Triple H Responds To Reports Of Drew Gulak's WWE Release, If Ronda Rousey Factored In

On May 3, reports indicated that former WWE NXT Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak had been released from his WWE contract, along with nine other performers from WWE's developmental territory. At the WWE Backlash post-show press conference, WWE's Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque was asked to address these reports, as well as the speculation that Gulak's reported release was connected to a recent allegation voiced by Ronda Rousey.

"We release talent all of the time. The NFL releases four to five hundred people a year, players a year. We release talent all of the time. It's part of what we do," Levesque said. "You can't just hire people, bring them in, keep hiring people, and just keep bringing them in. So an unfortunate part of the job is talent getting released. Can I say that he was released? He was not released. His contract was just not renewed."

Gulak first came aboard WWE in 2016 as a part of the company's Cruiserweight Classic tournament. In the years following, Gulak made various appearances on "WWE NXT," "205 Live," "WWE Raw," and "WWE SmackDown" before returning to the "NXT" brand in late 2022, where he joined the No Quarter Catch Crew.

In April 2024, former "WWE SmackDown" Women's Champion Ronda Rousey brought forth an allegation that Gulak had grabbed the string of her sweatpants as she was walking around the backstage area of WWE. According to Rousey, this incident was also witnessed by long-time WWE executive Bruce Prichard and a WWE writer. Gulak has since responded to this allegation, stating that while he attempted to shake Rousey's hand, he accidentally touched her sweatpants' drawstring — something he later apologized for.  Shortly after Rousey's statement was made, Gulak was written off of "NXT" television, with the D'Angelo family implying that they "took care" of him.