Ilja Dragunov Addresses He & Carmelo Hayes Missing Out On WWE WrestleMania 42 Card, ‘Somewhere Down The Line It’s All Going To Make Sense’

WWE

Ilja Dragunov has addressed both he and Carmelo Hayes missing out on the card for WWE WrestleMania 42.

For a combined 161 days, Ilja Dragunov and Carmelo Hayes held the WWE United States Championship on SmackDown, with the pair defending the gold a total of 17 times between October 2025 and March 2026.

The pair’s respective runs with the gold helped, in the eyes of fans, restore prestige to the United States Title, and fans expected that one or both the stars would be involved in whatever plans WWE had in store for SmackDown’s mid-card prize at WWE WrestleMania 42.

Speaking with The Ringer, Ilja said he heard fans’ wishes to see him and Hayes compete at WrestleMania 42, but didn’t go as far to say he was “disappointed” not to make it on the card, as nothing can take away the performances that he and his former NXT rival put on in the ring on SmackDown.

Dragunov said:

“Disappointment is such a hard word, I’m living my absolute best life. I have amazing performances with Carmelo and I think honestly everything that we achieved together from NXT to the main roster, not having a match at WrestleMania this year is only one thing that we don’t have, compared to all the things we achieved in front of the audience.

“All the memories and moments we gave to the people that were watching us fighting. There’s nothing that anyone can take away from us. And people will remember this and somewhere down the line it’s all going to make sense.”

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Dragunov continued, saying that people that work as hard as Carmelo Hayes get their payoff and missing WrestleMania 42 won’t do “any harm” to him:

“Look at Melo. Melo (has been) on the main roster (for) one and a half years round about. I was out for a year with the ACL tear, but looking at him, how much he connects with the audience, how much people are on their feet when he has his entrance.

“Not having a match this year on WrestleMania is not going to do any harm to him. And people that work like him get their payoff.”

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Ilja Dragunov On His Special In-Ring Chemistry With Carmelo Hayes

With plenty of meetings under their belt from their time in NXT and on SmackDown, Dragunov and Hayes never fail to deliver between the ropes, but what does “The Mad Dragon” think about his chemistry with Hayes?

Dragunov said:

“I think we just both bring the fight in that sense. Obviously Melo is a very very different person to me. He has more of a coolness to him. I’m very raw in that sense. But I think all these nuances of him being a cool, person, connecting very well with the people compared to a very raw, kind of brutal person that I am in the ring, expression wise is kind of somehow connecting in a very good way.

“The performances that we put together kind of flow with each other in such a unique way that is maybe not possible with somebody else.”

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• Carmelo Hayes
• Ilja Dragunov
• WrestleMania
• WrestleMania 42
• wwe

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