Following his well-received in-ring debut last week, Ilja Dragunov came out to confront Tommaso Ciampa on the October 28 Fright Night edition of AEW Dynamite.
This teased a match that fans witnessed during both men’s final months in WWE last year, but it was received in a different way in their new home.
With both stars looking to showcase themselves as the best free agent signing in AEW, it will make this encounter a bit different than their WWE SmackDown bout in 2925.
Here are four reasons why Ilja Dragunov vs. Tommaso Ciampa matters more in AEW than in WWE.
Callback to their SmackDown classic
On the December 12, 2025 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Ilja Dragunov defeated Tommaso Ciampa to retain the WWE United States Championship.
This followed weeks and weeks of buildup between these two men to make the fans care about this title match.
Dragunov and Ciampa left it all in the ring in one of the best TV matches of the year for WWE last year.
With AEW calling back to this contest so early in Dragunov’s run, it feels like both men will be looking to outdo what they accomplished on WWE TV a year ago.
Years of history will be relevant
Ilja Dragunov and Tommaso Ciampa‘s previous meeting in WWE was not their first time facing each other.
All the way back in 2015, Dragunov and Ciampa faced each other for the first time in wXw before both men ever signed with WWE.
While WWE always seems hesitate to reference past matches outside of the company, All Elite Wrestling has shown a consistency in making history between performers to help elevate current rivalries.
Dragunov and Ciampa’s first two matches will most likely inform their upcoming bout in AEW in hopefully a meaningful way.
The audience wants to see it
Remembering their previous encounter in WWE, it felt like Ilja Dragunov and Tommaso Ciampa had to work very hard to get a reaction.
When the two men went face-to-face on the October 28 AEW Fright Night Dynamite, the fans were salivating at the thought of the two former WWE stars clashing again.
It became clear immediately that the AEW audience want to see these two men meet inside the squared circle again.
Dragunov and Ciampa will have the fans in their palm of their hands before the bell rings if AEW builds this match up even more, making it instantly a different kind of bout than what they saw in WWE.
Both men have something to prove
On the October 28 Fright Night Dynamite, Tommaso Ciampa came out to bragged about being the best signing in AEW history.
This is what brought Ilja Dragunov out to confront his former WWE rival in the ring.
“The Mad Dragon” recently signed with his debut at AEW WrestleDream 2026 and has come into the promotion with a chip on his shoulder.
Having two high quality performers clashing to prove themselves will make Dragunov vs. Ciampa into an extremely important bout for both men and their futures in All Elite Wrestling.
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