Ilja Dragunov will make his AEW in-ring debut against “Speedball” Mike Bailey on Wednesday’s Dynamite, Tony Khan announced Tuesday night.
Khan wrote on X that Bailey, after qualifying for WrestleDream and competing in Clockwork Carnage, will face “AEW’s newest signing” in Dragunov’s debut. Dynamite airs live Wednesday from the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida, at 8 p.m. ET on TBS and HBO Max.
AEW revealed Dragunov as its latest signee at WrestleDream on Saturday, then set his Dynamite debut at the post-show media scrum, where Khan and Dragunov agreed he would work this week’s show.
Dragunov left WWE in August when his contract expired and has not wrestled since April. His last televised match was the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the April 17 episode of SmackDown. He explained why he left WWE for AEW on the WrestleDream post-show.
Bailey arrives after a WrestleDream main event that ended early for him. He beat Lee Moriarty to qualify for Clockwork Carnage, entered the match third and was eliminated by Konosuke Takeshita with a Raging Fire before the scoring period began.
Dragunov has already said who he wants in AEW. He named Jon Moxley, Samoa Joe and Kyle Fletcher as the stars he wants to face after WrestleDream. Bailey was not among them, but he gets the first shot at the newest member of the roster.
WrestleDream fallout also on the card
AEW World Champion Will Ospreay and Adam Copeland are advertised against Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight, according to AEW’s graphic for the show. The graphic does not list a stipulation.
The pairing comes four days after Ospreay and Copeland were opponents in the Clockwork Carnage main event. Ospreay retained the AEW World Championship by hitting Copeland with a Hidden Blade and pinning him in the closing seconds. Copeland announced last week that 2027 will be his final year as a wrestler.
Fletcher and Knight come in off a loss. The Young Bucks retained the AEW World Tag Team Championship at WrestleDream after the challengers began bickering, Knight accidentally hit Fletcher with a springboard lariat, and Matt Jackson pinned Knight.
Two more matches were announced for Dynamite. The Young Bucks, the AEW World Tag Team Champions, face Mark Davis and Jake Doyle in an AEW World Tag Team Championship Eliminator match. Maya World meets Queen Aminata in a TBS Championship #1 Contender match, with Aminata coming off the four-way at WrestleDream where Persephone retained the TBS Championship.