AEW star Kyle Fletcher’s excitement over a potential reunion with Ilja Dragunov turned into a heated exchange on social media after one fan accused AEW talent of overhyping former WWE stars.
Fletcher stirred things up with a cheeky post spelling out “ILJA” as an acrostic, timed to reports that Dragunov is expected to land in AEW.
One fan pushed back, arguing AEW wrestlers spend more energy celebrating recent WWE departures than promoting their own long-tenured roster members, name-checking a similar tweet MJF had sent about The New Day as another example of the pattern.
See, this right here is what’s sad. AEW has an entire roster of men and women that the talent can be gassing up, but they choose to froth at the mouth over the newest WWE departure instead. We had MJF tweeting about the New Day, now Kyle Fletcher is tweeting about Ilja Dragunov.
Fletcher responded dismissively and didn’t back down when the fan pressed further, asking whether the same reaction would repeat itself for other potential future departures like Sheamus or Kairi Sane.
Am I wrong? I’m sure the tweets about Sheamus will go out next, then Kairi Sane, then whoever else leaves WWE next year.
Fletcher then got more personal, revealing that Dragunov is an old friend he hasn’t seen in years and that he simply wants to enjoy the excitement of a possible reunion without being told to tone it down.
So what? I love professional wrestling and am excited at the prospect of wrestling one of my friends I haven’t seen in years. Someone who has been underappreciated for years, will finally have the chance to spread his wings and create the professional wrestling he loves. Let people be excited and live with a childlike sense of wonder without feeling the need to poopoo all over it, Colin
The fan kept pushing, arguing AEW mainstays like Megan Bayne and Bobby Lashley deserve the same enthusiasm and repeating MJF’s own past joke that AEW should stand for “All Elite Wrestling,” not “All Ex WWE.”
AEW has talent like Megan Bayne and Bobby Lashley, just to name a couple, who are heavy hitters and none of them get the attention that the newest WWE departure gets. Ilja Dragunov will be awesome in AEW, no doubt about it, I’d just like to see the men and women that have been in AEW for a while get all this love. MJF literally said it in a promo ‘Tony Khan brings in the newest ex WWE guy.’ AEW should be All Elite Wrestling and not All Ex WWE.
Fletcher ultimately ended the exchange by telling the fan he was either being genuinely obtuse or doing it for engagement, then blocked him.
Well thanks for the fun Colin but now I know you’re either an idiot or choosing to act like one for engagement In either case, have a nice life. Blocked.
The back-and-forth comes as Fightful Select reports Dragunov is expected to sign with AEW, though a contract has not yet been finalized. Fletcher, for his part, already seems focused on one thing: getting back in the ring with an old friend.
