Before signing with WWE, Gulak worked for 10 years on several independent promotions. With his real name, he worked forCombat Zone Wrestling, where he became a Triple Crown Champion. In Evolve, he won the Tag Team Championship. He also worked for Chikara with the name Soldier Ant, where he won the Campeonatos de Parejas, the King of Trios tourney in 2011 and the Tag World Grand Prix in 2008.
In 2016, Gulak participated into theCruiserweight Classic, a tournament hosted by WWE featuring cruiserweight independent wrestlers. Although he didn't win the tournament, Gulak signed with WWE and worked for them until 2024. He won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship once and the WWE 24/7 Championship eight times. In 2024, after an allegation made by Ronda Rousey, Gulak departed WWE as his contract would not be renewed.
Prior to becoming a wrestler, he was a user onNewgrounds who would occasionally make forum posts talking about his interest inWWE and pro-wrestling in general.[6] Gulak began training for a career inprofessional wrestling in 2004 at theCombat Zone Wrestling (CZW)Wrestling Academy and theChikaraWrestle Factory. He made his debut for CZW on September 10, 2005, atDown With The Sickness 4-Ever, a tribute show toChris Cash, winning abattle royal.[7] Gulak was quickly paired up with fellow CZW Wrestling Academy alumnus Andy Sumner and, known as Team AnDrew, the duo captured theCZW World Tag Team Championship twice before disbanding in 2009.[8]
Gulak moved into singles competition following the dissolution of the team, and in early 2010, he won theCZW Wired TV Championship by defeating Tyler Veritas at a television taping atSwinging for the Fences.[9] Gulak held the title for 429 days, defeating wrestlers includingNick Gage,Zack Sabre Jr.,Rich Swann, and Sumner.[10] 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-timefan favorite Nick Gage.[11] Gage was legitimately arrested in late 2010 for bank robbery,[12] and Gulak worked it into storylines by mocking Gage and associating himself with Gage's formermanager 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 partnerDanny 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 toA. R. Fox atPrelude to Violence 2. Gulak then began expanding his "Campaign for a better Combat Zone" by recruiting Alexander James as his intern andKimber Lee as an activist for women's rights in professional wrestling.
Aside from CZW, Gulak has also worked forBeyond 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 forPro Wrestling Guerrilla, participating in their annualBattle of Los Angeles event. Gulak has participated inChikara's annualKing of Trios tournament multiple times; in 2008, he teamed with Andy Sumner andTim Donst, in 2014, he competed alongsideChuck Taylor and the Swamp Monster, and in 2016, he was part of Team #CWC, alongsideCedric Alexander andJohnny Gargano. When competing as Drew Gulak, his team failed to progress from the first round every time.[15] However, as Soldier Ant, his team,The Colony, won the 2011 edition of the tournament.[16]
Gulak has also competed internationally. In June 2016, Gulak traveled to theChannel Islands to make his debut for Channel Island World Wrestling.[17]
On May 7, 2016, Gulak defeatedTracy Williams atEvolve 61 to qualify forWWE's upcomingCruiserweight Classic tournament. The tournament began on June 23, with Gulak defeatingHarv Sihra in his first round match.[18] On July 14, Gulak was eliminated from the tournament by Zack Sabre Jr.[19] Gulak appeared on September 14 episode ofNXT, losing toHideo Itami.[20] On September 26 episode ofRaw, Gulak made his main roster debut, teaming withLince Dorado in a losing effort to Cedric Alexander and Rich Swann.[21] On theHell in a Cell pre-show, Gulak established himself as aheel, teaming up withTony Nese andAriya Daivari in a losing effort to Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, andSin Cara.[22] On theSurvivor Series pre-show, Gulak, Tony Nese, and Ariya Daivari lost toT.J. Perkins, Rich Swann, andNoam Dar.[23] In December, it was confirmed that Gulak had signed with WWE. On January 2, 2017, episode ofRaw, Gulak won his first match on the main roster against Cedric Alexander.[24]
Gulak campaigning for a "No-Fly Zone"
In 2017, Gulak introduced a newgimmick in WWE, beginning to campaign for a "Better205 Live", in a nod to his previous character in CZW.[25] The campaign included Gulak askingMustafa Ali to use a more conservative in-ring style as part of a "No-Fly Zone" campaign.[26] This prompted afeud between the two, which ended on July 18 episode of205 Live, when Gulak lost to Ali in atwo out of three falls match.[27] As part of his gimmick, he began incorporating his ownPowerPoint Presentations every week on his plans for a better205 Live. Gulak went on to feud withAkira Tozawa about his war cry chanting. On October 10 episode of205 Live, Gulak attacked Tozawa on the ramp and later injured his voice box.[28] Tozawa gained revenge on Gulak, which led to a match on October 31 episode of205 Live, which Tozawa won.[29][unreliable source?] Gulak had aligned withEnzo Amore and became a member of Amore's faction "The Zo Train", while continuing his rivalry with Tozawa. On November 21 episode of205 Live, Gulak lost to Tozawa in a Street Fight, ending their feud.[30] On December 4 episode ofRaw, Gulak won a fatal four-way match to face Rich Swann the following week, with the winner earning a match against Enzo Amore for theWWE Cruiserweight Championship.[31] However, Swann was suspended prior to the match and replaced with Cedric Alexander. On December 18 episode ofRaw, Gulak lost to Cedric Alexander, making him unable to face Amore for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. On January 23, 2018, Amore was fired from WWE and "Zo Train" was quietly disbanded.[32]
In February 2018, Gulak was entered into a 16-man single elimination tournament to determine a new WWE Cruiserweight Champion, with the final round set to occur atWrestleMania 34. Gulak defeated both Tony Nese andMark Andrews via submission en route to the semi-finals, where he lost to Mustafa Ali. During this time, Gulak stopped the PowerPoint Presentations and his "No-Fly Zone" campaign for a better205 Live, and developed a new character with aspirations to be the best submission specialist in WWE. Around this time, Gulak formed an alliance withGentleman Jack Gallagher andThe Brian Kendrick to feud withLucha House Party (Kalisto,Gran Metalik, and Lince Dorado), with the two teams trading victories, including a six-man tag team elimination match, which Gulak won for his team.[33] On July 24 episode of205 Live, Gulak won a fatal four-way match also involving Mustafa Ali, Hideo Itami and TJP to become the number one contender to the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Gulak challenged Cedric Alexander for the Cruiserweight Championship atSummerSlam and on September 19 episode of205 Live, where he was unsuccessful both times.[34]
Following April, Gulak was taken off television and returned without elements of his previous gimmick, such as doing campaign slogans and PowerPoint presentations.[35] AtStomping Grounds, he won the Cruiserweight Championship. Gulak then defeated Nese atExtreme Rules in a rematch for the title.[35] AtSummerSlam, Gulak successfully defended his title against Oney Lorcan after using underhanded tactics. Two days later on205 Live, Gulak again retained his title against Lorcan by submission. AtClash of the Champions, Gulak retained the Cruiserweight Championship in a triple threat match against Lince Dorado and Humberto Carrillo.[36] Gulak lost the renamed NXT Cruiserweight Championship toLio Rush on October 9 episode ofNXT, ending his reign at 108 days.[37][38]
As part of the2019 draft, Gulak was drafted to theSmackDownbrand.[39] Gulak, once again doing his campaigning gimmick, made his debut on October 18 episode ofSmackDown where he attempted to showBraun Strowman a PowerPoint Presentation on how to beatTyson Fury, but was quickly defeated by Strowman.[40] The following week, he would attempt to show a PowerPoint Presentation on how Braun Strowman can lose to Tyson Fury before his match with Kalisto, but he was once again attacked by Strowman.[41] On November 15 episode ofSmackDown, Gulak along with The B-Team (Curtis Axel andBo Dallas) would taunt Strowman for his loss against Tyson Fury, but Strowman would attack all three men.[42]
On February 21, 2020, episode ofSmackDown, Gulak began a feud withDaniel Bryan after claiming to have "found holes in his game" and placed him in matches against opponents such asHeath Slater and Curtis Axel to test his weaknesses but Bryan came out victorious.[43][44] On March 6 episode of SmackDown, Bryan challenged Gulak to a match atElimination Chamber, which Gulak lost.[45][46]
On March 13 episode ofSmackDown, Gulak formed an alliance with Daniel Bryan after both men gained mutual respect for each other, turningface. He subsequently managed Bryan during his match againstCesaro, where both were subsequently attacked by Cesaro,Shinsuke Nakamura, andSami Zayn.[47] The following week, Gulak and Bryan teamed up to defeat Cesaro and Nakamura in a tag-team match.[48] On March 27 episode ofSmackDown, Gulak defeated Nakamura to earn Bryan an Intercontinental Championship match against Zayn atWrestleMania 36.[49] During the first night of WrestleMania on April 4, Gulak was defeated by Cesaro on the pre-show while Bryan was unsuccessful in winning the Intercontinental Championship from Zayn on the main card.[50] On May 15 episode ofSmackDown, Gulak competed in a tournament for the vacantIntercontinental Championship, but was eliminated by Bryan in the first round.[51] After this match, the following day, Gulak's contract with WWE expired.[52]
On May 25, 2020, it was reported that Gulak was re-signed by WWE, and his profile on WWE.com was moved back to the SmackDown roster page.[53] On May 29 episode ofSmackDown, Gulak participated in his first match back for WWE, a 10-manbattle royal for a spot in the WWE Intercontinental Championship tournament but was eliminated byKing Corbin. On June 5 episode ofSmackDown, Gulak defeatedAJ Styles with a bridging folding press. This earned him an Intercontinental Championship match against Styles on July 3 episode of SmackDown where he was unsuccessful in capturing the title.[54] On July 17, Gulak served as a guest commentator on205 Live alongside Vic Joseph where he continued to provide commentary for the show until the return ofNigel McGuinness. AtClash of Champions, Gulak pinnedR-Truth to become theWWE 24/7 Champion for the first time. He would lose the title back to Truth later on in the night.[55]
As part of the2020 Draft in October, Gulak was drafted to theRaw brand.[56] Over the following months, he kept on chasing after the 24/7 Championship, mainly feuding with R-Truth and Akira Tozawa and capturing it on several occasions also turning into atweener in the process. During theSurvivor Series kickoff show, Gulak won the title for the seventh time asthe Gobbledy Gooker, a comedic character original portrayed byHéctor Guerrero at the1990 Survivor Series event; this reign is recognized by WWE as a reign for the Gobbledy Gooker, but not for Gulak.[57] On the January 11 episode of Raw, Gulak would face AJ Styles for a chance to qualify for the2021 Royal Rumble but was unsuccessful. Following this, Gulak would wrestle mainly onMain Event. As part of the2021 Draft, Gulak was drafted to theSmackDown brand.[58] On the April 15, 2022 episode ofSmackDown, Gulak became a backstage interviewer for the brand, however, he reverted to his wrestler persona a few weeks later.[59]
In December 2022, Gulak returned to theNXTbrand, where he played the role of Hank Walker's mentor. On February 14, 2023, episode ofNXT, Gulak turned on Walker and aligned withCharlie Dempsey, creating theNo Quarter Catch Crew stable with Dempsey,Damon Kemp, andMyles Borne, turningheel.[60] On the February 27, 2024 episode ofNXT, Dempsey defeatedNoam Dar 2–1 underBritish Rounds Rules for theNXT Heritage Cup. A week later atNXT: Roadblock, NQCC announced that the NXT Heritage Cup will be defended by the whole stable under the "Catch Clause".[61][62] The Catch Clause was invoked on the March 19 episode ofNXT, with Gulak defeatingRiley Osborne 2–1 to successfully defend the Cup in his final appearance in WWE.[63] In April,Ronda Rousey made allegations that Gulak grabbed her pants' drawstrings backstage in 2022. While Gulak stated that it was an accident,[64] he was removed from television and an internal investigation was conducted by WWE. Gulak departed from WWE weeks later, ending his 8-year tenure with the company. BothChief content officerPaul "Triple H" Levesque and Senior Vice President of Talent Development CreativeShawn Michaels explained that his contract had expired and was not being renewed.[65][66][67][68] The investigation included allegations of his bad behavior backstage with other wrestlers, as he was described as a "bully".[69][70]
After leaving WWE, Gulak began to work for the independent promotionBeyond Wrestling.[71] During his time there, he was included in a controversial storyline that referred to his incident with Ronda Rousey, askingMasha Slamovich during an in-ring promo "Did you feel I was a danger in the locker room?".[72]
Gulak isJewish.[77] He is an alumnus ofNortheast High School, having grown up in the city of Philadelphia, and attendedDrexel University.[78] Gulak was a close friend of the late wrestlerDanny Havoc, who he paid tribute to after Havoc's death during his Intercontinental Championship match against AJ Styles.[79]
^Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 30, 2014)."Tournament For Tomorrow 3:16 (2014)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. RetrievedNovember 28, 2020.
,Cagematch,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database