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As reported first by Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet, Drew Gulak parted ways with the WWE and the fans just didn't it coming.
PWInsider had additionally reported that Gulak's WWE contract had expired after the recent SmackDown taping and both sides couldn't come to terms with regards to signing a new deal.
Dave Meltzer revealed more details on Gulak's WWE departure on the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio.
Meltzer stated that Gulak asked for a raise and the WWE officials were not willing to offer him one given the pandemic's effects on the business. Meltzer noted that WWE also pulled their original offer for Gulak.
Drew Gulak's WWE exit, thus, boiled down to the financial disagreements between the company and the Superstar. It was added that WWE is not handing out raises to Superstars right now and that's understandable as the company recently released many talents as a cost-cutting measure.
Meltzer revealed:
His contract expired and I don't know all of the details. The story going around is essentially that he asked for a raise, they said no, and they pulled the offer that they had originally offered. It was something along those lines. It was definitely a money situation where, you know, the basic situation is that they are not giving any raises right now, which I guess understandable because they cut so many people.
Drew Gulak's immediate future
Drew Gulak, as previously reported, was not released as his contract came to an end. The former Cruiserweight Champion can accept bookings or sign a deal with another company as he doesn't have to abide by a 90-day no-compete clause.
The news of Gulak's WWE exit wasn't expected to happen as the Superstar wrestled and lost to Daniel Bryan in an IC title tournament first-round match on the latest episode of SmackDown.
Gulak was also pushing his storyline with Bryan on social media a few hours before his WWE exit became public knowledge.
As things stand, Gulak is a free agent and he would certainly attract a lot of attention from other promotions once business picks up again.
