More WWE Stars Leaving After Ilja Dragunov

WWE

After a four month absence from WWE TV, Ilja Dragunov has officially departed the company following the expiration of his contract.

With the former United States Champion being moved to the alumni section of the WWE roster page, fans of ‘The Mad Dragon’ will be eager to see where he lands next in pro wrestling.

But he may not be the only current WWE star to potentially depart soon, with other names on the roster having uncertain statuses whether due to expiring contracts or their own absences from WWE programming.

Here are more WWE stars who could potentially be leaving WWE after Ilja Dragunov.

5. Bayley

While news of Ilja Dragunov’s WWE contract expiry has crept up on fans today, Bayley’s has been widely reported on and discussed within the wrestling world.

‘The Role Model’ was last seen on WWE TV at Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 18, when she was the subject of a post match attack from former tag team partner Lyra Valkyria.

The way in which WWE wrote Bayley off could easily set her up for a big return if she were to re-sign with the company, or alternatively if she was to exit the company altogether, Valkyria could forever boast about driving away one of the company’s all-time best female stars.

It’s not yet known when exactly Bayley’s deal will be coming up, but the longer time passes without her re-signing, the more fans will anticipate her showing up in AEW and reuniting with former tag team partner and rival Mercedes Moné.

4. Tyler Breeze

While not an active member of the WWE roster, Tyler Breeze has been back with the company in a non-wrestling capacity for a number of years.

Primarily being seen on WWE’s UpUpDownDown gaming YouTube channel alongside Xavier Woods, Breeze has also hosted Fanatics signings and appeared in WWE video games as a playable character.

Given that Xavier Woods is now gone from WWE and the UpUpDownDown channel has been left dormant for the past four months, Breeze’s future in the company appears uncertain.

‘Prince Pretty’ continues to wrestle on the independent scene, and perhaps AEW could find a place for him on their roster either as an active performer or alongside Woods as a part of the AEW’s own gaming YouTube channel: AEW Games.

3. American Made (The Creed Brothers & Ivy Nile)

With Chad Gable now a babyface and enjoying the most success of his WWE career as Intercontinental Champion, it’s easy to forget that his American Made stablemates Ivy Nile and The Creed Brothers (Julius & Brutus) have been left behind.

All three stars have found TV time hard to come by in 2026, with the majority of their appearances instead coming on Main Event.

The Creed Brothers did return to prominence somewhat as the masked Los Americanos Hermanos during Gable’s run as the ‘Original’ El Grande Americano, however, this was cut short upon Gable’s unmasking at AAA Noche De Los Grandes in May.

While all three have unlimited capabilities athletically, they have struggled to connect with the main roster audience and the longer they remain away from the Monday Night Raw fold, fans will continue to worry about their long-term futures.

2. Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde

The last remaining members of the rebooted LWO faction in WWE are Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde, however, fans would be forgiven for not being aware that they’re still representing the group given their absence from television.

Del Toro and Wilde have together only made six in-ring appearances on Raw and SmackDown since the beginning of 2025, with the majority of their time being spent in AAA or on Main Event.

It appeared as if Wilde could be set for a rebranding of sorts as a solo star when he returned to a look similar to his time as Zema Ion in TNA Wrestling, however, this has not led to much of anything on his own brand of WWE Raw.

Given their lack of presence in WWE for the past few years, it feels as if a departure for both Wilde and Del Toro may be inevitable.

1. Johnny Gargano & Candice LeRae

One of the big WWE departures of early 2026 came back in January, when former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa announced his over decade-long stint in WWE was ending at the end of his contract.

Since then, ‘The Psycho Killer’ has picked up where his black and gold NXT run left off in AEW, as he’s showcased a more vicious side to his character that was absent from his time on WWE’s main roster.

While Ciampa has been enjoying a change of scenery in AEW, his former DIY tag team partner Johnny Gargano has been left in a depressive state – one that his wife Candice LeRae has been unable to drag him out of seven months later.

Fans remain hopeful that Gargano’s planking episodes will eventually lead to a payoff of some kind, but it feels just as feasible that he and LeRae will continue in their current role until their WWE contracts also expire. With Ciampa thriving in AEW, and many of Gargano and LeRae’s former NXT colleagues in the company, perhaps we could see Mr & Mrs Wrestling become All Elite before too long.

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