Trick Williams | |
---|---|
Birth name | Matrick Mondre Belton [1] [2] |
Born | [1] Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. [1] | May 26, 1994
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Trick Williams [3] |
Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) [3] |
Billed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) [3] |
Billed from | Columbia, South Carolina [3] |
Trained by | Combat Zone Wrestling Academy [4] WWE Performance Center [5] |
Debut | October 5, 2021 [5] |
Matrick Mondre Belton (born May 26, 1994) is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Trick Williams and is the current NXT Champion in his second reign. He is also a one-time NXT North American Champion and the winner of the 2023 Men's Iron Survivor Challenge.
Belton played college football for the Hampton Pirates in 2013 before transferring to play for the South Carolina Gamecocks from 2014 to 2016. He caught 11 passes for 121 yards during his college career, all of which came in 2015. [6] He went undrafted in 2017 and spent time as an assistant coach and student-teacher intern at Airport High School in West Columbia, South Carolina in the fall of 2017. He then played in The Spring League in 2018 and attended the Philadelphia Eagles rookie minicamp on a tryout basis in May 2018. [7]
On February 24, 2021, Belton signed a developmental contract with WWE and was assigned to the WWE Performance Center and subsequently the NXT brand. [2] Later that year, he made his first appearance on the September 14 episode of NXT under the ring name Trick Williams as an ally of Carmelo Hayes, attacking Duke Hudson before his match, establishing himself as a heel and forming the Trick Melo Gang. [8] Williams made his in-ring debut on the October 5 episode of NXT, teaming with Hayes in a fatal four-way elimination tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship, which was won by MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee). [9] In 2022, Williams feuded with Lee, defeating him at NXT: The Great American Bash on July 5, but lost to him in a rounds match on the August 9 episode of NXT. [10] [11]
Williams and Hayes turned face on the April 4, 2023 episode of NXT after Bron Breakker turned heel by attacking them. [12] On the August 1 episode of NXT, Williams told Hayes that they needed to part ways so he could achieve his own accomplishments, amicably breaking up the Trick Melo Gang. [13] At NXT: Heatwave on August 22, Williams lost to Ilja Dragunov. [14] On the September 26 episode of NXT, Williams became the number one contender to the NXT North American Championship by defeating Axiom, Dragon Lee and Tyler Bate in a fatal four-way match. [15] Four days later at NXT No Mercy, Williams defeated "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio to win the title. [16] Two days later, Williams made his debut appearance on Raw as the new NXT North American Champion. [17] However, on the October 3 episode of NXT, Williams lost the title back to Mysterio after interference from Mysterio's Judgment Day stablemates, ending his reign at three days and marking it the shortest reign in the title's history. [18] Williams made his Main Event debut on the October 16 taping in a losing effort against Chad Gable. [19]
On the October 17 episode of NXT, Williams was slotted into the triple threat match between Hayes, Dijak and Baron Corbin to make it a fatal four-way match for a NXT Championship opportunity against Dragunov at NXT: Halloween Havoc, causing a rift between Williams and Hayes. Before the match started, Williams was found attacked backstage and taken to a hospital. Hayes then defeated Dijak and Corbin for the title opportunity. [20] At Night 2 of Halloween Havoc on October 31, Williams returned and cost Hayes the NXT Championship match. [21] On the November 14 episode of NXT, he defeated Joe Coffey to qualify for the Iron Survivor Challenge at NXT Deadline. [22] At the event on December 9, Williams won the men's Iron Survivor Challenge to earn an NXT Championship match against Dragunov at NXT: New Year's Evil on January 2, 2024. [23] At the event, it was announced that Dragunov was not medically cleared to wrestle. Instead, Hayes put Williams in a match against Grayson Waller with his Iron Survivor Challenge title match on the line, which he won after interference from Kevin Owens. [24] On the January 16 episode of NXT, Dragunov returned from injury and informed Williams that their title match would take place at NXT Vengeance Day. At the same time, Williams and Hayes defeated Edris Enofé and Malik Blade in the first round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. [25] Williams made his SmackDown appearance debut on January 26, saving Hayes from a beatdown by A-Town Down Under (Waller and Austin Theory). [26] On the January 30 episode of NXT, Williams and Hayes defeated Latino World Order's Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro to advance to the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. [27]
At NXT Vengeance Day on February 4, Williams and Hayes lost to Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker in the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Later that night, Williams failed to win the NXT Championship from Dragunov. After the match, Hayes attacked Williams with a steel chair, ending their partnership. [28] On the following episode of NXT, Hayes revealed that he was the one who attacked Williams back in October 2023. [29] At NXT: Roadblock on March 5, Williams' entrance music was used by Tony D'Angelo to distract Hayes during their match to determine the #1 contender for the NXT Championship at NXT Stand & Deliver. After D'Angelo defeated Hayes, Williams made his return and attacked Hayes. [30] The following week on NXT, Williams challenged Hayes to a match at NXT Stand & Deliver on April 6, which Williams won. [31] [32] [33] Prior to the event, Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels announced that the match would be the main event, making Hayes and Williams the first two black men to main event NXT Stand & Deliver and a NXT premium live event, and the first two black men to main event a WWE premium live event since The Rock and Booker T at SummerSlam in 2001. [34] [35] On the following episode of NXT, Williams called out Dragunov to challenge him for the NXT Championship. Dragunov agreed to a title match at Spring Breakin' on the condition that Williams leave NXT if he loses, which Williams accepted. [36] In a NXT Stand & Deliver rematch on the April 16 episode of NXT, Williams defeated Hayes in a steel cage match despite interference from Hayes' security team to end their feud. [37] On Week 1 of Spring Breakin', Williams defeated Dragunov to capture the NXT Championship for the first time in his career. [38]
On the May 7 episode of NXT in a Supernova Sessions, Noam Dar revealed that in a match between them that was won by Williams, Dar's leg was under the ropes which should have broken the pinfall and called Williams a fraud. Dar proceeded to attack Williams shortly after Legend revealed that she was having a relationship with Williams. [39] On the following week, Dar was found attacked by an unknown assailant. Later that night, Williams assisted Je'Von Evans defeat Oro Mensah. [40] On the May 28 episode of NXT, Williams and Evans defeated Gallus' Joe Coffey and Mark Coffey in a tag team match. After the match, Williams was attacked by a debuting Ethan Page, who revealed himself as the one who attacked Dar previously and Mensah earlier that night. [41] On the following week, Legend broke up with Williams. Later that night, Page officially signed with NXT, whose contract also contains a NXT Championship match at NXT Battleground where Williams successfully retained his title. [42] [43] At NXT Heatwave on July 7, Williams lost the title to Page in a fatal four-way match also involving Evans and Shawn Spears, the former of whom Page pinned, ending his reign at 75 days. [44]
After losing the NXT Championship, Williams got into with a bitter feud with Pete Dunne after Dunne derided Williams for seeking advice to recapture the NXT Championship. This led to a match between the two at Week 2 of NXT: The Great American Bash on August 6 where Dunne won. [45] Williams retaliated by costing Dunne in a triple threat match against Joe Hendry and Wes Lee for a NXT Championship match at NXT No Mercy on September 1, [46] where Williams served as the special guest referee for the NXT Championship match between Hendry and Page. After the match, he was attacked by Dunne. [47] Williams responded by releasing a diss track on Dunne [48] which led to the two men brawling with each other throughout the September 3 episode of NXT. Williams and Dunne faced each other in a match later that night with the match ending in a double countout. [49] On the following week, Williams defeated Dunne in a Last Man Standing match to end their feud and to earn an NXT Championship match at NXT's CW premiere on October 1, [50] where he defeated Page (with CM Punk as the special guest referee) to win his second NXT Championship. [51] It was announced on the October 15 episode of NXT that Williams will defend his newly won NXT Championship in a Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal match at Halloween Havoc against Page, who won a triple threat number one contender's match. After spinning the wheel, it was revealed that the two would face off in a Devil's Playground match. [52] At the event on October 27, Williams defeated Page to retain the title. After the match, Williams was attacked by Page and Ridge Holland before Bubba Ray Dudley came out to save him. [53] On the following episode on NXT, Bubba Ray appeared in a segment with Williams, where Bubba Ray initially declined the latter's offer to be his tag team partner against Ridge and Page at NXT 2300. Later on however, after being saved by Williams from an attack by Holland and Page, Bubba Ray changed his mind and accepted Williams' offer. [54] At NXT 2300 on November 6, Williams and Bubba Ray lost to Ridge and Page, with Ridge pinning Williams. After the match, Bubba Ray and Williams put Page through a table that was brought to the ring by D-Von Dudley. [55]
Belton, as Trick Williams, made his video game debut as a playable character in WWE 2K23 as a DLC [56] and has since appeared in WWE 2K24 . [57]
In September 2024, Williams released a diss track titled “The Realest” during his feud against Pete Dunne about his ring name, age and how he cannot beat Williams. The song used the beat from "Realest Niggas" by Notorious B.I.G. and 50 Cent, and the music video of the song featured fellow NXT wrestlers Tony D'Angelo, Lash Legend, Jakara Jackson, Fallon Henley, Julius Creed, Ivy Nile and Nikkita Lyons. [48]
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Good Lookin Wrassla" [58] | 2023 | Non-album singles |
"The Realest" [59] | 2024 | |
"Game Over" [60] | ||
"Tricky Whoopin'" [61] |
Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trick Williams (NXT career) | Ilja Dragunov (championship) | Orlando, Florida | Spring Breakin' | April 23, 2024 | [38] |
Christopher James Dijak is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he performs under the ring name Donovan Dijak and is a member of the World Titan Federation stable. He also currently works on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring names Dominik Dijakovic, T-Bar, and Dijak.
Carlos Ruíz is a Spanish professional wrestler best known under the ring name A-Kid. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Axiom and is one-half of the current NXT Tag Team Champions with Nathan Frazer in their second reign. He is also known for his time in NXT UK, where he is the inaugural NXT UK Heritage Cup Champion.
Aoife Cusack is an Irish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Lyra Valkyria. She is a former one-time NXT Women's Champion.
The NXT Heritage Cup is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is a specialized championship for NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The title is defended just like any other championship but has a special stipulation in which all matches are contested under British Rounds Rules. The current champion is Charlie Dempsey, who is in his second reign. He won the title by defeating previous champion Tony D'Angelo by 2–1 on the August 13, 2024, episode of NXT.
Joshua Bruns is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Josh Briggs. He is signed to WWE where he performs on the NXT brand. In WWE, he is a one-time and the final NXT UK Tag Team Champion. He previously appeared for Evolve, where he was the final Evolve Champion.
Christian Brigham is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand, under the ring name Carmelo Hayes. He is a former one-time NXT Champion, a two-time and longest combined reigning NXT North American Champion, and a one-time and the final NXT Cruiserweight Champion, having unified it with the NXT North American Championship.
Calvin Bloom is an American professional wrestler and former college football player. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Von Wagner. A second-generation professional wrestler, Bloom is the son of Wayne Bloom.
Joseph Ariola is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Tony D'Angelo. He is the current NXT North American Champion in his first reign. Working with a mafia gimmick, he is the leader of The D'Angelo Family stable as "The Don of NXT", and is a former two-time NXT Tag Team Champion and a one-time NXT Heritage Cup champion.
Benjamin Timms is a British professional wrestler signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Nathan Frazer and is one-half of the current NXT Tag Team Champions with Axiom in their second reign.
The 2023 NXT Stand & Deliver was the third annual Stand & Deliver professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The event took place on Saturday, April 1, 2023, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California as part of WrestleMania Weekend, being held the same day as WrestleMania 39 Night 1 with a special start time of 1 p.m. Eastern Time 10 a.m. Pacific Time. WWE wrestlers Pretty Deadly served as the hosts of the event. This was also the first Stand & Deliver to livestream on Binge in Australia.
Bailey Matthews is an English-American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE where he performs on their NXT brand under the ring name Charlie Dempsey. He is the leader of the No Quarter Catch Crew stable and is the current NXT Heritage Cup Champion in his second reign.
Kayla Klingensmith is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kiana James. She is a former one-time NXT Women's Tag Team Champion. She is currently inactive due to a leg injury.
Calyx Harmony Hampton is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Sol Ruca.
The 2023 NXT Heatwave was the second Heatwave professional wrestling event produced by the American promotion WWE, and ninth overall. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The event aired as a television special episode of the NXT program on the USA Network, and was broadcast live on August 22, 2023, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
The 2023 NXT Deadline was the second annual NXT Deadline professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held primarily for wrestlers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The event took place on Saturday, December 9, 2023, at the Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The event is based around the Iron Survivor Challenge for men and women, a 25-minute five-person match in which a wrestler attempts to score the most falls in order to win and earn a match for the NXT Championship and NXT Women's Championship, respectively.
The 2024 NXT Vengeance Day was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE. It was the fourth annual Vengeance Day event held for the promotion's developmental brand NXT, and the 12th Vengeance overall. The event aired via WWE's livestreaming platforms and took place on Sunday, February 4, 2024, at the F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville, Tennessee, marking NXT's first livestreaming event to be held in Tennessee.
Isaac Odugbesan is a Nigerian professional wrestler and former shot putter. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Oba Femi. He is a one-time and the longest-reigning NXT North American Champion.
The 2024 Spring Breakin' was a professional wrestling television special produced by WWE for its developmental brand NXT. It was the third annual Spring Breakin' for the brand and aired as a two-part special episode of NXT on the USA Network. The event took place on April 23 and April 30, 2024, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
No Quarter Catch Crew (NQCC) is an American professional wrestling stable that performs in WWE on the NXT brand. The group currently consists of Charlie Dempsey, Myles Borne, Tavion Heights, and Wren Sinclair. Dempsey is the current NXT Heritage Cup Champion in his second reign. The stable name is derived from the military term "No quarter" and Catch wrestling, a style of wrestling that each member specializes in. Their motto is "No pity, no mercy, no remorse, no quarter".