For four and a half years, Trick Williams was on the NXT roster, spending the first half of those years with Carmelo Hayes. But after Hayes’ betrayal, he had to carve out his own path, becoming a fighting champion and someone that deserved to carry NXT. With four championship reigns during his tenure on the brand, including a TNA Championship reign during the summer and early fall of 2025, he showed that he could compete with the best of the best.
The only question left to ask was when he was going to get called up to the main roster. He officially arrived on the January 2, 2026 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, confronting Sami Zayn. The next week, he sparred with Randy Orton and beat Rey Fenix in his debut match. There’s no question that WWE has major plans for Williams going forward on Friday nights.
Fans are Conditioned to Trick Williams’ Charisma
If you watch NXT, then you already know Williams got an insane reaction every time he walks to the ring. His theme song plays, then the crowd instinctively yells “WHOOP THAT TRICK!” to the beat. On the air, Booker T ad-libs various phrases in between that show his appreciation towards him.
His look and personality, as well as reactions to his theme, made him stand out in NXT. But would that translate to the main roster crowd? Fortunately for him, both walkouts led to insane reactions and the same flair that captured the Performance Center crowd. Vic Joseph even talked about Booker T’s various ad-libs on air, paying homage to someone who made his entrance unique. Coming out to that kind of reaction, in the US and in Europe, is a good sign that the main roster fans are going to love him.
He Has Held His Own Against Stars
Usually, when call-ups happen, there’s a match that helps the main roster crowd get used to someone. That’s what happened with Williams, but further down the line than normal. Before his match against Fenix, he squared off with both Zayn and Orton in back-to-back weeks. He held his own, demonstrating his great promo abilities and showing why he was so hyped up for many years now.
Some young wrestlers might be intimidated by sharing the stage with Zayn and Orton, but not him. Every word was smooth and believable, with the audience loving every second of the interactions. He also kept up with Fenix in a great match. Yes, he won via roll up, but that could be the start of his first main roster feud. So far, he is excelling in keeping up with the veterans on the main roster.
WHOOP THAT TRICK!@_trickwilliams has entered the chat 👀@RandyOrton pic.twitter.com/9GTW8XQ3vY
— WWE (@WWE) January 10, 2026
An Impressive Two Weeks
The people who don’t watch NXT just got introduced to Williams two weeks ago. In those two weeks, he has provided a great introduction and justification of the hype he received down in NXT. He has gone toe-to-toe with Zayn and Orton, sounding natural and unafraid in confronting two incredible veterans.
Then, he had a nice match with Fenix. Due to the ending of the match, there’s reason to believe that this might be his first feud on SmackDown. So far, he has impressed with the promo and fan reaction aspect, as well as the wrestling aspect. There are some people waiting for a Hayes reunion. But like the Lucha Brothers, WWE is keeping them separated for the time being until the time is right. If he keeps up this momentum, there’s no question that Trick Williams is going to be a star.
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