Drake Younger Apologises For Past Actions Following GCW Return

Drake Younger - real name Drake Wuertz - apologised for his past actions at night two of GCW Homecoming on Sunday night.

Younger made a surprise return to Game Changer Wrestling on Saturday and was involved in the main event, stopping Max Recon from counting the winning pinfall for Atticus Cogar during his GCW World Championship defence against Joseph Sawyer (FKA Joe Gacy). Sawyer then defeated Cogar to win the GCW World Title.

On night two of GCW Homecoming, Younger unsuccessfully challenged Otis Cogar for the GCW Ultraviolent Championship. After the match, following an at-best mixed reception to his return to GCW, Younger apologised for his past actions and associations.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat around it. I'm not going to pretend like it doesn't exist. I accept and appreciate, for lack of a better term, that there are a number of people, possibly in the building, definitely out there, definitely back there, that might not be too thrilled about my presence in GCW. You know what? Listen, it's incredibly valid to feel that way, but I ask you to hear me out for just a few minutes, please," Younger began.

"About five-six years ago, Joey Janela was hitting me up, Brett Lauderdale hit me up, just casual friends keeping in contact. Somehow, at some point, I lost my way. I had people like Joey, like Brett, reach out to me and say, 'Hey, you're not the guy that I know. That's not the Drake that I know the sh*t that you’re saying. That's not the loving Drake that everybody was so happy about when he signed a contract. That's not our guy.' I brushed it off, I didn't listen. I had tunnel vision stuck in my own bubble associating with topics and groups, loosely or directly, that I had no business or no interest affiliating with. Through that I may have said some things, and I definitely did some things, that I'm sure offended a large portion of our audience here in Game Changer Wrestling and in independent wrestling. And for that, listen, look me in my eye, I want to tell you genuinely, for that I'm sorry and I hope you forgive me."

Drake Younger was previously a part of WWE as an NXT referee from 2014 until his release in May 2021, with Younger's release coming after he brought "nuclear heat" on himself from 2020 due to his beliefs.

Those beliefs included opposition to vaccinations and the wearing of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, with WWE warning Wuertz about not wearing a face covering or being vaccinated. Wuertz also loudly criticised wrestlers within NXT for getting vaccinations and the flu jab, and wrestlers were said to have felt unsafe and uncomfortable around Wuertz.

Wuertz even missed a May 2021 episode of NXT to attend a Seminole County Public Schools board meeting and argue against children wearing face masks. During a speech at the meeting, Wuertz cited the conspiracy theory prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic that "masks play into the hands of the predators that want to prey upon our children." One month after his release, Wuertz spoke at another board meeting and threatened legal action if children were pressured by schools to be vaccinated.

WWE wrestlers also reportedly believed that Drake Wuertz was racist and minorities within the company took exception to how Wuertz worded things, which at one point resulted in a confrontation with EJ Nduka. Another incident following NXT TakeOver: In Your House 2020 saw Triple H give a speech about the George Floyd protests, during which Paul Levesque noted that all people, regardless of their race, gender, or religion, were welcome in WWE. When religion was mentioned, Wuertz's attitude allegedly switched instantly and he "aggressively gathered his belongings and left."

It was also reported by VICE that Drake Wuertz used a WWE email account to help with fundraising for the QAnon-adjacent Operation Underground Railroad organisation. In 2022, Drake Wuertz ran unsuccessfully for the Florida House of Representatives, during which he publicly disavowed QAnon.

One month after his WWE release, Drake Younger resumed his pro wrestling career and he has wrestled on the indies for the past five years for the likes of XPW, Big Japan, Battleground Championship Wrestling, and CZW. Younger was also a regular for Juggalo Championship Wrestling between March and December 2025 as "Mr 50's" Miles Clark, a dancing, 1950s wrestler covered in white face paint who smoked a cigarette on his way to the ring.

Sunday night wasn't the first time Drake Younger has apologised. He previously apologised for his past actions after a match with Joey Janela in JCW on August 1, 2025.

At that time, Younger said: "I'm here before you a changed man. I am clean, I am sober, I am focused, and I am mentally sharp. I want to say this. He mentioned some guys that I came up with, that he came up with, too many to count that aren’t with us anymore. We owe it to them to keep this going. I want to say this. To anybody in the past five years that I may have offended from the embarrassing actions that I took place in, for those that I misrepresented, I want to genuinely say I’m sorry."

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