Gulak has not been released, but his contract will not be renewed.
Highlights
- Drew Gulak has not been released by WWE, but his contract will not be renewed once it runs out this summer.
- An internal investigation has reportedly revealed allegations of bullying by Gulak in NXT, including targeting real injuries in matches.
- Fans have already found the match in which Gulak spiked his opponent, an incident he was apparently reprimanded for backstage.
The somewhat murky situation surrounding Drew Gulak was cleared up, to an extent, by Triple H over the weekend. It had been reported that Gulak was released as a part of a batch of NXT wrestlers, however, The Game confirmed that Gulak had not been released, but his contract would not be renewed when it expires in June. Additional details reported since then suggest Gulak isn’t leaving WWE because of the alleged incident with Ronda Rousey, but because of what the investigation that came after revealed.
Bullying Accusations In NXT
The additional reporting on the situation comes courtesy of Fightful Select (via Inside The Ropes). According to that report, Gulak was accused of being a bully by many in NXT during WWE’s investigation. Two very worrying incidents pointed to include Gulak allegedly re-dislocating an opponent’s finger after the injury had healed, and intentionally spiking an opponent (dropping them on their head) in a match.
Drew Gulak Removed From Hall Of Fame Ceremony Following Ronda Rousey Allegations
His WrestleMania weekend appearances were also canceled.
The report suggests these may not have been the only incidents in which Gulak intentionally targeted injuries during matches. It also notes that Gulak was reprimanded by Shawn Michaels after the spiking incident, highlighting that WWE was aware of Gulak’s actions, although may not have realized some of his opponents believed him to be doing those things on purpose.
The Spiking Incident
Fans have quickly found the match in which the alleged spiking incident happened, and you can watch and judge for yourselves above. Shared by PW Chronicle, the spike happened in a match between Gulak and Dante Chen on the September 26, 2023, episode of NXT Level Up. While it has been reported that HBK and other NXT coaches were not happy about the spike and spoke with Gulak about it afterward, it’s unclear if Chen suffered an injury.
The Gulak saga began when Rousey revealed in an interview that Gulak had grabbed at the drawstring on her pants while passing her in the hall backstage in WWE. Gulak responded to those accusations claiming he was just trying to shake Rousey’s hand. It’s believed Gulak’s response to Rousey’s accusations didn’t help his case, and the alleged discoveries made via the investigation the accusations sparked now explain why there were reports right after Rousey’s comments suggesting some in WWE expected Gulak to be released immediately.
