Fletcher Says a Match With Dragunov Is "Inevitable"
Summary: Kyle Fletcher told TMZ's Inside the Ring podcast, per F4W Online on Nov. 9, that a match with Ilja Dragunov in AEW is "inevitable." Fletcher challenges Will Ospreay for the AEW World Title at Full Gear on Saturday, Nov. 14.
The quick version
- Kyle Fletcher said on TMZ's Inside the Ring podcast that a match with Ilja Dragunov is "inevitable," per F4W Online (Nov. 9).
- Fletcher faces AEW World Champion Will Ospreay in the Full Gear main event on Saturday, Nov. 14, in Phoenix.
- No match with Dragunov is announced. Dragunov is not on the Full Gear card we have seen.
AEW's Kyle Fletcher says a match with Ilja Dragunov will happen. He said so on TMZ's Inside the Ring podcast, in an interview F4W Online summarized on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026. Fletcher challenges Will Ospreay for the AEW World Championship at Full Gear on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.
What he said
F4W Online (Vincent Verhei) quotes Fletcher: "I think I would be incredibly disappointed if it never happened. I would like to think it will happen sooner rather than later. I have always thought the world of Ilja. We had a few matches when we were both on the UK independent scene in, I believe, 2019 and 2020."
On Dragunov's AEW debut, Fletcher said: "I was stoked to see him debut. I think, like you said, just who he is as a wrestler, he could not be any more of a perfect fit for AEW." He added: "I think whenever we get in the ring, I think it's inevitable. I think it'll be magic, too." The hosts are Branson Quirke and Roger Corral, per F4W.
Background
F4W says Cagematch lists about six past matches between the two, including tag matches that put Dragunov and WALTER, now Gunther in WWE, against Fletcher and his Aussie Open partner Mark Davis. We did not check Cagematch.
Dragunov made his AEW in-ring debut on Dynamite on Oct. 21 with a win over Speedball Bailey, per F4W. Ringside News says he interrupted a Tommaso Ciampa promo on the Oct. 28 Dynamite and challenged him, and Dave Meltzer has predicted Ciampa against Dragunov as a National title feud. See our Ciampa story. That is a prediction, not an AEW plan.
What to watch
Fletcher's first job is Ospreay. See our Full Gear card story. AEW's last show before Full Gear is the three-hour Dynamite and Collision taping on Wednesday, Nov. 11, in West Valley City, Utah. AEW has not said what Dragunov will do on it or at the pay-per-view.
Source: F4W Online's summary of Fletcher's remarks on TMZ's Inside the Ring. We read the F4W story in full and did not hear the podcast. The quotes are F4W's transcription. Search results show other outlets carrying the same quotes, but we did not open them. We did not contact AEW or Fletcher. Nothing in this story is a rumor.
Sources
- F4W Online (Vincent Verhei), "AEW's Kyle Fletcher says match with Ilja Dragunov is 'inevitable'", Nov. 9, 2026, 17:55, no time zone given (all Fletcher quotes, the Oct. 21 debut, the Cagematch note). https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/aews-kyle-fletcher-says-match-with-ilja-dragunov-is-inevitable/
- TMZ's Inside the Ring podcast with Branson Quirke and Roger Corral, episode date not given. No link: we did not find the episode page and did not hear it.
- Ringside News (Steve Carrier), "Tommaso Ciampa's First AEW National Championship Feud Could Already Be Taking Shape", Nov. 8, 2026 (the Oct. 28 segment, Meltzer's prediction). https://www.ringsidenews.com/tommaso-ciampas-first-aew-national-championship-feud-could-already-taking-shape/
- WrestlingNews.com, "Ciampa Names AEW National Title 'Ruby' After Cruise Win", Nov. 8, 2026. https://wrestlingnews.com/story/ciampa-names-aew-national-title-ruby-after-cruise-win/
- WrestlingNews.com, "AEW Full Gear Card: 6 Matches Set for Nov. 14 in Phoenix", Nov. 2026. https://wrestlingnews.com/story/aew-full-gear-card-six-matches-nov-14/
- WrestlingNews.com staff reporting: read the F4W story in full and checked names and dates against our earlier stories. We did not hear the podcast.
How we credit sources: Editorial standards.