Ilja Dragunov won his AEW in-ring debut in the Dynamite main event, pinning Speedball Mike Bailey with back-to-back D-Bombs at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida.
Bailey got plenty of offense in before the finish. He landed a triangle moonsault to the floor and a standing Ultima Weapon, caught Dragunov with a Crane Kick and nearly stole the match with an inside cradle as Dragunov set up the D-Bomb. Dragunov hit the first D-Bomb to the leg and the second to the head for the pin.
The crowd was with Dragunov from the start, and an “AEW” chant broke out right after the opening bell. He celebrated with his maestro routine as the show went off the air.
Dragunov was introduced as AEW’s newest signing at WrestleDream on October 17. At the post-show media scrum, Tony Khan told him he believed Dragunov was “one of the greatest wrestlers in the world,” and the two settled on a Dynamite debut. Khan named Bailey as the opponent on Tuesday night.
The timing was nearly out of Khan’s hands. He said at the same press conference that he only learned during the October 14 Dynamite broadcast that Dragunov would be able to pick up his visa the next day, and that a vignette was filmed as a contingency in case Dragunov could not make the pay-per-view.
Who Dragunov Wants Next
No next opponent was set on the broadcast, but Dragunov has named his targets. At the media scrum he listed Jon Moxley, Samoa Joe and Kyle Fletcher, and said he is “starving for competition.” Fletcher was on the same show, teaming with Kevin Knight to beat Will Ospreay and Adam Copeland.
The win was Dragunov’s first singles victory since he beat The Miz on SmackDown in January, according to Fightful. He left WWE in August after seven years and explained his decision to leave for AEW on the WrestleDream post-show.
Bailey, a member of the United Empire, was one of eight men in the Clockwork Carnage world title match at WrestleDream four days earlier. He and Dragunov had met once before, on March 11 in Oberhausen.
