Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque Addresses Drew Gulak’s Sudden WWE Departure Amid Ronda Rousey Allegations

Paul “Triple H” Levesque has spoken out for the first time about speculation that Drew Gulak was “released” by WWE following Ronda Rousey’s allegations.

Reports earlier this week indicated that Gulak, a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion, was fired by the company as part of a series of exits.

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This came a few weeks after Rousey’s comments in which she singled out the wrestler as someone who touched the drawstring of her sweatpants backstage at a WWE event.

In an angry revelation about the incident, the UFC great told NewsNation: “I was there and this guy I barely knew grabs the drawstring of my sweatpants as I walk by.

“I wasn’t even looking at him…no one else reacted like it was abnormal, and he grabs it and starts walking down the hallway and I’m like, ‘What the fuck? Why are you grabbing the drawstring of my sweatpants? If my husband were standing next to me, would you feel comfortable walking up to me and grabbing the drawstring of my sweatpants?

“And no one around me acted like it was abnormal.” All the guys around me said it was part of the day. What if this guy comes up to me and does this type of thing to me when there are other people around, what happens to these other girls when I’m not in the hallway? So that really got on my nerves.”

Rousey then named Gulak as the person involved, adding: “I was like, ‘If I ever hear of you putting your hands on another woman like this, or doing something like that to me again, we’re going to have a issue.

“And he was like, ‘No, no, no, I’m glad you told me something,’ and he really backtracked and everything like that. But it just gave me a really bitter taste about the culture there, what’s considered acceptable and how to touch and treat women in the hallways. And anywhere…”

Gulak replied » quickly to Rousey’s public comment with an account that downplays 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 hello and shake their hands, and while trying to shake his hand, I accidentally touched his lanyard.

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“A complete accident, and one that I apologized to him for.”

Gulak, nonetheless, was seemingly permanently written out of WWE television storylines later in April and, according to PWInsider, was released from his contract on Saturday.

Via Lévesque, head of creation, the company has 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, Lévêque commented: “We release talent all the time.

“The NFL releases four or five hundred players a year, we release talent all the time – it’s part of what we do.

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“You can’t just hire people and keep attracting them…the unfortunate thing about the job is that talent is released.

“Can I say he has been released? He was not released. His contract was simply not renewed.

Gulak had wrestled on WWE’s NXT program before his eight-plus year tenure ended.

Levesque spoke after a sold-out Backlash that saw Cody Rhodes successfully defend his undisputed WWE Championship against AJ Styles.