Triple H clarifies Drew Gulak’s status following Backlash

The WWE boss seemed to get a bit testy when asked about the circumstances surrounding Gulak’s departure.

During the Backlash post-show press conference, WWE’s Chief Content Officer, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, was asked if reports from wrestling sites Fightful and PWInsider were accurate regarding Drew Gulak’s release and if it was related to allegations made by Ronda Rousey. Levesque interrupted the reporter, saying, “If you’re going to cite news sources, pick good ones. That’s where I would start — credible, really, maybe.”

Levesque then briefly touched on the process of releasing talent before confirming that Gulak was no longer with the company.

“We release talent all the time. It’s a part of what we do,” said Levesque. “You just can’t hire people, bring them in, keep hiring more people, and just keep bringing them in. An unfortunate part of the job is talent get released. Can I say that he was released? He was not released. His contract was just not renewed.”

Gulak’s name was among those listed as being released from WWE earlier this week. Last month, Ronda Rousey accused Gulak of inappropriate behavior, saying he once pulled the drawstring on her sweatpants as he was walking by while she was meeting with WWE executive Bruce Prichard and a writer.

“No one around me acted as if it was abnormal,” said Rousey.

Gulak later explained that what happened was an accident. But in the days that followed, Gulak was written off television, with his absence being attributed to a “Mafia hit” by the Tony D’Angelo Family, orchestrated by Gulak’s stable, No Quarter Catch Crew. Charlie Dempsey, once one of Gulak’s prized pupils, said of the situation in character, “There was trash, and it needed to be taken care of. And that’s what you did — you happened to do the industry a bit of good while you were at it.”