Report: Ilja Dragunov departing WWE roster – POST Wrestling | Podcasts, News, Reviews | WWE AEW NXT NJPW

Ilja Dragunov is on his way out of the WWE roster, per a new report from PWInsider.

The former United States Champion’s latest deal with the company expired recently, Mike Johnson confirmed on Thursday.

The 32-year-old Russian talent went from one of Smackdown’s most frequent midcard performers to a non-player on the show over the past nine months.

Dragunov made his in-ring return last October, coming back after missing a year of in-ring action due to injury. He won the WWE United States Championship in his first match back, answering an open challenge from Sami Zayn.

After winning the belt, Dragunov continued the tradition of hosting a U.S. Title Open Challenge on a weekly basis. He would defend the title eight times over the weeks that followed, putting on big performances against names like Tommaso Ciampa, Carmelo Hayes, and Aleister Black.

Dragunov’s appearances on the Friday night program slowed down significantly after dropping his title in December. While he made sporadic appearances, rematching Hayes in January, appearing in the 2026 Royal Rumble and competing in this year’s Andre The Giant Battle Royal, he slipped into the background on the show.

Fast forward to this summer, Dragunov hasn’t wrestled a match in four months.

Dragunov’s other accomplishments in WWE include a 200-day run with the NXT Championship and a stint as the top name in NXT’s now-defunct United Kingdom program.

Fightful Select confirmed PWInsider’s report on Thursday, adding that Dragunov had “kept training” over the past few months while not being used on WWE TV.