Ilja Dragunov Explains Decision To Join AEW Following Departure From WWE

Last Saturday, "The Mad Dragon" Ilja Dragunov debuted for AEW at WrestleDream, leaving behind the overture he created in WWE for seven years to start anew. When asked why he joined WWE's rival, the newest signee to All Elite said his decision all boiled down to wanting to expand his career horizons, and to take in a new landscape that would challenge him.

"I've been doing this for almost 14 years, and I've been through a lot of phases when it comes down to my indie career and pro wrestling career in general. I've traveled to places and been under contract. I've never had the chance where I didn't feel like I can't bet on myself. If I felt that this chance is limited, then it gets more limited," he said in the post-WrestleDream media scrum. "I feel like I'm getting stuck somewhere. Not because of external factors, just feeling stuck in general, because I have this urge to fight. I love to fight, and I want to compete, and I want to step up. I feel that the air in a certain environment gets thinner for me, I need to breathe. That's what I did today, here."

Hungry for the best competition out there, Dragunov is certain AEW will cure his thirst by allowing him to compete in more hard fought battles.

"It's a landscape of limitless opportunities that I see in front of my eyes because if we say that AEW is 'Where the best wrestle,' how couldn't I belong here?" he concluded.

Dragunov's abrupt WWE departure occurred this past August after he and the company couldn't agree on his contractual pay under a new deal. The "Unbesiegbar" will make his in-ring debut this Wednesday on "AEW Dynamite."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "AEW" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.