Ilja Dragunov makes his AEW debut against “Speedball” Mike Bailey. Plus, AEW World Champion Will Ospreay teams with Adam Copeland to take on Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight and Maya World makes her return against Queen Aminata. You can catch AEW Dynamite LIVE at 8pm ET/5pm PT on TSN2, TSN.ca and the TSN App.
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Ilja Dragunov vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
“The Mad Dragon” has arrived in All Elite Wrestling. Ilja Dragunov was the man behind the metronome vignettes and made his first appearance in the company this past Saturday night’s WrestleDream pay-per-view. On Wednesday night, the Moscow native makes his in-ring debut against a man he’s met once before in the United Empire’s “Speedball” Mike Bailey.
For the uninitiated, Dragunov is one of the most intense competitors currently in the industry. Born in Russia and raised in Germany, Dragunov first made his name in one of Europe’s top promotions, Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw). Among those he did battle with were WALTER (now WWE’s Gunther), the late John “Bad Bones” Klinger and Tommy End (former AEW performer Malakai Black). He became the company’s first Triple Crown champion, winning wXW’s Unified World Wrestling Championship, Shotgun Championship and World Tag Team Championships.
Dragunov left Germany for England and WWE NXT UK where he restarted his rivalry with WALTER, who he defeated for the NXT UK Championship, and took on the likes of Chris Hero and Pete Dunne. Relocating to the United States, Dragunov took NXT by storm, facing off with Donovan Dijak and Trick Williams before defeating Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Championship.
Moving to the WWE main roster, Dragunov made an early splash with wins over former IWGP World Champion Shinsuke Nakamura and Ricochet before defeating current WWE Champion Sami Zayn for the United States Championship last October. He kept the title for two months, defending it against Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa among others, before dropping it to old rival Hayes.
Choosing to depart WWE at the expiration of his contract, Dragunov immediately jumped into the deep end in AEW with a debut match against Bailey. It will be the first time the two have met in a decade. Much has changed since then.
One of wXw’s calling cards is its annual 16 Carat Gold Tournament, a single-elimination tournament normally held over three days in the spring. A yearly tradition since 2006, the tournament counts Shingo Takagi, Zack Sabre Jr., Zayn (as El Generico) and Dragunov himself in 2017 among its winners. Some of the biggest stars in the industry have participated in the event, including the late PAC and current and former world champions Will Ospreay, Seth Rollins (as Tyler Black), Eddie Kingston, Adam Cole, Drew McIntyre (as Drew Galloway) and Cody Rhodes.
The 2016 edition was won by ZSJ, but it’s the first round of that tournament that is of particular interest. On March 11 in Oberhausen, Dragunov went one-on-one with Bailey. To the surprise of nobody, the two beat the holy hell out of one another. At one point, Dragunov set Bailey up in an electric chair, but the Laval, Que. native powered out and turned into a brutal-looking poisonrana. Dragunov would eventually get the victory with Torpedo Moscow.
While that match might not be fresh in either man’s mind, both Dragunov and Bailey certainly remember it and will enter Wednesday night’s bout with points to prove. Dragunov, obviously, wants to signal his intent to the rest of the company, while Bailey looks to bounce back from failing to capture the AEW World Championship in Saturday’s Clockwork Carnage match. The stakes are certainly high.
Can Dragunov mark his debut with a big victory or will Bailey spoil the party?
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AEW World Champion “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay and “The Rated-R Superstar” Adam Copeland vs. The Don Callis Family (“The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher and “The Jet” Kevin Knight) (w/ Don Callis)
It’s been quite the emotional week for Adam Copeland. The 11-time world champion is about to embark on some soul-searching as the clock is officially ticking on his career. Whether he can become AEW World Champion before it ends remains to be seen.
Before his victory over fellow Ontarian Josh Alexander on last week’s Dynamite to qualify for Clockwork Carnage, Copeland made a pair of startling announcements. The Orangeville native revealed that tag partner and best friend Christian Cage will be out of action for the foreseeable future. During the ladder match at All Out in which Cage & Cope lost the AEW World Tag Team Championships to The Young Bucks (Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson), Cage broke three ribs and one of those ribs punctured his lung. This happened in the opening minutes of the match and Cage somehow managed to gut out the rest of the bout.
His next revelation was even more shocking. Copeland said that realized at 53, wrestling has become a young man’s game. As such, 2027 will be his final year as an active competitor. The one thing he needed to do before hanging up his boots, he said, was win the AEW title.
He had the chance on Saturday night in the wild Clockwork Carnage match. For a minute there, it looked like he might do it. Copeland picked up pinfalls over Samoa Joe and Ricochet with a pair of spears and sat level with defending champion Will Ospreay, Darby Allin and Joe on two points with seconds remaining in the match.
But it wasn’t to be. In the dying moments of the match, Ospreay beat the buzzer by pinning Copeland with a Hidden Blade to retain his title. After the match, Copeland was incredulous. Shoving Ospreay in frustration, Copeland managed to compose himself and offer a handshake. He then indicated to Ospreay that he was still coming for the title.
Later in the evening, Ospreay came across a despondent Copeland in the hallway of the arena. He told him that defending the title against him was a dream come true. After asking him if he really planned to retire, Ospreay asked Copeland to save a match for him and the two men embraced.
On Wednesday, we will get a look at how Ospreay and Copeland can work as a team as they take on a pair of former singles champions who might not be able to function as a unit in the Don Callis Family’s Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight. The tension had been evident between Fletcher and Knight since they had begun teaming, at Callis’s behest, but it boiled over at the worst possible time on Saturday night. It could be a miracle for them to stay on the same page on Dynamite.
At last month’s All Out, Fletcher and Knight met Darby Allin and Steven Borden Jr. for the No. 1 contendership to the AEW World Tag Team Championships. Because of an injury to Borden, the match was stopped early and the Family was awarded the victory. As such, they were granted a shot at the Jacksons at WrestleDream.
The match was an epic encounter and, perhaps, one of the finest tag-team matches in company history. There were stretches where it really appeared like Fletcher and Knight would take the titles. Egos ended up getting in the way.
After Nick Jackson saved his brother from being pinned following a brainbuster-UFO Splash combo, the Family appeared in complete control. Fletcher planted Matt with a half-and-half and tried to slow the pace for a minute until Knight tagged himself in, much to Fletcher’s annoyance. In the ensuing confusion, Knight accidentally took out Fletcher with a springboard forearm before eating a BTE Trigger and getting pinned.
The match seemed to be the breaking point between Fletcher and Knight, but they will give it one more go on Wednesday night against two men who have never teamed before. Still, the negative chemistry the two have shown at times might put them at a disadvantage against the first-time team. If this doesn’t work, surely it must be it for them.
Will Ospreay and Copeland heap more misery on Fletcher and Knight or will the Family manage to pull things together?
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TBS Championship No. 1 contender’s match: “The It Girl” Maya World vs. Queen Aminata
As far as she is concerned, Maya World should never have lost the TBS Championship. She can take the first step to getting it back on Wednesday night. Standing in her way, though, will be another woman with title aspirations in Queen Aminata, who came tantalizingly close to winning the title this past Saturday night.
It was at August’s All In that World defended her title against Persephone. With the match seemingly in control, a masked woman made her way to the ring and shoved World off of the top rope. The interference led to Persephone hitting World with a crucifix power bomb and winning the title. The woman would eventually unmask to reveal herself as former AEW Women’s World Champion, Dr. Britt Baker, DMD.
To make matters worse for World, her attempt to get a measure of revenge against Persephone and Baker, only days later in a trios match, ended in both a defeat and an injury. This past Saturday night at WrestleDream, World announced she was cleared and ready to go. We will no just how ready in short order.
It was at that same show on Saturday night where Aminata took on Persephone for the title in a four-way match that also included Hyan and Dani Luna. At one point, Aminata appeared to have the match won with Off with Her Head, but Hyan was able to break the count. By the end of the match, it devolved into a complete melee and when it was all said and done, Persephone managed to retain her title by pinning Hyan after a moonsault.
Wednesday night’s match will be just the second-ever meeting between the two women and first in nearly three years. Their only previous encounter came on the Jan. 4, 2004 edition of ROH on HonorClub. Aminata picked up the win with Off with Her Head.
Which of these two women can set up a future date with Persephone?