More details on Drew Gulak departure and Triple H's comments
At the WWE post show press conference, Triple H answered a question regarding Drew Gulak, noting that he was not released by the company.
Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp and Corey Brennan have confirmed with multiple WWE and NXT sources that Gulak is actually still with the company but was informed would not be re-signing him once his deal expires next month. Gulak was informed recently.
In regards to the recent claims of sexual misconduct made by Ronda Rousey, Brennan is told that this initiated an investigation by WWE into the incident and Gulak as a whole. From those we spoke to in NXT, the belief is that Gulak’s public response to Rousey’s claim only made things worse for the former Cruiserweight Champion, but was not the determining factor in the decision to not bring him back.
In asking around with talent in NXT, several talent made claims to Brennan that Gulak was a ‘bully’ who would often target injuries during matches with talent that were recovering from minor injuries at the time. One talent claimed that during a match with Gulak, the former No Quarter Catch Crew member purposefully re-dislocated a previously dislocated finger, while another claimed that Gulak would intimidate talent into not reporting the incidents.
Fightful also learned of an incident during an NXT taping last year where Gulak was verbally reprimanded by Shawn Michaels and NXT coaches for intentionally spiking an opponent during a match.
One NXT talent who worked with Gulak noted that he was “odd” in the sense that he would often ‘test’ talent to see if they would react to his bullying.
In regards to the Triple H comments, we'll provide as much transparency as possible. It was reiterated to us by WWE and Triple H that the comments weren't intended to be directed at Fightful or PWInsider. Whether anyone chooses to believe that is up to them, but Fightful received numerous apologies. We were told Triple H's particular issue was that Ronda Rouseys accusations of Gulak grabbing her sweatpants string were not the contributing factor to Gulak's departure. We will discuss the situation more on this week's shows. We're told PWInsider received apologies as well -- whether or not those apologies to the outlets are in good faith are to be determined.
While Gulak is actually still under WWE contract, and was informed that his WWE deal would not be renewed, despite him wishing to remain with the company.
