Drake Wuertz (born September 10, 1984) is an American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

and professional wrestler. He was a referee in WWE from 2014 to 2021. Before that, he wrestled for a number of major independent promotions under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Drake Younger, including Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), IWA Mid-South (IWA MS), EVOLVE, Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA), Chikara, and

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Los Angeles, California. As of 2024, it is on an extended hiatus. It was created by pro wrestlers Disco Machine, Excalibur, Scott Lost, Joey Ryan, Super ...

(PWG). Known for his deathmatch wrestling style, he retired from professional wrestling in April 2014 but came out of retirement following his release from WWE in 2021. Wuertz filed as a Republican candidate for Florida's state house, district 30. Wuertz lost in the Republican primary in 2022.

Early life

Wuertz was born in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

on September 10, 1984.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2001–2006)

In 2006, Drake, along with fellow Indianapolis natives Scotty Vortekz, Cliff Crunk, xOMGx, Poon-Loc & Diehard joined the R.A.A.G.E. Dojo, training under American Kickboxer, after already debuting for Insanity Pro Wrestling in Indianapolis.

Insanity Pro Wrestling (20062009)

In March 2006, Drake returned to Insanity Pro Wrestling in a losing effort to "Diehard" Dustin Lee. In June 2006 Drake and Dustin Lee went at it once again but this time at IWA Mid-South's King of the Deathmatch tournament. He defeated Dustin Lee in the 1st round in a cage match, but lost in round 2 against JC Bailey in a barefoot thumbtack deathmatch. On January 5, 2008, Drake defeated Carlton Kaz for the IPW Grand Heavyweight Championship (which Younger made into the IPW World Heavyweight Championship, by defending the Grand Title in Germany), making him a two-time champion by also winning the Jr. Heavyweight Championship a few years back. On January 3, 2009, Younger lost his IPW World Heavyweight Championship to

Jon Moxley Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley and is the current AEW World Championship, AEW World Champion in his ...

at Animosity 09 in a Dog Collar Match.

Combat Zone Wrestling (2006–2014)

Drake debuted for Combat Zone Wrestling in July 2006 in the fifth annual Tournament of Death. Drake lasted to the finals but was eliminated by Nick Gage. The following year, he made it to the finals again and defeated Brain Damage to become the TOD 6 Champion. On July 12, 2008, Younger defeated Nick Gage in a "Tangled Web" Deathmatch for the CZW World Heavyweight Championship, making him a dual champion as he also held the CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship. On October 11, 2008, Younger gave his CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship to Danny Havoc at Decision'08. On January 30, 2010, Drake Younger would lose his CZW World Heavyweight Title belt to B-Boy at ''High Stakes 4 - Sky's The Limit''. On February 13, 2010, at the CZW ''11th Anniversary Show Fan Appreciation Deadly Doubleheader'' Younger would win the afternoon show defeating Drew Blood but would go on to losing at the night show to J.C. Bailey. On April 10, 2010, at ''Swinging For The Fences'', Drake Younger teamed with Eddie Kingston to win the CZW World Tag Team Champions by defeating The Best Around. On July 10, 2010, Younger and Kingston were stripped of the CZW World Tag Team Championship, after Kingston quit the company. On September 9, 2010, at CZW's "It's Always Bloody In Philadelphia" Drake Younger turned heel when he turned on the Suicide Kings and his friend Scotty Vortekz. On April 12, 2014, after signing with WWE, Younger made his farewell appearance for CZW, winning the Best of the Best XIII. He is the only competitor to ever win both the Best Of The Best Tournament and the Tournament Of Death.

Hall of Fame (2016)

On February 13, 2016, Younger returned to CZW and was inducted into their

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South (20072011)

In February 2007, Younger defeated Ian Rotten, Mad Man Pondo, 2 Tuff Tony, Mickie Knuckles and "Diehard" Dustin Lee in a Hardcore Rumble to become the new IWA Mid-South Deathmatch Champion. On December 1, 2007, Drake Younger competed in the third IWA Deep-South Carnage Cup where he wrestled a Three Way Deathmatch against Viking and WHACKS. In the match WHACKS dropped himself from the ceiling on Drake Younger who lay on a table with light tubes on top of him. The shattering of the light tubes caused a big tear in Drake's left ear due to which he could not finish the tournament. The injury caused him to wear ear protection for the next couple months. On September 27, 2008, Younger defeated

Sami Callihan Samuel Alton Johnston (born September 1, 1987), better known by the ring name Sami Callihan, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and promoter. He is signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestlin ...

and Claudio Castagnoli in the finals of the 2008 Ted Petty Invitational, to become the first wrestler to win both a technical wrestling and a deathmatch wrestling tournament. On September 17, 2011, Drake was crowned IWA Mid South's "King of the Deathmatches". He is the only competitor to ever win both the Ted Petty Invitational and King of the Deathmatches tournaments.

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (2012–2013)

Younger made his Pro Wrestling Guerrilla debut on July 21, 2012, at ''Threemendous III'', PWG's nine-year anniversary event. He wrestled and lost against long-time associate B-Boy. Younger returned to PWG in September to compete in his first Battle of Los Angeles tournament, the '' 2012 Battle of Los Angeles''. He was eliminated in the opening round by Roderick Strong on September 1. The next evening, Younger teamed with B-Boy and Willie Mack to defeat Kyle O'Reilly, Davey Richards, and Joey Ryan. On December 1 at ''Mystery Vortex'', Younger wrestled Sami Callihan in a losing effort. After the match, it was announced that Younger and Callihan would participate in a best of three match series to determine a number one contender for the PWG World Championship. At the '' 2013 Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament'', which took place on January 12, 2013, Younger fought Callihan in a non-tournament

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

or submission-only match. Younger won the bout by knockout, tying the score. On March 22, 2013, Younger defeated Callihan in the third match, a Guerrilla Warfare match, to win the series and become the number one contender to the PWG World Championship. He received his title shot the following day, but was defeated by the defending champion,

Adam Cole Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989), known by the ring name Adam Cole, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of The Paragon (professional wrestling), ...

. In late August, Younger made it to the semifinals of the 2013 Battle of Los Angeles, before losing to eventual tournament winner Kyle O'Reilly.

WWE (2013–2021)

On the August 16, 2013 episode of '' SmackDown'', Wuertz appeared in a segment as a backstage worker who was bullied and attacked by Ryback. In December 2013, Wuertz attended a tryout at the

WWE Performance Center WWE Performance Center (WWE PC) is a group of professional wrestling schools owned by American company WWE. They serve as tryout and training facilities for WWE, and also contain sports science and medical facilities as well as live events and ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. In March 2014, it was reported that he had signed a contract with WWE. By May 2014, Wuertz had completed his farewell match on the independent circuit, as well as acknowledged in an interview that he would be working for WWE. Later that month, it was reported that Wuertz had worked as a professional wrestling referee at a

house show A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...

for WWE's developmental system NXT. Wuertz made his television debut as a referee on the July 10, 2014 episode of '' NXT'', During his time in WWE, he was promoted to the position of head referee in NXT. On May 19, 2021, it was reported that Wuertz was released from his WWE contract. In the weeks leading up to his release, Wuertz became involved in a series of controversies (in regard to his actions and alleged political beliefs); he was shown to have attended a Zoom meeting of the Seminole County Board of County Commissioners where he made unsubstantiated arguments against mandating mask-wearing. Wuertz also attended a Seminole County Public Schools board meeting, where he argued that mask-wearing in schools assists child predators (in the process missing an NXT taping). Regarding his own views, Wuertz had written on his social media that: "If this is 'Radical' then label me an

extremist Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...

for

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

". According to ''Fightful'', in the year preceding his release, Wuertz had loudly criticized other wrestlers for receiving vaccinations, and he also stormed out of the 2020 NXT TakeOver: In Your House event after

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...

said that people of all religions were welcome in WWE. Also in 2020, Wuertz used his WWE corporate email to coordinate activities for QAnon-adjacent anti-child trafficking charity

Operation Underground Railroad Our Rescue (previously Operation Underground Railroad, abbreviated O.U.R., previously styled as "OUR Rescue") is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit United States–based anti–sex trafficking organization founded in 2013 by Tim Ballard. The or ...

Post-WWE (2021–present)

On May 18, 2023, Wuertz announced his retirement from wrestling. However, he returned on October 15, 2023 for the Circle 6 promotion, defeating Dale Patricks in a deathmatch.

Championships and accomplishments

*Anarchy Championship Wrestling **ACW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ian Rotten *Absolute Intense Wrestling **AIW Absolute Championship (1 time) * All Pro Wrestling ** APW Worldwide Internet Championship (1 time) *Battleground Championship Wrestling **Philadelphia Street Fight Championship (1 time, current, inaugural) *Coliseum Championship Wrestling **CCW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with JC Bailey (1) and Diehard Dustin Lee (1) * Combat Zone Wrestling ** CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship ( 2 times) ** Tournament of Death ( VI) ** CZW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **

CZW World Tag Team Championship The CZW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team Championship (professional wrestling), championship owned and copyrighted by the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) professional wrestling promoti ...

( 1 time) – with Eddie Kingston ** CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** CZW Best of the Best (

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

) ** Third Triple Crown Champion ** CZW Hall of Fame (Class of 2016) *Full Throttle Wrestling **FTW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Diehard Dustin Lee * IWA Mid-South ** IWA Mid-South Deathmatch Championship ( 1 time) ** IWA Mid-South King of the Deathmatch (

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

) ** Ted Petty Invitational (

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

) *Insanity Pro Wrestling **IPW Grand Championship (1 time) **IPW Jr. Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **IPW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Mad Pro Wrestling **MPW Heavyweight Championship (2 times) *Pro Wrestling Bushido **Pro Wrestling Bushido TV Championship (1 time) *

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

**PWI ranked him #146 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2013 *Ruthless Pro Wrestling **RPW Rust Belt (1 time, current) *Supreme Pro Wrestling **SPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Xtreme Pro Wrestling **XPW King Of The Deathmatch Tournament (2023)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wuertz, Drake 1984 births Living people 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Florida Republicans People from Indianapolis Professional wrestlers from Indiana American professional wrestling referees Sportspeople from Indianapolis CZW World Heavyweight Champions CZW Ultraviolent Underground Champions CZW Tournament of Death winners CZW World Tag Team Champions