As Ronda Rousey makes the rounds inside and out of the professional wrestling world to help promote her new book “Our Fight,” the “Baddest Woman on the Planet” has made some pretty staggering revelations about her journey through the professional wrestling/MMA world, from her feeling about Vince McMahon to the bombshell that she worked at UFC 193 with a concussion, but the latest revelation may have been the most eye-opening yet, as it involved her own uncomfortable backstage interaction with a former co-worker.
Discussing WWE's culture in an interview with NewsNation, Rousey revealed that at one point, Drew Gulak grabbed the string of her sweatpants like it was nothing, and no one batted an eye after it happened.
“Not Vince personally, towards me, but the company culture, definitely. One time I was waiting to go talk to Triple H in the writer's room. I was standing there with Bruce Prichard and another one of the writers. This guy grabs the string of my sweatpants and no one reacts as if this is abnormal,” Ronda Rousey explained via Fightful. “He grabs it and starts going down the hall, and I'm like, ‘What the f**k was that? Why are you grabbing the string of my sweatpants? If my husband was standing here next to me, would you feel comfortable walking up to me and grabbing the string of my sweatpants?' Nobody around me acted as if it was abnormal. All the guys around me were just like it's part of the day. I'm like, if this guy is coming up to me and doing this kind of stuff to me where there are other people around, what's happening to these other girls when it's not in a hallway. That really put me on edge to where not only is this behavior prevalent, but it's so prevalent that people don't even realize it's a problem anymore.”
Asked if she recalls who pulled on her string, Rousey didn't at first but recalled that it was Drew Gulak, the former main roster grappler who currently leads the No Quarter Catch Crew in NXT.
“I know exactly what he looks like, and I'm blanking on his name. Is this part of my concussion test?” Rousey asked. “Drew Gulak. Drew Gulak, that's who it was. I confronted him later, and I was like, ‘If I ever hear about you putting your hands on any other woman like this or doing anything like this to me ever again, we're going to have a problem.' He was like, ‘No, no, no. I'm glad you said something to me.' He really backpedaled, but it put a sour taste in my mouth about the culture there and what's considered acceptable on how to touch and treat the women in the hallways, and anywhere.”
What does this allegation mean for Gulak? Will he be released from WWE or at least suspended from the promotion until a full investigation can be conducted? Well, while his actions didn't seem to bother WWE much at the time, it's safe to say Paul “Triple H” Levesque will have to address this situation soon, or he will be asked about it at WrestleMania 40's media scrum.
In an interview with NewsNation, Ronda Rousey names Drew Gulak in an incident where he grabbed the string of her sweatpants.
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) April 3, 2024
Revisit what Ronda Rousey said about Vince McMahon in her book.
For fans who don't recall, Ronda Rousey commented on WWE's culture under Vince McMahon in her book, comparing the former Chairman of the Board to Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars.
“NXT was founded by and under the control of Triple H, real name Paul Levesque. In addition to being my in-ring WrestleMania nemesis, he is arguably one of the best professional wrestlers in history and one of the better people on the business side. He is married to Stephanie McMahon, who is the daughter of WWE's Emperor Palpatine, Vince McMahon. Vince took over the company from his father in the early 1980s and spent the better part of forty years playing a real-world pro-wrestling version of Monopoly, buying up and absorbing smaller promotions until he basically owned them all,” Ronda Rousey explained via Inside The Ropes.
“It's hard sometimes to know where the evil, unethical, slimeball character of Vince McMahon played out for the cameras ends and the actual questionably ethical, many times sued, and multiple times accused of sexual misconduct Vince McMahon begins. That blurred line between character and reality is a recurring theme within the WWE Universe.”
When Rousey's statement initially hit the web about two weeks ago, it made headlines in a big way, but now that her accusation against Gulak is live too, it's easy to see why the “Baddest Woman on the Planet” was so bitter towards the promotion she used to work for.
“Everybody is being held hostage by their careers, but since I don't plan on going back there unless they make some very major changes, I feel free to say whatever I want to say..” – Ronda Rousey to NewsNation on the allegations against Vince McMahon pic.twitter.com/7nCExLVOAz
— Female Locker Room (@femalelroom) April 3, 2024
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