Cory R. Carey (born August 21, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tommy Drake. He is best known for his appearances with

Pro Wrestling Noah (stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left the ...

in Japan and various

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

promotions in the United States. Drake wrestled dark matches for

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

, and made regular appearances on

Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show fe ...

and

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

Career

Carey grew up in rural Iowa, and began wrestling at age 5. Carey attended Canby High School in Oregon, graduating in 1997 at age seventeen. Working odd jobs after high school, Carey moved to

Hayward, California Hayward () is a city located in Alameda County, California in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda Coun ...

, at the request of Ed "Moondog" Moretti, and attended the

All Pro Wrestling All Pro Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion and training school, based in Hayward, California. The company was founded by Roland Alexander and managed by him until his death on November 5, 2013. It is located 45 miles so ...

(APW) Boot Camp. There he was trained by

Michael Modest Michael K. Cariglio (born July 19, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his stage name, Michael Modest (sometimes shortened to Mike Modest). Modest ran the promotion Pro Wrestling IRON with tag partner Donovan Morgan and Fr ...

Donovan Morgan Andrew Vassos (born January 10, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Donovan Morgan. Best known for his near five-year run as a Pro Wrestling NOAH mainstay in Japan and Ring of Honor in the United States, M ...

, and Ric Thompson. He debuted in APW on December 12, 2000 in

Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California and the second largest city in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the city had a population of 126,090 at the 2020 census. Vallejo is home to the ...

as Tommy Blaze, scoring a victory over Kid Chrome. Soon after his debut Drake began feuding with various APW wrestlers. In 2000, Drake and

began the training of

The Great Khali Dalip Singh Rana (born 27 August 1972) is an Indian professional wrestler and wrestling promoter better known by his ring name The Great Khali. He is best known for his tenure in WWE where he became the first Indian-born WWE World Heavywe ...

. Khali lived with Drake in a small apartment in Hayward, until Khali left for Japan and eventually the

(WWE). After a falling out with APW, Drake jumped ship to Pro Wrestling Iron, started by Morgan and

Mike Modest Michael K. Cariglio (born July 19, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his stage name, Michael Modest (sometimes shortened to Mike Modest). Modest ran the promotion Pro Wrestling IRON with tag partner Donovan Morgan and F ...

. Drake became an assistant trainer, and would train PWI's students when not in Japan. In 2001 he helped further the training of '' Tough Enough'' winner John Morrison, who went on to become the ECW Champion. Drake's first tour of Japan came in 2001. Drake tag teamed with Scorpio and

Bison Smith Mark Smith (September 24, 1973 – November 22, 2011) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Bison Smith. He's best known for his appearances with Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan; and World Wrestling Council and Int ...

, and faced such opponents as

Jun Akiyama is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he is a former KO-D Openweight Champion. He is best known for his time working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he was the president, representative director, co-he ...

Mitsuharu Misawa was a Japanese amateur and professional wrestler and promoter. He is primarily known for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and also for forming the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion in 2000. In the early 1990s, Misawa gained fame alongside ...

Kenta Kobashi is a Japanese former professional wrestler. He started his career in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1988, where he became one of the promotion's top stars, holding the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship three times, and winning the Champ ...

, and

Yoshihiro Takayama is a former Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Debuting for UWF International (UWFI) in the 1990s, Takayama joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1997 after UWF-i folded. In 2000, he joined Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), and ...

. Drake wrestled his last match for WWE on March 27, 2003 in San Jose. He faced

Sean O'Haire Sean Christopher Haire (February 25, 1971 – September 8, 2014) was an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and kickboxer, better known by his ring name Sean O'Haire. Haire was best known for his appearances with the professio ...

. Drake was upset with O'Haire after dropping him on his head twice during the match. Drake felt that the companies in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

were about hiring wrestlers with great looks but lacking talent. Drake did not work for WWE any further. Pro Wrestling Iron, held its first show on May 31, 2002 in

Ukiah, California Ukiah ( ; Pomo: ''Yokaya'', meaning "deep valley") is the county seat and largest city of Mendocino County, California, with a population of 16,607 at the 2020 census. With its accessible location along the U.S. Route 101 corridor, Ukiah serves ...

. PWI negotiated a talent swap agreement with Noah that saw Japanese wrestlers such as Mitsuharu Misawa,

Naoya Ogawa (born 31 March 1968) is a Japanese Olympic and world champion judoka, retired professional wrestler, and mixed martial artist. He won a total of seven medals at the All-Japan Judo Championships (second only behind Yasuhiro Yamashita), and set a r ...

, and

Takao Omori is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a one-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and seven-time World Tag Team Champion. He is also part of the All Japan Board of Directors. He ...

appear on PWI shows. Drake teamed up with

to face Danny Dominion and

Ace Steel Christopher Guy (born January 25, 1973) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ace Steel. He is perhaps best known for his time with Ring of Honor and occasional appearances for World Wrestling Entertainment, as well ...

. Drake and Bison scored a victory, with the match lasting for 50 minutes.

Current Independent & Other Work

In 2003 Drake moved to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, and began wrestling for

Impact Zone Wrestling Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Impac ...

. Drake wrestles for IZW and AZWO in Arizona from time to time, but has yet to make a full comeback. Drake was the main event in 2006 when he faced

TNA Impact ''Impact!'' (stylized as ''IMPACT!''), also known as ''IMPACT! on AXS TV'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American promotion Impact Wrestling (formerly known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)) th ...

star

Relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

at Wild West Championship Wrestling's inaugural show. The show was held at a boxing sport arena in Phoenix, Arizona. In October 2007 Drake starred in the reality show

Casting Call In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra (acting), extra for a particular role or part in a scr ...

, filming for Big Sky Motion Pictures in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. The show was set to air in conjunction with writer/director

Mars Callahan Mars Callahan (born as Gregory Mars Martin, December 1, 1971) is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is perhaps best known for the film ''Poolhall Junkies'' where he served as director, actor and screenwriter. Career A ...

's movie, Spring Break '83. Drake joined the CWFA in 2010 and is the current World Champion. Drake won the championship in September 2013, beating The Hawaiian Lion, Graves, and Alexander Hammerstone in a fatal 4 way match.

Championships and accomplishments

**APW Internet Championship (1 times) **APW Universal Championship (1 times) *Cauliflower Alley Club **CAC Future Legend Award Runner Up (2003) *Midwest Championship Wrestling **MCW T3 Tournament Finalist (1 time)- with Vinnie Massaro *Pro Wrestling Iron **PWI Tag Team Championship (1 time) *Arizona Wrestling Order **AZWO Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Championship Wrestling from Arizona **CWFA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Future Stars of Wrestling **FSW Heavyweight Championship (2 time)

References

1
"Tommy Drake"
ImpactZoneWrestling.com Superstars Page. Retrieved on September 26, 2008 2
"Tommy Drake"
Hot August Fights. Retrieved on September 26, 2008 3

UlitimateProwrestling.com Retrieved on September 26, 2008 4

WormwoodChronicles.com Retrieved on September 26, 2008 5
"Tommy Drake"
WrestlingObserver.com Retrieved on September 26, 2008 6

InTheRotation.com Retrieved on September 26, 2008 7
"Tommy Drake"
ProWrestlingFans.com Retrieved on September 26, 2008 8

Bigskymotionpictures.com Retrieved on September 24, 2008 9

OnlineWorldOfWrestling.com Retrieved on September 27, 2008 10
"Tommy Drake"
1wrestling.com Retrieved on September 27, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Tommy Living people 1979 births American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Iowa Sportspeople from Hayward, California Professional wrestlers from California