AJ Styles has responded to Ilja Dragunov’s departure from WWE, admitting that he was saddened by the news and had no inside information about why the former NXT and United States Champion decided to leave.
PWInsider reported on August 20, 2026, that Dragunov’s WWE contract had expired. The company subsequently moved his profile to the alumni section of its website, bringing his seven-year run to an end. WWE reportedly wanted to negotiate a new agreement, but Dragunov decided not to remain with the company. POST Wrestling also reported that his contract had expired.
Speaking on The AJ Styles Show, Styles was asked what he knew about Dragunov’s departure. Although Styles still works for WWE as a coach and producer, he explained that contract negotiations are not part of his current responsibilities.
“I don’t know anything about it. I know that I’m very sad about this situation. I enjoy his work very much, so I don’t know what’s going on. I can’t say much about it because, again, you’d think I’d know. I work for the company, but my place is in the coaching and the talent and little things to hopefully help make WWE better and build that foundation with the younger talent and stuff like that.”
Styles made it clear that he did not want to speculate about what happened between Dragunov and WWE. He said Dragunov will eventually have an opportunity to explain the situation himself. “We’re going to have to wait and see what he says about the situation when he’s able to talk about it. Then we’ll all know the truth because we can speculate everything about what this is. The truth is, we don’t know. I’ll be the first one to tell you, I thought the guy was awesome.”
Dragunov joined WWE in 2019 and became closely associated with NXT UK. He defeated Gunther, then known as WALTER, at NXT TakeOver 36 in August 2021 to end his 870-day reign as NXT United Kingdom Champion.
After moving to NXT, Dragunov defeated Carmelo Hayes to capture the NXT Championship at No Mercy in September 2023. He joined the main roster through the 2024 WWE Draft but later suffered a knee injury that kept him out of action for around a year.
Dragunov returned on the October 17, 2025 episode of SmackDown and defeated Sami Zayn to win the United States Championship. His last WWE appearance came in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal before WrestleMania 42, while his final singles match was a loss to Carmelo Hayes on March 30, 2026.
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