Key Takeaways
- Ronda Rousey accused WWE wrestler Drew Gulak of mistreating her.
- Gulak claimed the incident was a complete accident.
- Despite the accusations, neither Gulak nor WWE executives faced immediate consequences following the controversy.
Long before Jake Gyllenhaal worked out to look like a fighter, Ronda Rousey spent years turning herself into a world-class athlete. After having a UFC Hall of Fame career, Rousey went on to work for Vince McMahon, who is so rich he owns a real dinosaur skull, as a WWE wrestler.
Even though Dwayne Johnson loves wrestling so much that he arguably lost money to work for the WWE, Rousey was angry after walking away from the company. One of Rousey's biggest complaints is that she claims a male wrestler mistreated her and nobody defended her.
This article will reveal what Ronda Rousey said about a male WWE wrestler mistreating her. Then, the article will look at how the wrestler Rousey accused responded to her claim.
Ronda Rousey Accused Drew Gulak Of Mistreating Her Behind The Scenes
In April 2024, Ronda Rousey had a book titled "Our Fight: A Memoir" come out which she co-wrote with her sister Maria Burns Ortiz. In the weeks before and after her book's release, Rousey made the media rounds to promote the book and speak about her life.
One of the topics that Rousey spoke about a lot during her media tour was her experiences working for the WWE. More specifically, Rousey spoke to the media about the WWE's toxic backstage environment. One example of that is when Rousey spoke to Brian Entin of NewsNation, she accused the WWE wrestler Drew Gulak of grabbing the string of her sweatpants backstage.
"I was standing there and this guy I was barely an acquaintance with, grabs the string of, like, my sweatpants as I’m walking by. And I wasn’t even looking at him, and I look down the hall and... nobody else reacts as if this is abnormal, and he grabs it and starts going down the hall."
From there, Rousey went on to describe how she reacted to having the drawstring of her sweatpants grabbed like that. Based on what Rousey said later during the conversation, it is clear that Rousey was describing her internal dialogue with this quote.
I’m like, ‘What the f**k 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?’
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As Rousey began to tell her story, she remarked that she couldn't remember the name of the wrestler who grabbed the drawstring to her pants. However, the wrestler's name came to Rousey as she continued to tell her story and she identified him as Drew Gulak.
While Gulak isn't one of the most famous wrestlers, like Dwayne Johnson, John Cena, or Hulk Hogan, he is accomplished. A WWE employee since 2016, Gulak is a former 1-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion and an 8-time WWE 24/7 Champion.
The WWE has also tapped Gulak to train many wrestlers during his tenure. Most notably, Wrestling Inc. reported Gulak trained Bad Bunny to wrestle and Sportkeeda reported that Gulak helped teach Logan Paul to wrestle.
Who are the best WWE celebrity wrestlers ever, according to One 37 PM?
Celebrity Wrestler: | Rank: |
|---|---|
Stephen Amell | #15 |
Lawrence Taylor | #14 |
Tiny Lister | #13 |
Cyndi Lauper | #12 |
Johnny Knoxville | #11 |
Floyd Mayweather | #10 |
Snoop Dogg | #9 |
Maria Menounos | #8 |
Donald Trump | #7 |
Mr. T | #6 |
Pat McAfee | #5 |
Ronda Rousey | #4 |
Bad Bunny | #3 |
Logan Paul | #2 |
Mike Tyson | #1 |
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After describing Gulak grabbing her drawstring and her internal reaction, Rousey went on to talk about what this incident meant to her. As Rousey explained, she reflected on how other female WWE employees were treated backstage if a famous fighter like her had that happen.
"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 that not only is this behavior prevalent, but it’s so prevalent people don’t even realize it’s a problem anymore.”
Rousey went on to describe the moment that she confronted Gulak about the incident.
“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 backpedaled and everything like that."
Drew Gulak Called The Ronda Rousey Incident A "Complete Accident"
After Ronda Rousey's NewsNation interview, it didn't take long for Drew Gulak to respond to her accusations. Without denying that he grabbed the drawstring to Rousey's pants, Gulak stated that he didn't mean to mistreat the UFC Hall of Famer.
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Gulak responded to Rousey's accusations with an X post. In Gulak's post on the website formerly known as Twitter, he stated that his incident with Rousey was an accident.
"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 apologized to her for the mishap."
As of April 4th, 2024, The WWE hadn't responded publicly to Rousey's accusations about Drew Gulak mistreating her. Gulak also continued to be listed as an active WWE superstar on the company's website under the NXT brand.
After Ronda Rousey's accusations went public, Bryan Alvarez from Wrestling Observer Radio reported that many WWE employees expected Drew Gulak to be fired. "It was Tuesday when this story came out and there were people there that thought man, Gulak’s probably going to be gone tomorrow. And he’s not gone."
It is also worth noting that Rousey also criticized a WWE executive named Bruce Prichard during several interviews. Even though Rousey claimed that Prichard played a role in the WWE's toxic environment several times, he also remained employed as of April 4th, 2024.