Is Drew Gulak a diamond in the rough?

In 2016 Drew Gulak arrived in WWE as part of the Cruiserweight Division, to no big fanfare he was eliminated in the first round of the Cruiserweight Classic. However he lost to Zack Sabre Jr, who even makes the best submit. But while Sabre left the WWE after the tournament ended, Gulak remained a part of the WWE.
Before WWE Gulak was one of those names, that always appeared on indy-cards, but i never really had a face to it. All i heard, that he is one of the most respected men in the indy-scene and an amazing wrestler. Once i've seen him, i could nothing but agree with that, but i also was not sure if he would survive in the world of sport entertainment. But Drew Gulak has more to offer than just awesome wrestling skills, hes comedic-timing and overall skills on the microphone are awesome to see. Gulak earned himself the same respect in the WWE he got in the indy-scene and today he i can not envision 205live without him.

But let's just take a little trip back and take a look on how Drew Gulak was able to stand out from the mass.


Humble Beginnings

After competing in the CWC, he was moved to 205live. At first he was teamed with Tony Nese. With him he had various matches against and stated on WWE program, that Nese is one of his best friends. It was clear that WWE wanted to push Nese, so Gulak often accompanimented Nese for his matches or did commentary. Later that year, Nese began appearing alone, while Gulak was not featured as much.

For a Better 205Live

In 2017 Gulak resurfaced on 205live and RAW with a new gimmick. Declearing that 205live was held back by needless highflying manoeuvres, his first victim was Mustafa Ali. The feud was set to become one of the best storylines in 205live history.
Over the next few months Gulak turned from the vicious fighter to the suit-wearing and clean-shaved politician, who was driven to hammer his opinion into everyone's heads. He declared that 205live was a 'No-Fly Zone'.

To drive his goal home, he became the first wrestler ever to use Powerpoint for his promos, to undermine his point of everything that is wrong with 205live. Even Microsoft took note of that.
During this time Gulak became the most popular act on the Cruiserweight Show, even making it to PPV-Kick-Offs with his Powerpoint Presentation.

He later added the 'No Chant' Rule and entered a feud with Akira Tozawa, who was in the middle of introducing his now famous 'Ha' Chant.

Zo-Train and Struggle of the Cruiserweight Divison

Under TJP, Brian Kendrick and Rich Swann 205live was starting to make less and less waves on RAW, causing the Cruiserweight to being taken off RAW more and more. It was Neville, or rather King Neville, who became the first big champion of the brand. Unfortunatley WWE decided for a non-serious direction for the brand and the incredible rise by Neville was stopped by a short title drop to Tozawa, only to win it back again and then dropping it to Enzo Amore..and that is where Gulak came in. The entire division was put on hold for Amore, who introduced the Zo-Train, a stable which involved Gulak, Ariyah Daivari and Tony Nese. The crowd did not really by into this stable, but Gulak was definatley the highlight, especially when he was forced to turn against longtime friend Tony Nese.

After Amore's and Neville's defect from WWE, 205live faced a reset, also gaining a General Manager in Drake Maverick. Maverick told Gulak it is time for him to stop focusing on his Powerpoint-Presentation and actually get to the gold. Gulak had title matches before, but he always came up short.
In the following weeks Gulak formed a hybrid-version of his two characters from the Submission Specialist and the Face for a Better 205live.


Partnership with Kendrick and Gallagher

In 2018 Gulak joined Kendrick and Gallagher and became the leader of the pack. He started feuding with Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander, but quickly was moved out of the title picture once again.
Over the next few months the three members were used in a feud with the Lucha House Party and in singles competition, ususally to put over other singles wrestlers. One day Gulak decided that was not enough and searched for the weak-link in his team.
He decided on The Brian Kendrick and Gallagher and him turned on the Man with a Plan, sparking probably the best storyline in the history of 205live. Kendrick, who found a partner in his former foe, Akira Tozawa. 

The following month Tozawa and Kendrick faced off with Gulak and Gallagher in epic battles for pride and vengeance, finally establishing all four of them as the backbone of 205live.

Ready for NXT?

Drew Gulak has been not stranger to being used for inter-promotional matches, as he appeared on NXT, NXTUK and other places WWE needed him to perform. But in his most recent showing, WWE did everything in their power to make Gulak look like and absolute star.


After finishing off the popular newcomer Eric Bugenhagen on the February 7th of 2019 edition of NXT, he asked for yet another match, a challenge that Matt Riddle answered, which resulted in such an incredible match, it was an absolute treat

If not all the highs Gulak had in WWE already proof, that he is a star, his newest showing in NXT should have opened all of the eyes now. Gulak is just 31 years of age. I believe he can follow Mustafa Ali in becoming a wildly spread attraction on the main roster or NXT.

What do you think, is Drew Gulak an unsung hero in the WWE ring? Tell me on Twitter @Walu2go