Ilja Dragunov Captures National Championship at Full Gear 2026
Ilja Dragunov defeated Tommaso Ciampa on Saturday at Full Gear to secure the National Championship, marking his first title victory since signing with AEW.
🧠AI AnalysisPhoto: bleacherreport.com
Key points
- Ilja Dragunov defeated Tommaso Ciampa at Full Gear 2026.
- The victory marks Dragunov's first title win since joining AEW last month.
- Tommaso Ciampa previously won the belt on the November 7 episode of Collision.
Ilja Dragunov claimed the National Championship at Full Gear on Saturday, defeating Tommaso Ciampa in a hard-fought encounter to capture his first piece of gold since joining the AEW roster. The championship bout materialized rapidly following a confrontation on the November 7 episode of Collision, where Ciampa had just secured the belt from Andrade El Idolo before successfully defending it against Mike Bailey.
The rivalry intensified when Dragunov interrupted Ciampa's celebration, prompting Ciampa to pull his opponent off the ropes during the entrance and setting the stage for their pay-per-view clash. Despite a pre-match interaction that lacked any mutual respect, both recent signees delivered a stellar performance drawing on their previous singles matches in wXw and WWE.
Ciampa originally joined the promotion in January 2026, quickly capturing the TNT Championship before establishing himself through victories over top tier opponents like Chris Jericho. Meanwhile, Dragunov debuted just last month at WrestleDream with a win over Bailey, immediately establishing championship ambitions that culminated in Saturday's victory.
What to watch next: Keep an eye on upcoming episodes of Collision and Dynamite to see how Ciampa responds to this defeat and whether a rematch materializes.
Source bleacherreport.com — bleacherreport.com/articles/25532723-ilja-dragunov-vs-tommaso-ciampa-ae… ↗
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