"He just winning at everything": Fans think female ex-WWE star is dating Ilja Dragunov after her latest post

Ilja Dragunov returned on the post-Crown Jewel edition of WWE SmackDown, answering Sami Zayn's United States Championship open challenge and ended up dethroning the former OG Bloodline member.

Fans are still in shock and excited about how Dragunov would pursue the United States Title on the blue brand. Surprisingly, a former female WWE star penned down an emotional post for Ilja, which has now left fans buzzing about the newly crowned US champion dating the released star.

The female star in question is NXT's Jin Tala, aka Leigh Laurel, who was recently released from the company. The 29-year-old star took to her official X (fka Twitter) account to express that she has witnessed Ilja's low-key recovery journey, where he kept working in silence, and after seeing him win a major title, everything seems perfect, and she is proud of him. Below is what she wrote:

"Honored & upheld your decision to stay radio silent on socials til this day came, and man, it was 100% worth it. Watched you do everything in your power to stay ready while you recovered. Polished prowess, I’m so proud of you," Tala wrote.

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Following her emotional tweet, fans started buzzing in the comment section, speculating on the relationship between the two stars. Here are some fans' comments:

What's next for Sami Zayn and Ilja Dragunov after WWE SmackDown?

The Honorary Uce lost the United States Championship on the latest episode of WWE SmackDown after Crown Jewel: Perth to Ilja Dragunov. Following his loss, the former member of the OG Bloodline could walk away from the Friday Night show and join Monday Night RAW.

On the red brand show, Sami could join the Bloodline saga, and this could lead to WarGames at WWE Survivor Series 2025. On the other hand, Ilja Dragunov could continue the weekly United States open challenge that Sami Zayn started.

It will be interesting to see what plans the Stamford-based promotion has in store for Zayn and Dragunov in the coming weeks.

About the author

Nayan is a WWE News and Features writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. After completing his bachelor's degree in Mass Communication from Poddar International, he began working as a YouTube script writer. Nayan then transitioned to Pinkvilla as a combat sports writer. He gained valuable experience there before finally coming under the banner of Sportskeeda.

Within 1.5 years, Nayan has written over 1,000 articles, interviewed MFN promotion owners, and conducted a Twitter campaign that gained over 50k retweets and more. He puts fact-checking and mindful journalism above everything by applying a three-check method, where he tries to verify reports from reliable sources and cross-check whether other major publications have covered them.

Looking back at his association with pro wrestling, Nayan recalls being hooked on the sport after watching Shawn Michael vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25. Since then, the product has been an inseparable part of his life.

Apart from The Heartbreak Kid being Nayan's favorite wrestler for his confidence and charisma, he is also a fan of Brock Lesnar due to The Beast's "work speaks louder than words" attitude.

Nayan can be found performing mixed martial arts and reading true crime in his free time.

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Edited by Sanchari Bhattacharya