Gulak's Been Holding On Too Long, That He Hardly Knows the Score

Drew Gulak/Tony Nese vs. Gran Metalik/Lince Dorado WWE Main Event 9/29/17 - GREAT

ER: This was mostly a showcase for the luchadors, but it was a really good showcase for them. Nese and Gulak had enough cut off spots to keep it fresh, and they were both great at making the lucha spots shine. Gulak really doesn't get involved at all until halfway through, but it doesn't actually matter because the Nese performance is strong. When you go back and watch them 3-4 years ago, it's pretty startling how much better some of Metalik and Dorado's offense looked. It's a lot tighter and the flow is much smoother. 2021 Metalik feels a step slower than 2017 Metalik, but they're on fire here. Dorado hits a great moonsault press and flies off the apron later to cut off Gulak with a Thesz press. Nese catches Dorado on a big springboard crossbody, and eats it when Metalik hits a springboard kick to send the crossbody through. Nese really nails Metalik with a back elbow to cut off a dive, and Metalik's flipping bump felt really natural. 

Gulak and Nese are good at setting the luchadors up, and Gulak/Dorado pull off a Dorado Lethal Injection that actually looks good! Gulak is great at naturally getting into position for a stupid springboard cutter, and Dorado's cutter was so quick that I actually didn't see it coming. When Jay Lethal does it it takes an eternity and his opponent is frozen there waiting for a Fatality. The finish looks crazy, perhaps by complete accident. Dorado goes for a shooting star press but doesn't rotate, luckily doesn't land on his head, and instead crushes Nese with a kamikaze senton. Since he looked like he was flinging himself hard backward to complete the flip, that just means he flung himself out over Nese. Happy accident, Dorado pulling off a better senton than Dick Togo. 

Drew Gulak vs. Ricochet WWE Main Event 6/17/21 - GREAT

ER: This didn't have the same organic build and offbeat timing that their awesome match earlier this year had, and the shifts in momentum didn't come off as smoothly as they did in that first match, but this was still a really cool match between two of the current best. Gulak might be the best in WWE at working control segments right now, as he always comes up with new things to use against specific opponents. With no Kassius Ohno on the roster, Gulak is the main person here who can craft a match around his specific opponent without running the same act each time. He dominated and slowed down Ricochet in completely different ways than he did six months ago. There's a cool long double knucklelock to open that ends with Ricochet trying to break off the ropes but Gulak twisting him into a straitjacket. Ricochet hits a crazy high dropkick that shotguns Gulak off his feet, and we get a killer run of Gulak taking that dropkick out on Ricochet's hide. Gulak hits a 1.2 level Finlay bodyslam that sends Ricochet's achilles off the top rope and the back of his head bouncing off the mat. He punches a hole in his chest with an axe handle, aims a back elbow at Ricochet's orbital bone, throws him across the ring with a Steiner level gutwrench suplex, and debuts these sick IZU falling shoulderblocks to jam Ricochet's shoulder. 

Ricochet's comeback felt like much more of a WWE Superstar Moment than something that really fit into the match they had been having. It felt way more theatrical than the snug back and forth they had started with and had built into a punishing heel beatdown from Gulak. Ricochet's comeback flips and kick combos looked tighter than most indy versions of that style, but I like Ricochet so much more when he surprises with less rehearsed looking stuff. But, again, Ricochet's combos look sharp and Gulak is aces at keeping pace for all of it. The concept of the finish was cool, with Ricochet going after one of Gulak's limbs and playing the ass kicker's game, and winds up tapping Gulak with a top wristlock. I really dug the cranked in top wristlock finish, but also would have liked it hinted at or established a bit more. The match got nearly 10 minutes, but it didn't feel like Gulak should have been at the disadvantage he was at when they got to the finish. A couple more minutes could have lead to a couple cool twists before getting that surprise tap. No matter, I love watching these two move inside a wrestling ring, and my complaints are only because of the high standards both have set. 

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE DREW GULAK