NXT Advent Calendar Day 8: Dean Ambrose in a brutal battle with... an NXT referee?

Before Dean Ambrose came to NXT and joined The Shield, he was Jon Moxley, wild child of EVOLVE and Combat Zone Wrestling. His run at the top of CZW brought him into conflict with one of the longest running stars in CZW history, the legendary hardcore warrior Drake Younger. Younger had switched to a more technical style by the time this match took place in 2010, but that didn't stop both men from brutalizing one another.

Image credit: Wikipedia.

Of course, just as Dean broke up with his Shield brethren on WWE's main roster, Drake signed his own WWE contract. But the accomplished world-traveled independent star signed with WWE not as a wrestler, but as a referee. Since that time, Drake Wuertz has been a staple of the NXT referee pool and proven he's every bit as good in his new role as his old one. While he may never be the star of a Wrestlemania main event, he now has a chance to stand in that ring as he calls it right down the middle.

Unless of course, it involves Dean Ambrose. Then, who knows what will happen.

Tim Donst in documentary form

At the beginning of the year, it seemed for awhile that independent wrestler Tim Donst might be at the end of his career. With cancer issues, he was facing a far greater battle than just a match.

The Chikara alum survived his fight though and made his return to wrestling over the summer. He also released a documentary about his experience that I think everyone should watch.


His current home promotion of Absolute Intense Wrestling put a lot of effort into helping the video become possible. Donst continues to work at AIW as well as CZW and various other indies. Follow him on Twitter for more or head over to Smartmark Video and check him out in tons of great shows.