Drake Younger Drake Wuertz ( September 10 , 1984 ) is an American retired professional wrestler . He is currently a referee , signed to WWE , on their developmental territory NXT , under his real name . He has worked for a number of major independent promotions under the ring name Drake Younger , including Combat Zone Wrestling , IWA Mid - South , EVOLVE , Dragon Gate USA , Chikara , and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla ( PWG ) . He is known for his deathmatch wrestling style . Professional wrestling career . Early career ( 2003 – 2006 ) . Drake became a fan of wrestling at an early age , attending WrestleMania VIII and became a fan of Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart , before discovering wrestlers such as Sabu and Cactus Jack , both of whom would become major influences . Drake tried his hand at wrestling joining Crazy Ass Wrestling , a backyard wrestling group run by Diehard Dustin Lee . A few years later , Drake , along with fellow Indianapolis natives Scotty Vortekz , Cliff Crunk , xOMGx , & Diehard joined the R . A . A . G . E . Dojo , training under American Kickboxer , after already debuting for Insanity Pro Wrestling in Indianapolis . In 2002 , Drake disappeared from wrestling for over a year citing personal issues . During this hiatus , Drake was in a car accident which gave him the gash on his shoulder . Insanity Pro Wrestling ( 2006 - 2009 ) . In March 2006 , Drake returned to Insanity Pro Wrestling in a losing effort " 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 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 September 27 , 2008 , Younger defeated Sami Callihan 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 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 . Independent Wrestling Association Mid - South ( 2007 - 2011 ) . 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 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 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 . 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 ; 2014 - present ) . 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 in Orlando , Florida . 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 for WWE ' s developmental system NXT . Wuertz made his television debut as a referee on the July 10 , 2014 episode of " NXT " , and continues to referee on " NXT " , normally refereeing the main events for their TV tapings and TakeOvers .