Drew Gulak was released from the WWE on Saturday, just one day after putting on a grade-A and thrilling match against Daniel Bryan on SmackDown Live.

At first, several observers noticed that Gulak's profile had been moved to WWE.com's alumni section. Soon after, reports confirmed

News of Gulak's release came as a major surprise. He and Bryan formed excellent on-screen chemistry together, and Gulak appeared to be in line for a nice push. So how did it all come to this?

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Andrew Ravens of WrestlingNews.co), WWE attempted to sign Gulak to a new contract, and he was looking for a raise.

The company refused to grant Gulak more money, however, and they went back on the contract offer. Meltzer added that WWE isn't handing out more money to superstars during the current circumstaces. In the end, the two sides couldn't come to an agreement, and the decision was made to release him.

Fortunately for Gulak, he is eligible to sign with another promotion now, as he doesn't carry a 90-day no-compete clause contract.

RELATED: Drew Gulak Parts Ways With WWE, No Longer Under Contract

WWE began a long series of budget cuts last month, releasing dozens of superstars and multiple producers (including Hall of Famer and retired superstar Kurt Angle), writers, on-air personalities as well as veteran referee Mike Chioda.

Gulak's release is especially surprising for a number of reasons. The company was obviously keen on keeping him around, and money isn't usually an issue with Vince McMahon. Suddenly moving on from Gulak during a rather successful storyline with Bryan was certainly a curious call on WWE's end.

Not A Wise Long-Term Decision By WWE

Over the past year or so, Vince has happily given his talents long-term deals - even to superstars he rarely uses on television. He has suddenly decided to release a bundle of them, and if they wind up finding greater success in rival promotions, Vince will come back to regret these decisions.

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