Tama Tonga Denies WWE Role In His Ilja Dragunov Post After AEW Debut

Tama Tonga denies claims that WWE management was behind his social media post.© Image via : WWE Network

Tama Tonga has pushed back against claims that his recent social media post was a planned move to get in good books of WWE management. It began when Tonga shared a clip of himself no-selling chops from Ilja Dragunov on Friday Night SmackDown, with a caption asking if they should start a fight. After Dragunov made his AEW debut at WrestleDream, the post got attention again, and Dave Meltzer suggested it might be an old-school promotional tactic. Tonga didn't agree. He called out the report directly and denied that anybody inside WWE told him to make the post.

Oh thank you Tama Tonga ???????????????? https://t.co/o7v2clM74A

— Little Miss sunshine (@sunbabe08) October 21, 2026

Tama Tonga Denies WWE Was Behind His Social Media Post

Tonga reportedly responded to Meltzer's comments on X, rejecting that the post was any kind of carefully planned strategy. Also, he took a shot at the wrestling reporters who contacted him to check if the claims were true.

“I got sources inside WWE; nobody said sht, lying a** Davie boy just making up sht. Them wrestling news guys, they be direct messaging me asking me, ‘if this is true,' you know what I tell them? GT*O,” Tonga said.

He jokingly called Meltzer “Great Uncle Dave” as well, while dismissing the idea that WWE management had anything to do with it. As per Tonga, he simply thought the clip was worth sharing. Nothing secret behind it, at least by his own explanation. A clip, a caption, a SmackDown moment. That's all the post contained.

The original post had Tonga taking Dragunov's chops without selling them, and the caption asking if they should start a fight. Because Dragunov appeared in AEW, the clip became part of a bigger discussion on whether Tonga was aiming at the newly debuted star or playing into some promotional angle.

Tonga's reply was blunt. He has no interest in entertaining claims he considers made up.

Ilja Dragunov Says His Hard-Hitting Style Will Stay The Same In AEW

Dragunov, meanwhile, has spoken about his move to AEW after leaving WWE and making his debut at WrestleDream 2026. In an interview with TMZ Sports, he was asked if the creative freedom in his new home will make him change his in-ring approach.

His answer was a clear no. Dragunov believes the physical style that made him stand out is exactly what he brings to AEW, and he has no plans of toning it down.

“No. No. Because my wrestling style that I have is the reason why I am here,” Dragunov said.

He also added that there is a gap his particular style can fill, describing his wrestling as a way of presenting “pain and brutality in an almost beautiful way that people can feel right down to the bone.”

For Dragunov, going to AEW doesn't mean he needs to reinvent himself. His hard-hitting approach stays central to what he offers, even as the talk around his debut has pulled Tonga's old SmackDown clip back into the spotlight.