Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque has spoken for the first time about speculation Drew Gulak was ‘released’ by WWE after allegations made by Ronda Rousey.
Reports earlier this week stated that Gulak, a former Cruiserweight Champion with WWE, had been let go by the company as part of a string of releases.
That came weeks after comments made by Rousey in which she named the wrestler as an individual who’d touched the string of her sweatpants backstage at a WWE event.
In a angry revelation on the incident, the UFC great told NewsNation: “I was standing there and this guy I was barely an acquaintance with, grabs the string of my sweatpants as I’m walking by.
“I wasn’t even looking at him… nobody else reacts as if this is abnormal, and he’s grabs is and starts going down the hall and I’m like: ‘What the f*** is that? Why are you grabbing the string of my sweatpants? If my husband was standing there next to me, would you feel comfortable walking up to me and grabbing the string of my sweatpants?’
“And no one around me acted as if it was abnormal. All the guys around me were like, this is part of the day. And if this guy was coming up to me and doing this kind of stuff to me when there are other people around, what’s happening to these other girls when I’m not in the hallway? So that really put me on edge..”
Rousey went on to name Gulak as the individual concerned, adding: “I was like, ‘If I ever hear you putting your hands on any other woman like this, or doing anything to me like this ever again – we’re going to have a problem.
“And he was like ‘No, no, no, I’m glad you said something to me’, and he really just back-pedalled and everything like that. But it just put like a really sour taste in my mouth about the culture there, and what’s considered acceptable, and how to touch and treat the women in the hallways. And anywhere…”
Gulak responded swiftly to Rousey’s public comment with an account of his own which played down the incident as purely accidental, saying: “Backstage at a WWE event in 2022, I saw Ronda talking with a group in the hallway.
“I stopped to say hi and shake all their hands, and in an attempt to shake her hand, I accidentally touched her drawstring.
“Complete accident, and one that I had apologised to her for the mishap.”
Gulak, nonetheless, was seemingly written permanently out of television storylines at WWE later in April and, according to PWInsider, was released from his contract on Saturday.
Via Levesque, Head of Creative, the company have now clarified the nature of the 37-year-old’s departure.
Speaking at the press conference following the WWE Backlash: France Premium Live Event in Lyron, Leveque commented: “We release talent all the time.
“NFL releases four or five hundred players a year, we release talent all the time – it’s a part of what we do.
“You cannot just hire people and keep bringing them in… an unfortunate part of the job is that talent get released.
“Can I say that he was released? He was not released. His contract was just not renewed.”
Gulak had been wrestling on WWE’s NXT programme before his tenure of over eight years came to and end.
Levesque spoke after a sold-out Backlash saw Cody Rhodes successfully defend his Undisputed WWE championship against AJ Styles.
News Summary:
- Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque addresses Drew Gulak’s sudden WWE departure amidst Ronda Rousey allegations
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