WWE officials specifically aimed to return Dragunov to programming after the 2026 SummerSlam premium live event. Dragunov was last seen competing in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the April 17 edition of "WWE SmackDown." Whether he would have remained on WWE's blue brand if creative plans had followed through is unknown.

The 2026 SummerSlam PLE featured a night one main event bout pitting Undisputed WWE Champion CM Punk against Cody Rhodes. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns followed with a successful title defense over Seth Rollins on night two. The United States Championship, which Dragunov carried from October through December 2025, changed to Baron Corbin's hands at the show.

Dragunov originally signed with WWE in 2019 as a member of the "WWE NXT UK" brand. He later moved stateside to "WWE NXT," in which he went on reign as an NXT Champion. His main roster call up came in 2024.