AEW star Ilja Dragunov has explained why he rejected WWE’s offer. He also confirmed that WWE wanted to keep him. The Russian wrestler recently made his AEW debut at WrestleDream.

Dragunov’s arrival followed weeks of mysterious AEW teaser videos. Following his debut, AEW has now booked him against Speedball Mike Bailey. Their match is scheduled for this week’s Dynamite.

Ilja Dragunov explains why he left WWE

Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Dragunov discussed his WWE departure. He revealed that his decision came after careful consideration. WWE wanted him to stay, but he wanted change. When asked whether he knew his April match was his last, Dragunov said, “No, absolutely not. And everything I’ve got to tell about that is also not very hot or very exciting. I didn’t know at that time that I was leaving. I was just waiting.”

“Again, I’m a person — I love what I do. I want to compete; I want to work. I want to do this and this and that. And it just got a got a little stuck as it was, but it’s nothing new to anybody. It was pretty obvious. And the time just passed by, and then I reached the expiration of my contract.”

He also discussed wanting to explore different creative opportunities. “And like I already said after the show at the press conference at WrestleDream, I felt over time that, ‘Okay with how everything is working out and how I’m feeling.’ Because I do, I make a lot of things depending on how I feel about it. I always had the courage to do so. I feel it is time to breathe some new fresh air.”

WWE wanted to keep Ilja Dragunov

Dragunov confirmed WWE had no intention of releasing him. He said, “Yeah, there that was definitely — there was no intention of the company to let me go.” However, Dragunov explained that several factors influenced his decision.

He explained, “It was accumulation of a lot of things. It was an accumulation of — of course the offering, because we all at the end of the day it’s a business. But also, it’s definitely based also on my feeling of like, ‘How do I want to work creatively? Do I need a scenery change? Is the scenery change something where I can see myself stay for like forever?'”

Dragunov believes wrestling has changed significantly over time. He now sees more opportunities outside the company. He continued, “Because you’ve got to consider all the factors. Like, I spent the most of my twenties in WWE. That’s a very, very long time. And the landscape in this beautiful business changed. So the beautiful thing is nowadays, we have other opportunities. And for me personally after such a long time being with a company, to not seek out new opportunities, maybe even a place where I see myself fitting — who wouldn’t do that?”

He also discussed being kept off WWE television between April and August. He said, “Again, everything I can say is not as exciting as people made it. Like of course, at some point of time you just don’t have creative. At some point of time, you’re just waiting for the next opportunities to come. Because a lot of new people came up, a lot of stories were full. And we all know that there’s only a certain amount of time for certain people.” [H/T: 411mania]

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