WWE Releases Drew Gulak & Several NXT Talents

Ten talents from NXT have been released by WWE on Friday, May 3, including former NXT Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak, according to Mike Johnson of PWInsider. 

The following names have been released:

• Drew Gulak
• Valentina Feroz
• Trey Bearhill
• Ezekiel Balogun
• Julian Baldi
• Emma Diaz
• Keyshawn Leflore
• Darrell Mason
• Vlad Pavlenko
• Kiyah Saint

Gulak was ultimately the most high-profile release but he was expected to be fired after misconduct allegations were levelled against the 37-year-old by Ronda Rousey. It was claimed by the former WWE Women's Champion in April that Gulak grabbed the drawstring of her sweatpants while they were both backstage at a WWE show in 2022. Gulak admitted to touching the drawstring but he claimed the incident was an accident that occurred while he was shaking colleagues' hands. 

WWE reportedly investigated the allegations but their investigation was inconclusive. Gulak was pulled from NXT TV following the investigation due to the negative publicity, being killed off by the D'Angelo Family.

PWInsider noted that WWE released talents who were not being booked and they had no creative plans for in the near future. 

This is the second round of cuts since WrestleMania 40. WWE released main roster talents in April, including Jinder Mahal, Veer, Sanga, Cameron Grimes, Xia Li, Von Wagner, and Xyon Quinn.