During a recent appearance on the “Fireside Chat” podcast, former WWE NXT referee Drake Wuertz commented on his release from WWE, not being surprised by it, and more.
As we’ve been reporting, Wuertz had a ton of heat on him backstage for various reasons. At one point, he skipped a NXT TV taping to argue against masks in schools at a school board meeting. There were also other issues with his attitude backstage and many people not liking him. Wuertz was suspended earlier this year for refusing to go into quarantine.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On his WWE release: “I was expecting it. My heart had not been in it for the past six months. It got to the point where I didn’t feel right about the atmosphere and I was just coming to work for the paycheck. When it gets to that point, it’s time to step away. I went into work to go to Terry Taylor’s class and was called into the office. Canyon Ceman let me know I was being let go. It wasn’t surprising. They let me go say goodbye to the coaches I was closest with, Terry Taylor and Matt Bloom. It was bittersweet because I spent more time there than I did my own family. It wasn’t my performance. My performance never wavered and the trust in the ring never wavered. I was frequently requested by top talent.”
On when he started to feel that people in WWE were looking at him differently: “November, right around the election. It all started with woke cancel culture that just wants to attack people because they have views they don’t agree with. It started specifically with me and WWE was when David Bixenspan started attacking me. That’s when the ball got rolling.”
On his suspension earlier in the year: “A month before WrestleMania, I get a call from my department head, Scott Armstrong, who says, ‘Somebody tested positive at work, we’re asking everyone to quarantine.’ I called him back and was like, ‘I have stuff to do. I’m not sick. I tested negative. I haven’t been around anyone.’ I told him I had church, the Walk For Life, and I coach my son’s baseball team. Those responsibilities were more important to me than pleasing WWE. I told him, ‘No, I’m not staying home.’ I got a call saying, ‘You’re off TV for two weeks, you violated quarantine.’ ‘For going to church?’ They refused to answer.”
On testing positive for COVID-19: “Of course I believe in COVID. My grandparents have both had it. I caught it for a little bit. A whole chunk of the roster caught it. I didn’t have any symptoms, the only reason I knew I had it is because they stick the stick up our nose two times a week.”
On his future in wrestling: “I wouldn’t say that my time in wrestling business is done, but the days of that being my entire existence is behind me.”
