Ilja Dragunov Believes He Sticks Out From The Rest of AEW Roster

Ilja Dragunov isn’t fazed by the stacked AEW roster, as he believes that he “sticks out” from the rest. Dragunov made his AEW debut at WrestleDream 2026 and is set to have his first match for the company against “Speedball” Mike Bailey on tonight’s Dynamite.

During a recent appearance with TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast, Ilja was asked how he plans to “stick out” from the rest of the AEW roster. Ilja responded by stating that he already “sticks out” due to his unique wrestling style and his ability to bet on himself no matter what. Here’s what he said:

“I didn’t consider how stacked the roster is because it’s a fear I don’t have. I was always betting on myself. I bet on myself when I left WWE. I’m betting on myself still, and I’m betting on what my gut is telling me and the way the people, the company, introduced me, I think it speaks for itself that I stick out from all the rest of that roster.

“People who stick out and are not like anybody else, you kind of put the objective on them, and only if you are like everybody else or try to be like everybody else, which is also like an unfortunate thing happening nowadays, unfortunately, then you get overlooked. But I haven’t been overlooked once in my 14 years of career.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Ilja Dragunov opened up about his entrance at AEW WrestleDream 2026. Check his comments HERE.

Please credit TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast and give an H/T to 411Mania for the transcription if you take quotes from this article.