2021 Ongoing MOTY List: Gulak vs. T-Bar

50. Drew Gulak vs. T-Bar WWE Main Event 10/14/21

ER: I have a soft spot for guys languishing in gimmick purgatory, still wearing gear that no longer applies, a name that sounded like a bad idea from go, and a haircut from a months past angle and quickly dissolved stable. I feel enough vicarious embarrassment typing the name "T-Bar" several times in a paragraph, so think of how he feels representing it. Drew Gulak going against heavyweights was probably my favorite WWE match type this past year. Gulak never works the same match and I love how he matches physicality with big guys while working up to their size. You know this is going to be good early on when Gulak punches his way out of a facepalming collar and elbow, throwing big fists at T-Bar's eye. Their standing headlocks looked hard, with Gulak throwing right hands to T-Bar's ribs to break one of them and leaping right in with his own. Drew Gulak is out here throwing clotheslines like he's the size of Sheamus, and he blasts T-Bar with a stiff arm that somehow gets fully absorbed, and Gulak gets flattened by a comebacker. Every strike was thrown with intent and none were flashy, it was just cool attacks like Gulak running and kicking T-Bar in the chest on the apron or sneaking in an elbow smash. Gulak throws an Ikeda-level diving clothesline off the top, rearing back his arm to make even more impact and frankly, it kicked a lot of ass. Top rope diving clotheslines are really tough to make look good, as anyone throwing one has to be more concerned with their own landing than with what their arm is doing, but Gulak here cracked the code. The finish is wild, with Gulak shoving T-Bar off the top and the big man flipping backward to land on his feet, then Gulak flies chin first into T-Bar's boot. Gulak's chin gets a second introduction to T-Bar's knee a moment later after a Go 2 Sleep that's called an Eyes Wide Shut for reasons that nobody is ever going to look into. 

2021 MOTY MASTER LIST

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE DREW GULAK