Charlotte Flair, Gunther, Cathy Kelley, and others react after current WWE champion confirms dating rumors

Several current and former WWE personalities, including Charlotte Flair, Gunther, and Cathy Kelley, recently took to social media to react to a SmackDown star's personal update. The name in question is the current United States Champion, Ilja Dragunov.

After more than a year-long absence, Ilja Dragunov returned to WWE TV with a bang on the October 17, 2025, edition of SmackDown. During the show, he answered Sami Zayn's United States Championship Open Challenge and went on to defeat the former Bloodline star to win the gold.

Following his massive title win, former WWE Evolve star Jin Tala, aka Leigh Laurel, took to X/Twitter to write a loving message for Dragunov. This post sparked rumors that they were dating. Now, Ilja Dragunov has himself confirmed these rumors on his Instagram handle. The star uploaded a picture alongside Tala and wrote a two-word message, referring to Tala as his love.

"My Love🫶🏽," he wrote. [Translated from Russian to English via Google Translate]

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Check out his Instagram post below:

Several current and former wrestling personalities, including Gunther, Natalya, Tyler Bate, Charlotte Flair, Adriana Rizzo, Myles Borne, Roxanne Perez, Andre Chase, Ivar, Fallon Henley, Jaida Parker, Ludwig Kaiser, Oba Femi, Tatum Paxley, Mia Yim, Megan Morant, Oro Mensah, Wendy Choo, Cora Jade, Kelani Jordan, Lyra Valkyria and more reacted with a like on Ilja Dragunov's Instagram post.

Meanwhile, Cathy Kelley, Nikkita Lyons, Kali Armstrong, Jin Tala, PJ Vasa, and Aleah James left wholesome comments on it.

Check out screenshots of stars' likes and comments below:

Screenshots of stars' likes and comments [Image credit: Ilja Dragunov's Instagram]

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WWE CCO Triple H congratulated Ilja Dragunov after his United States Championship win

After Ilja Dragunov dethroned Sami Zayn as the United States Champion on the October 17, 2025, edition of SmackDown, WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H took to X/Twitter to react to it.

The Game highlighted that despite being out of action for over a year, Dragunov made a statement with his performance on the blue brand's show. The King of Kings also congratulated the star on his title win.

"Out of action for over a year. Back with a statement… …and the US title. Congratulations, @UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR."

It remains to be seen what the Stamford-based promotion has planned for Ilja Dragunov's future.

Edited by Aashrit Satija