Following months of speculation, Ilja Dragunov finally made his AEW debut at WrestleDream which took place in Orlando, Florida on October 18.

The former WWE US Champion confirmed that he’s now All Elite by making his entrance after Renee Paquette introduced the newest member of All Elite Wrestling.

With Tony Khan later confirming that Ilja Dragunov will make his in-ring debut for the promotion on Dynamite, there has been a lot of speculation about potential feuds for the Mad Dragon.

There are several names in AEW who previously expressed interest in working with Dragunov, prior to him putting pen to paper with AEW.

From former rivals to those looking to share the ring with the Czar for the first time, AEW won’t be short on options for stars to stand across from the former WWE star.

Here are three AEW stars who previously expressed interest in sharing the ring with Ilja Dragunov.

Kyle Fletcher

Kyle Fletcher is the star who has perhaps most notably expressed excitement about the possibility of squaring off against Ilja Dragunov once again.

With rumors swirling about Dragunov potentially signing with AEW over the summer, Fletcher took to social media on August 20 to share a throwback photo from the two stars’ singles match on the December 30, 2019 PROGRESS Chapter 100 show.

Fletcher praised Dragunov following this, telling The Sportster:

“The thought of another match between us after everything that’s happened excited me very much.”

With Fletcher and Dragunov having shared the ring six times across singles and tag-team action between PROGRESS and wXw, we could soon see the duo face off in a high-profile rematch.

Kenny Omega

During a Twitch stream in March 2024, Kenny Omega named Ilja Dragunov as one of his favorite active wrestlers to watch.

Omega’s praise didn’t stop there, with the AEW EVP noting that he believes he and the then-WWE star would be able to have a great match, stating:

“I feel that Dragunov, without me knowing who he is, he has that special element about him where he would bring the fight to the point where we’d go to that magical place where we are trading blows and having fans really believe in everything we do, really giving it our all. I think it would be a great match.”

With Kenny Omega previously teasing that he’s in the tail-end of his pro-wrestling career, a match between Omega and Dragunov could happen sooner rather than later.

Will Ospreay

Will Ospreay is someone who has commented on the possibility of sharing the ring with Ilja Dragunov in the past month, with the AEW World Champion making some interesting comments to The Takedown on SI.

Ospreay recalled his history with Dragunov, with the duo wrestling for the likes of wXw at the same time, but never sharing the ring.

The Aerial Assassin stated that he doesn’t think many people can being the level of intensity to the ring that Dragunov does, before noting that the idea of a big money singles match against the Mad Dragon excites him.

With the AEW World Champion saying all of this before Dragunov had even signed with the company, it’ll be interesting to see what happens now, following Dragunov officially joining the company.