Ilja Dragunov’s first AEW Dynamite opponent confirmed, a familiar face for a new era

Published: 2 hours ago by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: 14 hours ago by Dave Adamson

Dave has been a website writer for WrestleTalk since October 2022, having previously written for Den of Geek, among a number of wrestling, movie and television-related sites. Dave has been around the independent wrestling scene for more than a decade, including behind-the-scenes.

Ilja Dragunov’s first AEW Dynamite opponent confirmed, a familiar face for a new era

Ilja Dragunov steps into the AEW Dynamite ring for the first time on October 21 and his opponent is a familiar face for the former WWE star.

Having parted ways with WWE earlier this year, Ilja Dragunov made his AEW debut at WrestleDream, with his first opponent being confirmed as Speedball Mike Bailey.

The announcement was made in a social media post earlier today, previewing the card for tonight’s episode of Dynamite.

For Dragunov, he will be facing an opponent he has encountered before, but it also gives a potential indication as to his direction in AEW:

“Right place, right time”

Speaking in a video hyping his AEW Dynamite debut, Dragunov stated he was “in the right place, right time” while discussing his appearance at WrestleDream.

For the star who parted ways with WWE after negotiations reportedly fell through on a new contract, it has been quite the journey, with Tony Khan noting that his renewed visa status was only revealed after AEW Dynamite went live the Wednesday before WrestleDream.

Now very much an AEW star, Dragunov has promised that there are “many, many symphonies to come.”

The first opponent

Ilja Dragunov and Speedball Mike Bailey are not strangers, although their last in-ring encounter in singles action took place more than a decade ago.

wXw 16 Carat Gold in 2016 saw Dragunov defeat Bailey in the first round that year’s tournament, with the Mad Dragon losing to Axel Dieter Jr. (now better known in WWE as El Grande Americano (or Ludwig Kaiser)) in their quarter-final match.

No day one championship, then?

It would have been an easy choice to launch Dragunov into the championship picture from his in-ring debut, but AEW has eschewed that option.

At the time of writing, Will Ospreay is the World Champion, while Kazuchika Okada holds the International Championship, Jon Moxley is the reigning Continental Champion, Andrade El Idolo holds the National Championship, and Darby Allin is the TNT Champion.

Envisaging Dragunov as a challenger for any of the singles men’s championships would be just as easy as putting him in a title match on his first appearance, yet it leaves fans with the desire to see that happen further down the line than from the very first appearance.

A future champion

A former NXT Champion and NXT UK Champion, Dragunov’s main roster tenure saw him hold the WWE United States Championship.

Dragunov arguably had the potential to become a top star in WWE, yet the world championship eluded him, something that will no doubt be corrected in AEW.

A match against Will Ospreay for the World Championship is likely to happen in the future, but a slow build plays into the maestro leanings of the star.

In the meantime, building Dragunov as a serious competitor in AEW should be an easy thing to do, with any championship being within his grasp.

The versatility of Dragunov will shine through

With Tony Khan directing AEW creative and open to ideas, there will no doubt be many stars with an interest in facing the latest signing, recognizing his potential and the challenge he presents as an in-ring competitor.

For Dragunov, his intensity and passion stands out, something Kyle Fletcher has discussed previously, as does the sheer breadth of his in-ring work.

Whether it’s revisiting old feuds or forging new ones, Dragunov could be a breath of fresh air in AEW and a new measuring stick for those who face him.

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