Wednesday Livecast w/Pat McNeill and EVOLVE tag champion Drew Gulak (May 4, 2016)

Wednesday PWTorch Livecast with Pat McNeill
Special Guest: Current EVOLVE Tag Team champion Drew Gulak
Aired Live: May 4, 2016

DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD

Recap by Dominic DeAngelo

SUBJECTS COVERED

– WWE’s Global Cruiserweight Series
– Combat Zone Wrestling Discussion
– Catch Point Wrestling

TIME STAMPS OF COVERAGE

(0:30) Pat & Drew Intro
(2:00) Enzo Amore injury
(3:30) Has Drew gotten to grapple with Matt Reynolds?
(2:30) Are certain moves banned in the Global Cruiserweight Series?
(3:30) Has Drew gotten to grapple with Matt Reynolds?
### COMMERCIAL BREAK ###
(7:30) What did Triple H do when he was backstage at EVOLVE?
(8:15) People who qualified for the GCS and people Gulak would like to see
(11:25) Any reason why they chose “205 lbs” as the weight limit?
(12:42) Current EVOLVE Champion Timothy Thatcher
(14:04) What are the odds Jushin Liger coming to EVOLVE soon?
(15:45) Kimber Lee – is it a possibility she’ll be in the tournament?
### COMMERCIAL BREAK ###
(20:45) How important was that EVOVLE Tag Title win?
(24:10) Drew’s feud with Nick Gauge
(26:40) Does Dean Ambrose’s success fuel Drew’s fire to reach that goal?
(28:50) Being from Philly, does Drew have any interesting ECW Arena stories?
(32:00) How Drew got the “wrestling bug”
### COMMERCIAL BREAK ###
(37:33) Can Drew explain the philosophy of “catch point wrestling”?
(39:20) How strong does Drew think the indy scene is since he started out?
(42:40) Is it possible to wrestle the CZW style without getting harmed?
(44:40) What past wrestlers would he mind not being compared to?
(47:25) Which wrestlers does Drew enjoy watching from today?
(50:05) Will Drew wrestle less ultra violent style moving forward?
(52:00) Follow Drew on social media

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

(00:30) Pat & Drew intro.

(2:00) Drew is asked about the Enzo Amore injury. Has he ever seen an injury like that? No he hasn’t.

(2:30) Are certain moves banned in the Global Cruiserweight Series? No barbed wire bats, plate glass, flaming tables. All the things he normally uses. No Joey Ryan Suplex either.

(3:30) Has Drew gotten to grapple with Matt Reynolds? Yes, he’s the real deal.

### COMMERCIAL BREAK ###

(7:30) What did Triple H do when he was backstage at EVOLVE? He was just observing,

(8:15) People who qualified already: Zack Sabre, Jr., Jack Gallagher, Noam Dar. Anyone else Gulak would like to see in the tourney? Pat says Shinsuke Nakamura (if he can make the weight limit), Ricochet, Austin Aries, and Mike Quackenbush (he’s been training for a return to the ring). Wheeler Utah, who’s in Gulak’s CHIKARA class, is a standout. As far as CHIKARA, Frightner, any members of the Colony, Mr. Touchdown (he’d be perfect for this kind of tournament).

(11:25) Any reason why they chose “205 lbs.” as the weight limit? Gulak thinks it was just a way to draw a line for the competitors. Gulak had to cut three pounds to make it, but he’s assuming many will be around 180 lbs.

(12:42) Current EVOLVE Champion Timothy Thatcher – what does Drew think about his prospects? Despite throwing the belt in the trash, Tim is one of the best wrestlers on the planet. He thinks it would be interesting to see him compete against guys like Kevin Owens and Dean Ambrose. Pat thinks things are wide open now.

(14:04) What are the odds Jushin Liger coming to EVOLVE soon? Pat’s not sure and doesn’t think he’ll make the cut for the GCS. Never say never for pro wrestling, but it would be cool to see him wrestle in America. From Drew’s observation, the GCS takes a lot of influence from the Super J Cups in New Japan. He used to study tapes of him in those tournaments.

(15:45) Kimber Lee is the CHIKARA Women’s Champion – is it a possibility she’ll be in the tournament? Gulak says he heard that there might not be any women in the tournament, but he could be mistaken. She did beat Colt Cabana.

### COMMERCIAL BREAK ###

(20:45) Drew won the Tag Team Titles against Gargano and Drew Galloway. How important was that win? It was huge WrestleMania weekend, the crowd was wonderful. Really cool to look back on them. As a wrestler it goes by so fast. Has he been able to get any advice from people in WWE developmental? Just from hearing about their training routines – it’s very strict. Immersed in conditioning and performing arts. On the weekends, they’re on the road with the NXT show. It’s grueling, but it’s the ultimate goal.

(24:10) Drew was apart of one of the longest feuds with Nick Gauge. Drew says Gauge was a guy people were supposed to look up as a locker room leader, but then he robbed a bank and got put away. Then he came back, and even though he turned his back on the fans and the boys, he decided to patronize everyone, and now he’s in jail again. Drew spoke out about that and was punched in the face by Dean Ambrose and was beat up by the Briscoe Brothers because of it.

(26:40) Does Dean Ambrose’s success fuel Drew’s fire to reach that goal? He has no beef with Ambrose, but it’s good to see someone from CZW hold that banner. The flood gates are open, so to say. Seeing NXT as a possibility makes the locker room froth at the mouth. It’ll be all business with Tracey Williams.

(28:50) Does Drew have any interesting ECW Arena stories? When he was in CZW, he was in there training full time. He remembers what it looks like renovated, but now it has changed. The State Athletic Commissioner was an older guy with a tweed suit and glasses. He’d usually give a locker room speech “no spitting, chewing, blah, blah.” One time he was giving a speech and was backing up slowly where there was an open loading dock, and he fell eight feet.

(32:00) A lot of guys get the pro wrestling bug from watching it from TV, but Drew got it by going to live events. He always pictured himself doing this, and his parents always thought it was a phase. A teacher of his brought him and his brother to a CZW show in Sewell, N.J. CZW’s hardcore style is what appealed to that area.

(37:33) Can Drew explain the philosophy of “catch point wrestling?” It’s just trying to go for the win and nothing else. The roots on how to win a match. Drew takes opportunities that you usually don’t see from everyday wrestling.

(39:20) How strong does Drew think the indy scene is since he started out? He said he started when ECW ended and some of the promotions opened up, there was kind of a lull for a little bit, and then guys like C.M. Punk started getting signed. Now it’s a very exciting time where things are easier to access. As a wrestler, does the indy scene open up for more innovation? What Drew did was pattern something that spoke to him, and just doing what he likes. He’s not agenda-driven.

(42:40) Does Drew think it’s possible to wrestle the CZW style without getting harmed? Absolutely, hate the player not the game. He says it can be done carefully, but when some people bring this up, guys like Dusty Rhodes and Terry Funk did stuff like this for years. He learned from watching how they competed. Both students of the game.

(44:40) What wrestlers from previous generations would he mind not being compared to? He wouldn’t mind anybody, but one that did make a huge impact on him was Steve Grey from World of Sports. Chris Hero was watching clips of him, and it opened up his mind about how the rules really add to the dramatic tension of a match. He mentions a lot of very old school wrestlers that have connected with him. It also made Drew aware of how important context is.

(47:25) Which wrestlers does Drew enjoy watching from today? Lately it’s been Matt Riddle. He’s a natural at it. You don’t come across guys like this every day. To be able to work with him has allowed him to be more aware of catch wrestling. He also likes Danny Havoc. He’s one crazy son of a bitch.

(50:05) Going forward, how much does Drew think he’ll be doing ultra violent in comparison to mainstream style? To be honest, he hasn’t really done a whole lot of those matches, but he won’t shy away from them. He’s been teaming with his brother in CZW which has been a lot of fun. They are both learning from each other and his brother is extremely creative.

(52:00) Follow Drew @DrewGulak on Twitter and Instagram. Visit his website at DrewGulak.com

SCORE & REVIEW

8.5: For the past few weeks, I’ve been mostly in the dark with the background and history of Pat’s guests, and Drew Gulak was literally someone I knew nothing about, but wow, was this a great interview. This episode lays the foundation for the upcoming Global Cruiserweight Series and really gives you the feel for the “you’re in or you’re out” high stakes. Drew is smarmy and unabashed in his answers which makes for a fun listen, too. The real highlight of the episode came at the 44:40 mark, where Drew talks about the importance of rules as well as his pro wrestling influences, as they’re extremely old school. Again, I knew not one thing about Drew Gulak and really enjoyed this episode – odds are you will, too.

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