Trick Williams ‘really upped his standing’ with WWE SmackDown appearance

Trick Williams’ stock continues to rise within WWE.

In the new edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reports that the reaction Williams got for his SmackDown appearance last Friday “really upped his standing” in the company. Williams made a surprise appearance on the show, saving Carmelo Hayes from an attack by Grayson Waller and Austin Theory.

“The big reaction that Trick Williams got at the SmackDown show in Miami really upped his standing,” Meltzer wrote. “He’s already considered the hottest act in NXT.”

Haus of Wrestling noted that the SmackDown creative team was “blown away” by the response Williams received from the Miami crowd.

During an interview on Busted Open Radio this week, Williams said the reaction he got for his SmackDown debut was a dream come true:

Man, honestly, it’s a dream come true. I think that’s the feeling that every wrestler wants to feel, you know, running out when you hear your music being played. So, man, beyond my imagination. Who thinks their first debut is going to sound like that? So, I’m grateful for it.

Williams will be pulling double duty at NXT Vengeance Day this Sunday (February 4). In the main event, Williams is challenging Ilja Dragunov for the NXT Championship. Williams & Hayes are also facing Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals earlier in the night.

Vengeance Day may be where the long-anticipated split between Hayes and Williams happens.

Real name Matrick Belton, Williams is a former college football player for the University of South Carolina. He joined the WWE Performance Center in 2021.