Tommaso Ciampa is set to defend his AEW National Championship against Ilja Dragunov at AEW Full Gear on November 14.
Ciampa vs. Dragunov has been teased on AEW programming for weeks now. On the October 28 edition of AEW Fright Night Dynamite, Ciampa called himself the greatest signing in AEW history, only to be interrupted by Ilja Dragunov. He laid down a challenge for a match between himself and Ciampa, only for the current AEW National Champion to back down.
Later on the October 30 edition of AEW Fright Night Collision, Dragunov wrestled The Beast Mortos in his Collision debut. Ciampa appeared post-match to taunt Dragunov as he was celebrating his victory, which led to Dragunov giving him a warning.
Tommaso Ciampa And Ilja Dragunov Will Finally Meet In The Ring At AEW Full Gear
IT’S OFFICIAL 🚨 @MrTommasoCiampa will defend the AEW National Championship against @UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR THIS SATURDAY at #AEWFullGear!
Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS & HBO Max! pic.twitter.com/5VksAVzfbh
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) November 12, 2026
On the three-hour AEW Dynamite/Collision special before Full Gear, Tommaso Ciampa defended his AEW National Championship against “Speedball” Mike Bailey. After the match, he was confronted by Dragunov, and shortly afterward, a title bout for Full Gear was made official.
Ilja Dragunov was one of the most anticipated signings in AEW this year. He made his debut for the promotion at AEW WrestleDream, after leaving WWE a few months back in August 2026. In a short time, Dragunov has become a popular name in AEW, and there’s a good chance he could walk out of Full Gear as the new champion.
Tommaso Ciampa himself won the title on the November 7 episode of AEW Collision by defeating Andrade El Idolo. While Ciampa would likely prefer to hold the title for as long as he can, he doesn’t exactly have the best record here. His previous reign as the TNT Champion ended in just 11 days, after all.
Do you think Dragunov is going to win his first AEW title at Full Gear?
Also read: Kyle Fletcher On Ilja Dragunov: ‘I Would Be Incredibly Disappointed’ If We Never Wrestle Again
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