Drew Gulak

Drew Gulak
Gulak in April 2018
Born (1987-04-28) April 28, 1987[1]
Abington, Pennsylvania, United States[1]
Residence Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Drew Gulak[2]
Gulak[1][1][3]
Soldier Ant[1]
Billed height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[4]
Billed weight 193 lb (88 kg)[2]
Billed from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[4]
Trained by Chris Hero
Mike Quackenbush
Skayde[1]
Debut April 16, 2005[1]

Drew Gulak (born April 28, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, performing on 205 Live in the cruiserweight division.

Previously, he was best known for his work in Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), where he is a one-time CZW World Heavyweight Champion, two-time CZW World Tag Team Champion, one-time CZW Wired TV Champion, and 2005 Chris Cash Memorial Battle Royal winner. He also worked for other independent promotions including Chikara, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and Evolve.

Professional wrestling career

Combat Zone Wrestling (2005–2016)

Gulak began training for a career in professional wrestling in 2004 at the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) Wrestling Academy. He made his debut for CZW on September 10, 2005, at Down With The Sickness 4-Ever, a tribute show to Chris Cash, winning a battle royal.[5] Gulak was quickly paired up with fellow CZW Wrestling Academy alumnus Andy Sumner and, known as Team AnDrew, the duo captured the CZW World Tag Team Championship twice before disbanding in 2009.[6]

Drew Gulak wrestling Dave Cole

Gulak moved into singles competition following the dissolution of the team, and in early 2010, he won the CZW Wired TV Championship by defeating Tyler Veritas at a television taping at Swinging for the Fences.[7] Gulak held the title for 429 days, defeating wrestlers including Nick Gage, Zack Sabre Jr., Rich Swann, and Sumner.[8] During his reign as the Wired TV Champion, Gulak began to characterize himself as a political leader and activist within CZW, speaking out against ethical issues of violence, including CZW's famed ultraviolence and the frequent manhandling of company referees, specifically targeting the actions of long-time fan favorite Nick Gage.[9] Gage was legitimately arrested in late 2010 for bank robbery,[10] and Gulak worked it into storylines by mocking Gage and associating himself with Gage's former manager Dewey Donovan. He also continued to speak out against violence and mismanagement within CZW. This drew the ire of several roster members such as former training partner Danny Havoc, Jon Moxley, and Devon Moore, who began interrupting Gulak's presentations and attacking him. In response, Gulak hired Nui Tofiga for protection. On June 11, 2011, Gulak lost the Wired TV Championship to AR Fox at Prelude to Violence 2. Gulak then began expanding his "Campaign for a better Combat Zone" by recruiting Alexander James as his intern and Kimber Lee as an activist for women's rights in professional wrestling.

At Tangled Web 6 on August 10, 2013, Gulak defeated Masada to win the CZW World Heavyweight Championship.[11] At Proving Grounds in May 2014, Gulak lost the title to Biff Busick.[12]

Independent circuit (2005–2016)

Aside from CZW, Gulak has also worked for Beyond Wrestling, Dragon Gate USA, Evolve, and Inter Species Wrestling. In 2013, he won the Style Battle tournament for Evolve and later participated in the 2014 edition. In August 2014, Gulak made his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, participating in their annual Battle of Los Angeles event. Gulak has participated in Chikara's annual King of Trios tournament three times; in 2008, he teamed with Andy Sumner and Tim Donst, in 2014, he competed alongside Chuck Taylor and the Swamp Monster, and in 2016, he was part of Team #CWC, alongside Cedric Alexander and Johnny Gargano. His team failed to progress from the first round every time.[13]

Gulak has also competed internationally. In June 2016, Gulak travelled to the Channel Islands to make his debut for Channel Island World Wrestling.[14]

WWE

Cruiserweight division (2016–present)

On May 7, 2016, Gulak defeated Tracy Williams at Evolve 61 to qualify for WWE's upcoming Cruiserweight Classic tournament. The tournament began on June 23 with Gulak defeating Harv Sihra in his first round match.[15] On July 14, Gulak was eliminated from the tournament by Zack Sabre Jr.[16] Gulak appeared on the September 14 episode of NXT, losing to Hideo Itami. On the September 26 episode of Raw, Gulak made his main roster debut, teaming with Lince Dorado in a losing effort to Cedric Alexander and Rich Swann. On the Hell in a Cell pre-show, Gulak teamed with Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari in a losing effort to Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, and Sin Cara. On the Survivor Series pre-show, Gulak, Nese, and Daivari lost to T.J. Perkins, Swann, and Noam Dar. In December, it was confirmed that Gulak had signed with WWE. On the January 2, 2017, episode of Raw, Gulak won his first match on the main roster against Cedric Alexander.[17]

Gulak campaigning for a "no-fly zone"

In 2017, Gulak introduced a new gimmick in WWE, beginning to campaign for a "Better 205 Live", in a nod to his previous character in CZW. The campaign included Gulak asking Mustafa Ali to use a more conservative in-ring style as part of a "no-fly zone" campaign. This prompted a feud between the two, which ended on July 18, when Gulak lost to Ali in a two out of three falls match. As part of his gimmick, he began incorporating his own PowerPoint presentations every week on his plans for a better 205 Live. He went on to feud with Akira Tozawa about his war cry chanting. On the October 10 episode of 205 Live, Gulak attacked Tozawa on the ramp and later injured his voice box. Tozawa gained revenge on Gulak, which led to a match on October 31, which Tozawa won.[18] By November, Gulak had aligned with Enzo Amore and became a member of Amore's heel faction "Zo Train", while continuing his rivalry with Tozawa. On the November 21 episode of 205 Live, Gulak lost to Tozawa in a Street Fight. On December 4, on Raw, Gulak won a fatal four-way match to face Rich Swann the following week, with the victor earning a match against Amore for the Cruiserweight Championship. However, Swann was suspended prior to the match and replaced with Cedric Alexander. On the December 18 episode of Raw, Gulak lost to Cedric Alexander, making him unable to face Amore for the Cruiserweight Championship.

On January 23, 2018, Amore was fired from WWE and Zo Train was quietly disbanded. Gulak began campaigning for 205 Live General Manager, but was unsuccessful. Gulak was entered into a 16-man single elimination tournament to determine a new WWE Cruiserweight Champion, with the final round set to occur at WrestleMania 34. Gulak defeated both Tony Nese and Mark Andrews via submission en route to the semi-finals, where he lost to Mustafa Ali. Following this, Gulak stopped the PowerPoint presentations and his campaign for a better 205 Live, and developed a new character with aspirations to be the best submission specialist in WWE. In June, he was announced as one of 16 participants in the 2018 WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament. He would lose to Gentleman Jack Gallagher in the first round of the tournament. On the July 24th episode of 205 Live, Gulak won a Fatal Four Way also involving TJP, Hideo Itami and Mustafa Ali to become the number one contender to the Cruiserweight Championship and face Cedric Alexander at Summerslam. Gulak would lose the match and a rematch on the September 18 episode of 205 Live.

Personal life

Gulak is Jewish.[19] His younger brother Rory is also a wrestler on the independent circuit.[20]

Championships and accomplishments

Luchas de Apuestas record

Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
Fire Ant and Soldier Ant (masks)Chuck Taylor and Icarus (hairs)Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaAniversario YangMay 24, 2009

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Drew Gulaks's profile at Cagematch.net". Cagematch.com. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Drew Gulak". WWE. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Drew Gulak". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Drew Gulak". Chikara. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  5. ↑ "'Chri$ Ca$h Memorial Show – Down With The Sickness 4 Ever'". Combat Zone Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  6. ↑ "'Fist Fight'". Combat Zone Wrestling. Archived from the original on December 22, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  7. ↑ "'Swinging for the Fences'". Combat Zone Wrestling. Archived from the original on December 22, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "CZW Title History". Combat Zone Wrestling. Archived from the original on December 22, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  9. ↑ "CZW Archives". Combat Zone Wrestling. Archived from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  10. ↑ Barna, John (December 31, 2010). "Pro wrestler Nick Gage surrenders to authorities; he faces bank robbery charge". Gloucester County Times. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  11. 1 2 Namako, Jason (August 12, 2013). "8/10 CZW Tangled Web 6 iPPV Results: Voorhees, New Jersey". WrestleView. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  12. ↑ Namako, Jason (May 11, 2014). "5/10 CZW iPPV Results: Voorhees, NJ (New CZW Champion)". WrestleView. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  13. ↑ Cardoza, Adam (September 3, 2016). "WWE cruiserweights, JWP, Sendai Girls, Joey Styles, Attitude era divas, Shimmer & more: detailed live report: 9/2 Chikara King of Trios night one". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  14. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMHqZ4OQ830
  15. ↑ Williams, JJ (June 23, 2016). "WWE Cruiserweight Classic round one spoilers: Sabre Jr, Swann, Gargano, Ibushi, more!". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  16. ↑ Williams, JJ (July 14, 2016). "WWE Cruiserweight Classic round two spoilers". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  17. ↑ "WWE updates". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  18. ↑ "WWE 205 Live results (Oct. 10, 2017)". Cageside Seats. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  19. ↑ WWE (December 12, 2017). "WWE Superstars play dreidel for Hanukkah" – via YouTube.
  20. ↑ "For Drew and Rory Gulak, a brotherly love of wrestling – Philly".
  21. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Tournament For Tomorrow 3:16 « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  22. ↑ https://twitter.com/CWFHollywood/status/615342868413059072%5Bdead+link%5D
  23. ↑ "Ironman Heavymetalweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  24. ↑ Caldwell, James (April 2, 2016). "4/2 Evolve 59 iPPV Results – Ricochet vs. Ospreay main event, big title change & angle, USA vs. Europe, Kota Ibushi, more leading into WWN Supershow". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  25. ↑ Caldwell, James (September 22, 2013). "Show results – Evolve 24 in Brooklyn, N.Y.: Gargano defends DGUSA Title, Evolve's End main event, Baretta wrestles twice, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
  26. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "NYWC Psycho Cirus XII « Events Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.de.
  27. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2014". cagematch.net. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  28. ↑ "UWN Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com.
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