Report: NXT Wrestlers Felt Uncomfortable & Unsafe Around Drake Wuertz Before WWE Release
New details on Drake Wuertz, his "nuclear heat" in WWE, and how he almost got into a fist fight.
Referee Drake Wuertz was one of eight NXT talents released from WWE yesterday, having long stood as one of the most controversial figures in the company for his seemingly steadfast loyalty to the long-discredited QAnon conspiracy theory (and other arcane behaviours).
Fightful Select released a report on the matter within hours of Wuertz's formal departure. Key to it is that at least 10 wrestlers informed the outlet that they didn't feel safe or comfortable around NXT's former head referee, which was also reported by Spectrum Sports' Jon Alba.
Fightful's writeup notes that a number of people at the Performance Center stated that for close to a year, Wuertz had "nuclear heat brought on by himself." WWE had previously warned him for showing up for events without wearing a mask and not getting vaccinated.
Wuertz had reportedly emerged as something of a political player, trying to work his way up the WWE ladder, content to "put heat on others" in order to do so. Considering Wuertz was demoted, passed over for other positions, and effectively banished from the Performance Center for a period of time earlier this year, this can't have worked out for him.
Per Fightful, Drake's behaviour also drew the ire of minorities around him, with one incident involving Ezra Judge almost getting physical. The report notes that people of colour had gone to NXT management about incidents like this in the past.
Finally, last year's TakeOver: In Your House event saw Wuertz pack his bags and leave during a Triple H speech in which the NXT chief said that all people, races, genders, and religions were welcome in NXT. Mentioning "religions" reportedly triggered the "aggressive" walkout.
According to PWInsider's Mike Johnson, Wuertz is already reaching out to promoters to let them know he's a free agent.
April saw Wuertz call into a Seminole County Board of County Commissioners meeting to spread QAnon and adjacent theories, doing so while clad in an NXT shirt and backstage at the Capitol Wrestling Center:-
If you were at the WWE PC this evening and wondered why Drake Wuertz looked like he had been crying, that's because he Zoomed into a Seminole County Board of County Commissioners meeting about mask mandates to spread the "child sex traffickers love COVID masks" conspiracy theory. pic.twitter.com/gaIXFXa9QQ
— MDavidbixenspanK ALL !*$% DAY (@davidbix) April 28, 2021
More on this situation as it develops.