Cory R. Carey (born August 21, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tommy Drake. He is best known for his appearances with Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan and various

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

promotions in the United States. Drake wrestled dark matches for

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

, and made regular appearances on

Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show features character ...

and

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...

Career

Carey grew up in rural Iowa, and began wrestling at age 5. Carey attended Canby High School in Oregon, graduating in 1997 at age seventeen. Working odd jobs after high school, Carey moved to

Hayward, California Hayward is a city located in Alameda County, California, United States, in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area, and the third largest in ...

, at the request of Ed "Moondog" Moretti, and attended the

All Pro Wrestling All Pro Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion and training school, based in Hayward, California. The company was founded by Roland Alexander and managed by him until his death on November 5, 2013. It is located 45 miles so ...

(APW) Boot Camp. There he was trained by

Michael Modest Michael K. Cariglio (born July 19, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his stage name, Michael Modest (sometimes shortened to Mike Modest). Modest ran the promotion Pro Wrestling Iron with tag partner Donovan Morgan and F ...

, Donovan Morgan, and Ric Thompson. He debuted in APW on December 12, 2000 in

Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California, United States, and the second largest city in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the ci ...

as Tommy Blaze, scoring a victory over Kid Chrome. Soon after his debut Drake began feuding with various APW wrestlers. In 2000, Drake and Donovan Morgan began the training of

The Great Khali Dalip Singh Rana (born 27 August 1972), better known by his ring name The Great Khali, is an Indian-born American former Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, promoter, and actor. He is best known for his tenure with WWE, where he be ...

. Khali lived with Drake in a small apartment in Hayward, until Khali left for Japan and eventually the

(WWE). After a falling out with APW, Drake jumped ship to Pro Wrestling Iron, started by Morgan and Mike Modest. Drake became an assistant trainer, and would train PWI's students when not in Japan. In 2001 he helped further the training of '' Tough Enough'' winner John Morrison, who went on to become the ECW Champion. Drake's first tour of Japan came in 2001. Drake tag teamed with Scorpio and

Bison Smith Mark Thomas Smith (September 24, 1970 – November 22, 2011) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Bison Smith. He was best known for his appearances with Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan; and World Wrestling Council ...

, and faced such opponents as

Jun Akiyama (born October 9, 1969) is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he is a former KO-D Openweight Champion. He is best known for his time working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he was the president, rep ...

Mitsuharu Misawa was a Japanese professional wrestler and promoter. He is primarily known for spending 18 years with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and subsequently leading the 2000 All Japan Pro Wrestling mass exodus, which culminated in him forming Pro W ...

Kenta Kobashi (born, March 27, 1967) is a Japanese professional wrestling promoter and retired wrestler. Broadly referred to by the nickname , he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. He is best known for his two run ...

, and

Yoshihiro Takayama is a Japanese former professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Debuting for UWF International (UWFI) in the 1990s, Takayama joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1997 after UWF-i folded. In 2000, he joined Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), an ...

. Drake wrestled his last match for WWE on March 27, 2003 in San Jose. He faced

Sean O'Haire Sean Christopher Haire (February 25, 1971 – September 8, 2014) was an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and kickboxer, better known by his ring name Sean O'Haire. Haire was best known for his appearances with the profess ...

. Drake was upset with O'Haire after dropping him on his head twice during the match. Drake felt that the companies in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

were about hiring wrestlers with great looks but lacking talent. Drake did not work for WWE any further. Pro Wrestling Iron, held its first show on May 31, 2002 in

Ukiah, California Ukiah ( ; Pomo: ''Yokáya'', meaning "deep valley" or "south valley") is the county seat and largest city of Mendocino County, California, Mendocino County, in the North Coast (California), North Coast region of California. Ukiah had a populati ...

. PWI negotiated a talent swap agreement with Noah that saw Japanese wrestlers such as Mitsuharu Misawa,

Naoya Ogawa (born 31 March 1968) is a Japanese world champion judoka, retired professional wrestler, and mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He won a total of seven medals at the All-Japan Judo Championships (second only behind Yasuhiro Yamashita), an ...

, and

Takao Omori is a Japanese professional wrestling, professional wrestler, working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a one-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and seven-time World Tag Team Championship ( ...

appear on PWI shows. Drake teamed up with

to face Danny Dominion and

Ace Steel Christopher Guy (born January 25, 1973) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ace Steel. , he is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a Producer (wrestling), producer. He is perhaps be ...

. Drake and Bison scored a victory, with the match lasting for 50 minutes.

Current Independent & Other Work

In 2003 Drake moved to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, and began wrestling for Impact Zone Wrestling. Drake wrestles for IZW and AZWO in Arizona from time to time, but has yet to make a full comeback. Drake was the main event in 2006 when he faced

TNA Impact ''TNA Impact!'' (stylized as ''TNA iMPACT!'') is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) that debuted on June 4, 2004. It also features wrestlers from WWE's N ...

star

Relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

at Wild West Championship Wrestling's inaugural show. The show was held at a boxing sport arena in Phoenix, Arizona. In October 2007 Drake starred in the reality show

Casting Call In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra to land the role of a character in a script, screenpla ...

, filming for Big Sky Motion Pictures in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. The show was set to air in conjunction with writer/director

Mars Callahan Mars Callahan (born as Gregory Mars Martin, April 14, 1971) is an American actor, film director, producer, and writer. He is perhaps best known for the film ''Poolhall Junkies'' where he served as director, actor and screenwriter. Career At ...

's movie, Spring Break '83. Drake joined the CWFA in 2010 and is the current World Champion. Drake won the championship in September 2013, beating The Hawaiian Lion, Graves, and Alexander Hammerstone in a fatal 4 way match.

Championships and accomplishments

**APW Internet Championship (1 times) **APW Universal Championship (1 times) *Cauliflower Alley Club **CAC Future Legend Award Runner Up (2003) *Midwest Championship Wrestling **MCW T3 Tournament Finalist (1 time)- with Vinnie Massaro *Pro Wrestling Iron **PWI Tag Team Championship (1 time) *Arizona Wrestling Order **AZWO Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Championship Wrestling from Arizona **CWFA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Future Stars of Wrestling **FSW Heavyweight Championship (2 time)

References

1
"Tommy Drake"
ImpactZoneWrestling.com Superstars Page. Retrieved on September 26, 2008 2
"Tommy Drake"
Hot August Fights. Retrieved on September 26, 2008 3

UlitimateProwrestling.com Retrieved on September 26, 2008 4

WormwoodChronicles.com Retrieved on September 26, 2008 5
"Tommy Drake"
WrestlingObserver.com Retrieved on September 26, 2008 6

InTheRotation.com Retrieved on September 26, 2008 7
"Tommy Drake"
ProWrestlingFans.com Retrieved on September 26, 2008 8

Bigskymotionpictures.com Retrieved on September 24, 2008 9

OnlineWorldOfWrestling.com Retrieved on September 27, 2008 10. . 1wrestling.com Retrieved on September 27, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Tommy Living people 1979 births American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Iowa Sportspeople from Hayward, California Professional wrestlers from California