Philadelphia, Pa. — Success stories don’t always happen instantly. For some, it takes longer to achieve the dream they are seeking to make a reality. That couldn’t ring more true for those looking to make it to the top of the mountain in WWE. Not everyone is a natural like Kurt Angle.
You could put Trick Williams into the category of the thousands who had to grind and put in the hard work as he headlines WWE NXT’s marquee event, NXT Stand & Deliver, on Saturday against former best friend and running mate Carmelo Hayes.
The 29-year-old Williams debuted in NXT in September 2021 alongside Hayes as part of Trick Melo Gang, though Hayes was a more developed and more relatable character than his counterpart. It felt like Williams was the Diesel to Hayes’ Shawn Michaels.
But then, little by little, one could see Williams improving in the ring and his promos getting better, and the crowd took notice. Williams took off quicker than a firecracker and is undoubtedly the biggest star on the NXT brand, to the point where his popular “Whoop That Trick” catchphrase was said loudly during a recent promo by The Rock.
“I think just consistency, hard work, opportunity,” Williams told Wrestling Junkie in explaining this newfound phenomenon. “Shoutout to Shawn Michaels. When hard work meets preparation and opportunity, explosive things can happen. I think that’s what happened to me, and having great opponents like IIja Dragunov, Dijak, Josh Briggs and Bron Breakker put me on a platform and let the people see I can do this at a very high level.
“My first match with IIja Dragunov at Heatwave (August 2023) is where it all started clicking for me. I remember just being in a fight for 15 minutes. It was just literally a fight. I wasn’t thinking too much out there, not worrying about anything. The people could feel it and got behind. Even in a loss, they knew this is who I am, and this is who I can be.”
Typically at WWE main roster and NXT premium live events, the main event is a title match. Not at Stand & Deliver, where the Williams vs. Hayes grudge match takes the headlining position after the latter turned on the former at NXT Vengeance Day in February.
Now, the two biggest stars on the black and gold brand will duke it out for the ultimate supremacy. Being in this spot is something Williams always envisioned with Hayes, but not under this circumstance of having to stand across the ring from him.
“Honestly, this was the goal,” Williams admitted. “This is what Melo and I set out to do a long time ago. We said, ‘We are main eventers.’
“[Now], I’m a main eventer. I guess we knew at the time either one of us was lying, or it was going to come down to this. So it’s good to see we are both getting what we want out of this. It sucks that this is how we had to get here.”
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