In the current day, Trick Williams is an official member of the “WWE SmackDown” roster, with two reigns as NXT Champion and one as TNA World Champion to his name. Back in March 2021, though, Williams appeared on “SmackDown” as merely a background character for Apollo Crews, who proclaimed himself as Nigerian royalty.
During an interview with the “No-Contest Wrestling” podcast, Williams detailed his outing as an elite guard, wearing combat boots and kit, for Crews.
“So first things first, that is like my second week of even being employed in WWE,” Williams said. “I remember I ain’t know which way the camera was. I ain’t know nothing. [I was] brand latest. Glad to be there. They said, ‘Hey, we’d like you on SmackDown. We checked out your ancestry roots and we saw that you just are 32.5% Nigerian, so that you going to come back be a Nigerian bodyguard.’ Alright, cool.
“I meet Apollo, he’s dope. Denzel Dejournette, he was the opposite Nigerian guard. That is the first time I met the [office], people in Gorilla on the time. That was a cool moment for me. Then I believe the subsequent week we was coming to do it again, and Apollo was hyped. It is a latest character for him. The pressure is on. At this point, I do know who Apollo is. I don’t desire to mess this up for him.”
On the March 5, 2021 edition of “SmackDown,” Crews recalled his childhood as a descendent of Nigerian royalty, while Williams and Dejournette stood behind him as his backup. As a toddler, Crews claimed he tried to slot in as a substitute of embracing his roots. After being disrespected by then-WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E, Crews asserted that he’d not try to slot in, but slightly stand out and arise for himself. As such, Crews then challenged Big E to a rematch for the IC Title.
Williams’ Stint As An Elite Guard Abruptly Ended Due To COVID
Williams’ role as Crews guard didn’t last long because by April 2021, Commander Azeez took the place of each Williams and Dejournette. In accordance with Williams, this could be attributed to an premature case of COVID-19.
“I just remember a pair days before we had this ring construct at NXT where everybody’s together and we’re constructing the rings for training. Anyone should have had COVID or regardless of the case was. That wasn’t good because that thing should have spread.” Williams said. “I didn’t know that I had COVID and I rolled right down to Tampa with Denzel. He didn’t know that he had COVID. We got to get tested to enter the constructing since the protocol is serious. We each get tested. We were riding down, laughing, joking, eating food the entire ride right down to Tampa. Then they said, ‘Actually, each of you tested positive for COVID. You are usually not needed for SmackDown.'”
Looking back, Williams believes his onset of COVID and subsequent storyline removal can have actually been the perfect thing for his skilled wrestling profession on the time. In spite of everything, Williams was only weeks into his WWE tenure on the time, which meant his knowledge on company operations was limited. Fortunately for him, the training on the WWE Performance Center and “WWE NXT” brand that got here after taught him an abundance of priceless skills that he now applies to his full-time work on WWE’s major roster.
When you use any of the quotes in this text, please credit “No-Contest Wrestling” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.