Newly-crowned champion was supposed to join Imperium earlier this year until WWE canceled plans - Reports

Imperium may not be positioned as RAW's top faction the way The Judgment Day has been, but they've been dominant nonetheless. A new report has indicated that WWE canceled plans for a newly-crowned champion to join the faction earlier this year.

A tweet from BoozerRasslin (A private account) has stated that WWE canceled their previous plans from 2023 to call Ilja Dragunov up to the main roster to join Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, and Giovanni Vinci as the fourth member of Imperium.

Dragunov, who was recently crowned NXT Champion after beating Carmelo Hayes at No Mercy, was rumored to join Gunther's faction back in May of this year. However, plans have since changed and his main roster call-up has been canceled.

This has seemingly benefited him directly. In case anyone forgot, The Mad Dragon is only one of two men, alongside Bron Breakker, to hold a pinfall victory over Gunther, when he ended his historic reign as NXT UK Champion.

Dragunov's hard-hitting style has made him a favorite among many WWE fans who have followed him since his NXT UK days. Given that he is now the NXT Champion, it looks like he won't be joining the main roster anytime soon.

Is an Imperium vs. DiY feud in the works?

Imperium looks to be starting a new feud following the RAW before Fastlane 2023. While the Intercontinental Title match between Gunther and Tomasso Ciampa was seemingly going to happen at Fastlane, Ciampa expressed his desire to get his hands on Gunther before that.

Adam Pearce changed plans accordingly and booked the title match for the RAW main event instead. Ciampa fell short after an incredible effort in a hard-hiting match. It was the returning Johnny Gargano who saved him from the post-match attack by Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci - seemingly kickstarting a feud between DIY and Imperium.

It will be interesting to see what happens when Gargano and Ciampa finally team up again.