NXT referee Drake Wuertz reportedly suspended for a period of time, details on heat

WWE NXT referee Drake Younger (Drake Wuertz) was reportedly suspended earlier this year and was not allowed into the Capitol Wrestling Center at the WWE Performance Center for a period of time.

Younger has found himself caught up in some controversies in recent months and now Fightful Select reports that he had his duties reduced at one point.

Younger previously worked as the head referee of NXT, but Darryl Sharma is now working that role. Younger was also considered for the job of timing NXT matches, but officials ended up offering the job to Scott Armstrong, who was briefly furloughed by the company. WWE Hall of Famer and Producer “Road Dogg” Brian James was said to be instrumental in getting his brother Scott back into the fold. Younger was also not offered the back-up timing position, which can and has also led to timing matches for WWE 205 Live. DA Brewer has taken over those duties instead.

The issues surrounding Younger continued into 2021 as he was either formally or informally suspended earlier this year, and was not allowed at the WWE Performance Center for better or for worse for a short period of time, according to the report.

An article referring to Younger as a problem for WWE was published in November 2020 and several WWE higher-ups were said to be “horrified” by what they read. This was compounded by a March incident where Younger and friends interrupted a County Commissioner’s meeting and tested how far county officials would be willing to go to enforce their mask mandate, accusing the county of being more concerned about protecting adults from COVID-19 while being unconcerned about protecting children from violence and trafficking.

When Drake was allowed to return to the WWE Performance Center, the report noted that he appeared to have subdued many mannerisms that got him “substantial heat” with co-workers in the first place.

It was also said that many in NXT are surprised Drake is still with the company, and are worried that his “radical beliefs” may have actually helped him from being fired.

Stay tuned for more.