No Contest Wrestling: NXT Champion Trick Williams

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Prices vary based on how you buy. Hey, yo, it's me. It's me. It's that T double O G I double G to Jiggy TJ Jefferson here and welcome to the no contest wrestling podcast. My tag team partner, O'Shea Jackson, you know, his other job, his day job is, you know, being an actor and a movie star and being in movies. So right now he's got a movie about to come out, Den of Thieves 2 with Gerald Butler.

So they're out doing some press junk at somewhere around town. O'Shea's going to zoom in with us because joining us, we have the WWE NXT heavyweight champion, Trick Williams. He's going to be joining us by zoom in a few minutes here, along with O'Shea. And we're going to talk everything about what's going on in NXT deadline coming up. Trick's going to defend his title against Rich Holland. And, you know, we were actually able to talk to Trick yesterday, Tuesday before NXT filmed, which is great because what happened at the end of NXT would have made it hard for us to get Trick Williams on the show today, as you saw Rich Holland kind of dropped him on his head.

So all the best for Trick. We're hoping he's healthy enough to defend his championship on Saturday at deadline. And, you know, everyone before O'Shea comes, I just want to talk about Monday Night Raw really quick. If you guys watch Raw Monday, you know, it was one of the greatest episodes of Raw that we've seen in a long, long time.

It was, it was chef's kiss. It really was, you know, from CM Punk starting off the show, talking about the favor that he was going to get from Paul Heyman to him pointing at the invisible WrestleMania sign to Seth Rollins coming out and saying he should have knocked him out when he first got back to WWE. They start brawling, then Sammy and Jay come out and then Sammy decides he wants to fight Seth. They get into the Rumble later in the car.

It was just, it was, it was a great opening to Raw. And then is WWE trying to turn Gunther a baby face right now? What's going on with him in a judgment day? It looks like Finn Balor is going to get a chance to challenge for that World Heavyweight Championship, but who's going to be the face in this? Are we really going to start cheering Gunther, the ring general? Let's, let's see, let's see what, where the plans are.

Let's see where this road leads us. Drew McIntyre, my guy, he's back. He came back at the end of the show, took out Sami Zayn and Joe Tessitore did a great job of pretending not to know who Drew was until we took off his hood. That was also a great moment.

Joe Tessitore, you're doing awesome. And then what we have is probably the saddest thing that's ever happened in the WWE. Well, one of the most sad things.

Let me, let me rephrase that. One of the sadder things that's happened was the breakup of the new day, 10 years, 10 years, they were together. Their 10 year anniversary, Big E breaks his neck.

He's out of action for a while. The last few months, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, they've been just on a downward spiral. It looked like those two were going to break up. Big E comes back, Big E comes back, wants to bring the band back together and they turn on him. They don't care that he broke his neck.

They don't care about none of that. They essentially boot Big E out of the new day. And I'm telling you what, this was one of the biggest heel turns that we've had in a long time. So where does this go? What happens to the new day? What happens to Big E? What happens to CM Punk, Drew McIntyre? What happens to Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso? What happens to Gunter, Finn Balor, The Judgment Day?

I don't know, but I'm here for it. Wrestling's getting good right now, folks. Buckle up. Ladies and gentlemen, as promised, as teased last week, which we killed TJ, by the way. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome NXT champion, The Man Trick Woods.

What's good? Oh yeah, man. Now this dude Ridge Hollins, bro. When I say that we need you, we need you to put the hurting on him, man.

He's kind of what's been really the straw that stirs the drink and a lot that was what's going on with the new day, even. If you could, you know, can you speak something about what's going on over there? What's your feelings?

Were you shocked about what we all saw? But what's going on with Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston? You know, O'Shea, like, man, honestly, man, you hate to see it, you know what I mean? Because I don't know about you, but I grew up with a group of guys, you know, I played football and we was brothers at one point in time, something like the new day was.

And then sometimes it'd be little things that happen or big things in this case that really messes up a great, you know, brotherhood, a great friendship. And, you know, to see this side of Xavier Woods, to see this side of Kofi, I'm surprised, you know, because, you know, Kofi is one of those guys who I thought was so solid and he's one of the guys. I'm literally here wrestling because I watched Kofi Mania, you know what I mean? And that's what inspired me to say, hey, man, wrestling is really special, man. I think I can make this crossover right here.

It was Kofi. So, you know, to see them switch up on Big E is kind of crazy to me. But, yeah, man, I just guess I got to wait and see how this whole thing plays out.

You know, we want to remind everybody that this Saturday, Minneapolis, Minnesota will host Deadline at the Armory. We're going to get to see Trick Williams defend that NXT championship. Just want to remind the people of that. And Trick, you said, you know, Kofi Mania was something that helped you make a decision.

Tell us about young Trick, man. Were you into wrestling as a kid growing up? Yeah, for sure, man.

For sure. Attitude era, you know what I mean? You know, Stone Cold, the Rock, you know, I was opening a can of whoop ass at three years old.

Yeah. My mom said we had to cut back with the wrestling. You can't be teaching my baby all this craziness that was going on with WWF at the time.

So, you know, it is what it is. But no, I grew up, I love wrestling. But I guess to say, like, where I'm from, we just didn't know how to get into wrestling. You know, it just is a thing that we admire from afar. Now, the idea of becoming a WWE superstar at the time just seemed so, you know, so crazy. This is something that we watched and we enjoyed it. You know, once that opportunity presented itself after, you know, I got cut from the Eagles, like, I was like, man, is this for real?

Is this serious? You know, I got an email from WWE. And up to that point, honestly, I had never thought about becoming a WWE superstar. But as soon as I kind of locked in on it, you know, I thought about, you know, the way WWE made me feel when I was young.

You know, I was like, oh, I definitely think this is something I could do, pursue. I've been wrestling ever since. You've obviously had the it factor. I mean, anybody who, you know, we've been watching this NXT journey, we can see it.

I mean, I can count maybe on two hands how many times a crowd has really taken over a superstar's theme and made it as big as where yours is now. But as always, it's all about opportunity. What are or who are some of the people that if they weren't around, they we wouldn't have the Trik Williams that we have today? We got to start off with God. Absolutely. Absolutely. Amen. You know, God, my family, like, I say Trik Williams is a combination of, you know, my family, you know, my folk that raised me who, you know, the reason why I talk the way I talk is confidence that you see, you know, that's not something you turn on when the red light is on. It's something that you have to live. So, man, I'm just thankful for my family who, you know, and where I'm from, man, you have to be confident.

You have to stand on what you believe in. You know what I mean? Walk with your chest up high or somebody's going to try you, you know, or you're going to get joked on. So you got to learn how to joke back.

You got to learn how to open your mouth. You know what I mean? So, yeah, I just think, you know, God, you know, my family, where I'm from, and besides for that, if we're talking about inside the business.

Yeah. You know, it's hard to say someone who made Trik Williams, but I'll say someone who laid a great platform for me. I can't go without saying Carmelo Hayes. You know, I learned a lot by being, you know, beside or even, you know, backing to the right of Carmelo Hayes. You know, when when he had the main event matches for the PLEs for the Tuesday nights, I was able to sit there and learn, you know, build a rapport with the audience without having the pressure of, hey, I could put on this 15, 20 minute banger and go get that title. You know, I was able to see what the main event scene felt like without having the pressure first. And I also got to sit back and learn all of Melo's, you know, what he did great, you know, what worked for him. And I got to learn what didn't work for him. You know, so it kind of like he was, you know, he's the oldest child. Sometimes when you're the oldest child, you know, you could test run. I probably ain't going to do what he did just now.

That ain't where it could. That's just being real. I was able to learn, you know what I mean? So that's why that's why any time somebody asked me, you know, regardless of the terms that me and him are on, you know, I give him his flowers because, you know, he did carry the brand. And, you know, I like to think I helped his career just as much as he helped mine. But, you know, that's where we have as Melo was being positioned, you know, when he was having those main event bangers, you know, and I'm watching them going, yeah, Melo's got something. But on the other hand, looking at this, the heavy behind Melo, the heater, and I'm looking at this dude trick. And I remember thinking, man, like this dude's got it.

Whatever it is, he has it. And I'm like, as long as this brother can go a little bit in the ring, I think he's got something. And you've obviously proven me right, right there as you are sitting as the two-time NXT champion.

How was it for you to break out of that trick Melo gang and stand on your own? Yeah, I appreciate that TJ. Loyalty means a lot to me. You know what I mean? Like, if I say you my boy, then I mean that, you know, thinking through. And it's kind of weird because there's a point in time when my role was to, like you said, be the heater. You know what I mean?

Have my boys back. I was somewhat, I just wanted to make sure I did my job as good as possible. I wanted to make sure, hey, if I'm going to be doing the introduction for Carmelo Hayes tonight, it's going to be the best introduction on the show.

We'll have the best entrance. You know what I'm saying? Like, I was just totally committed and locked in on making sure that he looked like the star that he was supposed to. And, you know, and just kind of so happened that, you know, when I did get my opportunities, when, you know, I did get my little match and, you know, the people started cheering with that trick, you know, and, you know, things was going good for me.

I felt like the love wasn't reciprocating. So as soon as I got a taste of that, you know, now it turns into, oh, I got to break out. You know, I got to show the people who I am.

You know what I mean? Because, you know, I was there for you. You was my boy. And now when, you know, the shoes on the other foot, the only way we can be cool is if you in the front, you know, and I'm doing the pickup duty.

Nah, that ain't right. Now I got to show you who I am. And once it gets to that point, it's easy to turn up.

You just gave me the you just gave me the motivation. Now that whoop that trick in your entrance. That is so box office. I can't believe it. Oh, yeah.

Yeah. What was that? The first time you got it?

Well, I would say it was two first times. So the first time officially I heard the people chanting whoop that trick, but like early in, you know, the days when I was still with Carmelo, and, you know, he was still the guy and people chanting whoop that trick. Now, I remember looking at him in the aisle like, yo, what's that about?

They with us or they against us? You know, and then we went out there and maybe I hit a body slam or something like that. And the people chanting whoop that trick, whoop that trick. Oh, that's fine. You know, and yeah. So that's when I knew we had some.

I'm going to take a little shortcut. Let's say some shout out to Al Capone. He's from Memphis and he's the original songwriter for Whoop That Trick from Hustle and Flow the movie. So when the whole thing was breaking out, man, I just remember him reaching out to me and say, hey, you got full custody of the Whoop That Trick champ, man, merch and everything. So I'm like, oh, this is crazy. That's why I knew that we got something for real. Oh, that's love. It was love for real.

So shout out to Al Capone. And then I'll say the second time when Whoop That Trick really became what we all know it to be today was, man, I got a new theme song. And it was around that time when I'm starting to get that momentum, you know, and I told them like, hey, man, I like my last song, but I need something that's a little bit more me. You know, I told them I want heavy horns at the beginning, like something big is coming, you know, like I'm royalty. And I want some awesome horns and I want a lot of bass.

Then I play Kendrick Lamar, Family Ties. You know, that'll do it. Y'all can make something like this for me. You know, I'd be happy.

So mind you, this is about, I can't remember his heat wave, Ilia Dragunov. This is the first time they made me that song. But I gave them, you know, Family Ties. They had this next song ready for me like 30 minutes.

Well, OK, bet. And I loved it. But of course, it's an instrumental. There's no there's no lyrics and no chance on the instrumental version of the song. So I make my entrance with the new song. Nobody's heard it yet. And the crowd just fills in instantly and they chant Whoop That Trick. And they was all beat for like the first two times they said it. They was all beat at first and then they caught it. And like this wasn't planned.

It wasn't something that we, you know, we we tried to make happen. I was like, bro, I just want this beat. The people decided to fill it in with the Whoop That Trick chants, which is what I think is super dope because, you know, it was organic. And if you see me get to the end of the aisle way, you see my you see a little smirk on my face, a little smile like, oh, we just made something special.

And we've been rocking and running ever since. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game, shifting a little money here, a little there and hoping it all works out? Well, with the name your price tool from Progressive, you can be a better budgeter and potentially lower your insurance bill, too. You tell Progressive what you want to pay for car insurance and they'll help you find options within your budget. Try it today at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law.

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Learn more at American Express.com slash Amex Business. How, how, and I'm not saying, you know, he has everything to do with your success, but how important has Booker T and his just leaning into the theme? How important do you think that's been to you? Because I know for me, like when I hear those horns and I know you're coming, I'm like, I'm hyped to see you. I'm hyped to hear Booker. So like, what is your relationship with him and how did he let you know that that was something that he was going to do for you? Man, me and Booker, we was just talking trash right before this interview, man. You know, we're trying to work him out. He talking about, he talking about, he want to get in shape and have one more with Tric Willy. You know, you know, like Mr. Joe, he's been, he's talked to me like he's my uncle.

No, like, not like a coach per se, more like, man, Hey, I'm gonna give you what's real. This is what I dealt with. You know, when I was in the business, this is what I had to do to stand out. You know, take that little extra move you did right there. Get rid of that. That's going to hold you back.

You know, that's stupid. He keep it real with me. And I appreciate that because, you know, he really speaks to me like a fan. And, you know, that's just the dynamic we've had. And then with the, with that tree and that ad lib, man, that's just been, you know, the cherry on top, you know what I mean? But you know, the support that he does with the ad libs, you know, he gives me that support in real life too.

So shout his book. Yeah. Yeah. I can remember early on when you first got the song before he really started doing all the ad libs, you'd come out and you'd be like, I need it. I need it. And I'm assuming that he picked that up from you. It was like, you were taking this in and letting the people know that, yeah, give it to me.

I need this. And then a few weeks later, it seemed like then he started to add that just all part of the presentation, you know, everything necessary to become, you know, a superstar that you have. For sure. For sure, man.

Like, man, I don't know where, the book says a lot of stuff when he's on that commentary. I don't try to figure out where it comes from. I just enjoy it. Yeah. I've been watching wrestling for a long time, since the early eighties and Booker, you know, back in the WCW days was always one of my favorites, you know, someone who had locks like me.

And I want to say look like me, but we don't have the same body type. I wasn't buff like Booker, but just to see the success the Booker T had and to have him still around right now, it's amazing. And you said he and O'Shea, I don't want to step on here, but you said he's been good. I saw that when CM Punk came back, he spent a lot of time in NXT and I specifically saw a video of you guys chopping it up. Have you what have you learned from CM Punk? How has he kind of stepped in and been someone that the younger performers can go to?

Because it seems like that's really what he wanted to do in this business was help teach you younger cats. Yeah, I agree with that, man. I mean, you know, I didn't meet CM Punk until after, you know, the rumors about his character was, you know, brought about from other places. So I didn't know what to expect when I met him. But all I'm going to say is that dude, Punk, man, good dude, solid.

You know what I mean? You just tell when some people are just genuine. And he's very genuine, man. He takes pride in helping us, you know, the next generation and to becoming the superstars that we need to be. And he gives us real advice too, man. He talks about how to handle yourself, you know, in the ring, outside the ring, everything it takes to become a superstar. And like you said, even closer to today's time, when we're dealing with different stuff like social media, and how to handle, you know, all the, you know, everything that comes with being a superstar in 2024, you know, that other superstars didn't really have to deal with all the way. So, you know, he's been very helpful for a lot of us. Now, Trig, you know, you've accomplished a lot, you know, and you know, it just from the outside looking in, you've accomplished it in quick fashion. Is there anything, you know, NXT wise, we did see you a little bit on the main roster where the chant got off there too.

Let's not ignore that. That when you was on the big stage, the chant got off too. But is there anything that, any goals that you set now, obviously, besides winning the big one? Are there matches that you want to do?

And also, just a two part this, as a wrestling fan, a question that we ask on here a lot is when did wrestling break your heart as a fan? Oh, man. Okay.

That's a loaded question. Yeah, bro. I gotta bring it, bro. I'm doing press.

So I gotta get you mine. Okay. So the first part was, anything that I want to do at NXT? At NXT main roster, a dream match that you want to be a part of, or just, you know, if you never did a TLC, you ever, anything like that? Yeah, I would say, okay, some dream matches. I'm gonna just go down the list that I think would be best for me. Okay. Booker T. Trick Williams versus Booker T, I think, is something that you know what I mean? Exclusive, TJ.

Okay. You know, that's the one, you know, for me, I just feel like, hey, that one hits home probably the hardest. The one who I think I would have the best view with, you know what I mean? Styles Clash.

I like Gunter. You know, you get to see each other. You know, I think he has what it takes to bring out a side of Trick Williams that people haven't really seen before.

So, you know, I'm looking forward to that day. Of course, I would say, top guy in the business with or without a title right now, Roman Reigns. I mean, he is the guy. And if you're here in this business and you don't want to line up across from him, then you don't really want to be the guy.

So, Roman Reigns. That's a trick. That's a crazy trick. I'm loving this trick. I say my faith is extraordinary. Look, man, I've been jumping a long time, man.

You got to claim it. And I'll say those are my three. Okay. Let's see. Next question was, when did wrestling break your heart? Oh, man, it's an easy one.

Now, you know, if I'm supposed to say this as a fan, as a fan, as a fan, as a fan. Okay. Yeah.

I just remember, you know, how vested I was into the Kane and Undertaker storyline. Okay. Okay. I know where you're going. I know where you're going. That's all right. Those guys are great, man. They're great at what they do. That's all I'm saying. Yeah. I know where you're going.

I appreciate that. You know, I had a thought one day, and this is just weird how much the wrestling consumes my mind, but I'm driving down the street the other day and I started thinking, wait a second. Undertaker's parents burned up and Paul came out and said, this kid Kane was his brother, but how do we really mind you?

I had this thought last week, 20 years later. I'm like, how do we know that Kane was really his brother? Like, how do we know that Paul Barrett just didn't get some psychopathic giant and say, this was your brother?

Like, do we really have, did we do 23 of me that we get DNA samples? Like, how do we know that Kane was his little brother? This is the weird things trick that I be thinking about sometime, you know, the Kane and take it. So I'm the Kane and take a trick. Now you won your first title was the NXT North American championship.

Yeah. And as I said on Twitter, I'm a big Dirty Dom fan. I'm like, but man, they did my boy trick dirty. I didn't like the fact that, you know, you had the belt and you lost it so quick, but tell me, what did that feel like to know that they had enough faith in you to, to give you a singles run with a belt?

Man, man, that was man. I think that was really the start of it all. And I say that because that was the first time I had had a match outside of Orlando.

Yeah. That's my first PLE match. You know, when, you know, we, we were working with a different crowd and we was all the way in California and Dominic Mysterio was a champ. So I had my first entrance now up to this point, you know, what that trip is going crazy. So whoever have a match with it, you already know the crowd's rocking crazy.

And usually when it comes to entrances, you know, you know, you know, what that trip takes over. But when I say when Dom Mysterio came out, how loud the people, the boos, man, I was like, whoa, whoa. It was a whole nother level, man. It was like a wake up, like, yeah, we still got some work to do. So we got some work to do, man. Cause Dom, bro, that lower heat, that brother got, it's crazy. Yeah. He's on fire with it.

The heat level is unbelievable. I mean, when a man can't even speak on the mic without getting drowned out by boos, it's like, man, can't speak. And I said, I couldn't speak when he came out.

Like, goodness, I can't imagine that. But nah, it was dope, man. That was a dope moment. What you got, Shaq? Well, well, Shaq, man, I'm, as you and our No Contest Wrestling Podcast viewers know, I'm over here doing press for Dinah Thieves. When I figure out, when I figure out when this premiere is going to happen, bro, I got to have you there. But before I get out of here, man, we have another question that, that the people need to know. And I'm dying to get this from you. You in a bar of 50 guys.

All right. And they all don't want you there. You know, man, they, they hate and tough.

You get in the eyes and all. I need you. To pick four other wrestlers to have your back that, you know, if you got them with you, you get into the car and we're talking about this on the current roster, NXT people, your homies that you know, or that you work with, or just who your squad, who your squad wrestlers. I don't think we've had any NXT people named. Yeah. This'll be great. If we, you know what? Yeah.

The cats that you work with in the next team. Okay. So I'll keep it. All right.

We'll do an NXT version there. Yeah. All right.

Yeah. You won't overfit me on my side. Obviously. Overfit me on my side. You know, we need the ruler.

Man. Let me think. Let me think. Let me think. Let me think. Got to get Tony D in there.

Tony. Yeah. Solid.

He would be solid. You know what I'm saying? People don't know.

He had a whole wrestling background, a whole nother life before this, and you know, he could throw down. Okay. Man. Let me think. Let me think. Let me think. You, Oba the Don.

That's what we got so far. You, Oba the Don. Bring your Young O G, man. Young O G, you know, he's jumping off the roof.

He's a Spider-Man to our Avengers team. You know what I'm saying? We need young O G. They're going crazy. Shoot. We got Jevon Evans on the squad.

We got Jevon Evans on the team. Give me Lexus King. I'm going to tell you why. However much the people hate me, I know they hate him way more. That's jealousy.

They're jealous because his beard is on another level, man. That's smart. I like that.

Give me Lexus King. And now we're down to 25 people, you know. Alone. Alone.

So that made it way easier than shoot, man. Last one for NXT. Let me think.

Let me think. I think that's your forward. That's your forward right there.

You, Oba, the Don, Jevon and Lexus. Yeah, bro. That's a solid team, man.

TJ, bro. I appreciate you holding us down, man. Trick, before I get out of here, man, what can I expect to see from you at Deadline, man? Hey, man. Vengeance. I'm coming back to get mine. Hey, look.

Y'all ready to tell me to put the head out on him, rectify the situation with Rich Holland and everything he's done to NXT, everything he's done to chase you, everything he's done to destroy The New Day. Hey, it's time for me to get this thing right. Oh, I like that. I like that trick. I see you, TJ, man. Thank you for holding it down.

My Kenobi, bro. Well, you know, I'm just going to say this to you, O'Shea, before you dip and leave me in trick. Look, man, I get it. You're not here. You left us. Oh, my God.

Here you go. Stone Cold's done press junkets. You know what I mean? Oh, my God. Edge has done press junkets.

You know, the Kurt Angle has done press junkets, you know, and they all came back. You just you want to leave me here. And I'm just saying, you know, I'll call you when I need you is, I think, what's going to happen here. I'm going to have to call you.

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So trick now, you know, O'Shea, he just had to step out. You know, he's got some movie star stuff to do, you know, movies. Yeah, man. So I've been at these, man.

Right. So we got, again, this Saturday, Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Armory. We're going to have deadline and it's the Iron Survivor Challenge. And that's something that you won.

Why don't you tell the people a little bit about how tough it is to participate in the Iron Survivor Challenge? Man, first thing first, I think this is my favorite match of all time. The reason I say this, TJ, is because, you know, you need points. And that's something that every human on Earth understands is a point system because we all watch sports. And when you when you're racing the clock and it's wrestling, it's wrestling combined with basketball, it's wrestling combined with soccer, it's wrestling combined with football.

Hey, man, you got to get points and you got to beat the clock. And, man, I tell everybody, you know, I cut that promo last year. And I'm Trick Curry. I'm treating me great. I'm Mike Trick.

I'm 23 in L.A. Never mind who you thought it was. I'm Trick James. You know what I'm saying? Yes, sir.

It was just the way this mattress structure, which, if I'm not mistaken, can give you some personal. I think Shawn Michaels was the one to create this style match all by himself. Oh, yeah. Shout out to the goat. Shout out to the goat HBK, you know.

But, man, this Iron Survivor match, man, is great. And I think that's really what took my career to the next level. So, you know, I'm pretty sure we see somebody else give that opportunity this year. Yeah.

And it was not just the fact that you won, but how you won. You were down. I think there was like two minutes left.

If I'm not somewhere around that near the end. And you got, what, three pins, two pins at the end of the match? Man, I want to say, oh, I mean, it was just like it looked like there wasn't going to be Trick's night.

And then within two and a half, three minutes, you turn the whole match around. And then again, that made me go, all right, I knew this dude. I knew this trick do that. But speaking of Trick Williams, where'd that name come from? Man, so my government name, you know, name my momma gave me, it's Mattrick. You know, my mom's name is Monica.

My dad's name is Patrick. So they merged them. OK, merge that together.

You know, Mattrick, which is, you know, an uncommon name to most. Yeah. So I trust me. I understand that trick. My first name is Temujin.

So Temujin. Yeah, it was it was actually Genghis Khan's real name. So I feel so T.J. was easier to go by than having to, you know, how many kids you got, man? How many kids? None that I know of trick.

None on the books that I'm aware of, you know, not unlike Khan, who populated half of the planet, you know. Right. You know, I'm two percent Chinese. I think I think that's my great, great, great, great granddaddy. But, you know, but no, man, Mattrick and just like playing sports, I would say like college, you know, it went from Mattrick to, you know, some people like, yo, trick, trick, trick, you know, it was, you know, trick is an unfamiliar name, you know, you know, in the community, you know, we know Trick Daddy, you know, we know Trick Trick, the battle rapper. You know, there's a few tricks running around. So so I thought, man, that's pretty cool. So when it came to wrestling, I'm like, it's just a natural transition.

You know, I already use it. So it worked out. Frank, really. Now you went to South Carolina. A guy from my high school, Altoona, Pennsylvania, was a South Carolina legend, a quarterback, a guy named Steve Taneyhill. He played there years ago in the 90s. And, you know, he was famous for wearing an earring and having a ponytail at a time when a lot of dudes, especially in the South, didn't play that. So it was tough for him to acclimate and it was tough for the people to accept him until he started winning some games for the Gamecocks. And then, you know, he was a dog. It was a dog. You're aware of Steve then.

OK, yeah, of course, man. They got his pictures all over the walls and everything in the training room and stuff like that. OK, yeah, he was metal. I know who he is. Yeah, he was he was something else. He was one. He was just one of those athletes as a kid who was good at everything. Basketball, baseball, football, you know, he was also a guy trick who like he taught trash at a time where that wasn't big. You know, I can remember watching him play basketball games and he was a point guard and he'd dribble up the court and then just stop and start clapping in front of like the dude's face that was guarding them. And then I know when he went on to, you know, South Carolina, there was a time where he you guys beat Clemson and he went and autographed the paw print on the 50 yard line of Clemson.

And I'm sure you got they had to get a police escort out of town for that one. So that's just my little South Carolina connection that I look at everything you named about him. It must be, you know, a game cock, a cocky thing. You know, I mean, he was he really was.

He was that dude. We talked trash. You know what I'm saying? We got long hair. We like the earrings.

I'm saying, you know, it just comes natural. So after you finished up South Carolina, you went had a little stint with the Eagles, right? And you did that, which I said the cowboy fan to me is going to overlook that.

I still like you, despite the fact that I hate your team. You start working the regular job and then you got the call from WWE. Tell me about that. What was that like? Man, I was it was crazy because I was out substitute teaching and, you know, middle school and high school kids and coaching high school football. What were you teaching? What subjects? Well, I got my degree in physical education. OK, so P.E., you know, that's what, you know, sports.

That's what we do. But yeah, man, I remember being in those classrooms. And T.J., the kids was bad.

Right. I ain't gonna lie, man. Yeah, the kids are bad. And I don't know if I shouldn't say that, but they know it. Everybody knows it.

You know, some of them are. You deserve to get paid more for what they do, man. You know, it is the system that we got going on educational. You know, the kids need to, you know.

Yeah, man, it is a tough situation and I'll say it like this. It was at a point in my life where I had already went to a WWE tryout one and they told me, hey, if you're serious about this, you know, go get some training, go to the Indies and we'll bring you back for another tryout. Now, mind you, I wasn't really familiar with how the system of really becoming a WWE superstar.

That's all I knew about it. They said, go get some training. They didn't say how they're going to keep in contact with me. They didn't say nothing like that.

It was kind of like a shot in the wind. Hey, do this and we'll see what happens. I said, OK, cool. So I go back into my regular life and I'm coaching kids. You know, I'm fresh off a cut from football, you know, with the Philadelphia Eagles. So it's like I could still kind of play ball if I want to. You know, I can always coach and teach, you know, become a P.E.

teacher if that's what I wanted to do. You know what I mean? Or this is shot in the wind opportunity to become a WWE superstar.

And this is something I never said out loud. There was a kid named RJ and RJ, he came from a background where, you know, I felt like I was very helpful for him. His father had passed away. He actually used to play basketball for the Gamecocks as well.

His father did. And I played a very pivotal role, you know, just trying to make sure that, you know, he kept his head on straight and he was doing the things that he was supposed to do so he can get an opportunity to play, you know, ball or whatever it is at the next level, at least graduate and have a have a good life. You know what I mean? And I remember talking to the coaches and I said, hey, you know, I got an opportunity to become a WWE superstar.

And he's like, yo, that's great. You know, why don't you go do it? I'm thinking, man, you know, like, there's these kids here, man. And like, you know, they need me.

You know what I mean? Like, I'm helping them, which is a very arrogant thing to say in the first place, because like, you know, I'm saying, I ain't got I ain't got all that power. But I did feel like, you know, I was helpful enough to their lives where, you know, maybe I can help them make a difference. And the coach pulled me to the side and said, hey, this kid that you're talking about, in two years, he's going to be graduating. Maybe he's playing sports, maybe he's doing this, but he's going to be moving on with his life. And you are going to be right here wondering what it would have been like if you took an opportunity on yourself to go become a WWE superstar. And it hit me right then and there. He said, hey, look, this job right here, being a teacher, being a coach, it ain't going nowhere. It's always going to be here.

So that opportunity to become a WWE superstar, look, it's a small window. Man, when I say I moved, probably a couple weeks later, man, just moved to Philadelphia. I moved in with my uncle, that whole WrestleMania stint that, you know, we went to Philadelphia. I moved with my uncle, Sweet Baby James. That's a real story.

You know what I mean? I never met my uncle before. And he found out who I was like, you know, he's real tight with my pops growing up. I never met him because, you know, I'm from South Carolina.

I'm not from Philly. So he's like, hey, he knew my dad. He said, you over here, you got your head on straight. You trying to do something positive with your life. Then you move in with me, pay this for rent and you chase your dream. And that's how that whole thing, you know, came into fruition. And I just remember that because I'm a big proponent of, you know, taking leaps of faith and jumping. If there's something you want to do, you got to go do it. And I've had to do that multiple times, you know, in my life.

And shoot, I love to talk about it too, motivate somebody else, you know. And the crazy thing is you said you were a substitute teacher and you're, you know, you're trying to teach these kids. The fact now is you're on a platform trick where now your reach to these young kids is greater, far greater than I'm sure you could ever imagine. And over the next, you know, decade or so as your career continues to grow and evolve, you're going to continue to just, you know, be that role model to a lot of kids that look like you, that don't look like you, that are in the same situation and just fans. So the fact is you're still having that chance to affect children and, and, and help change their lives in a bigger scheme now because of what you're doing with the WWE. You know, I appreciate that, man.

Yeah. And you're right, man. And I think this ultimately, I'm gonna tell another story I got all day. I don't know how much time you got, man.

I'm with you here, Trick Daddy. You know, there's a point where the whole Philadelphia Eagle thing was, you know, it was happening like, oh, hey, Trick, I'm sorry, Matric. Matric went undrafted to the Philadelphia Eagles and I was doing the motivational speaking things. And I would, you know, I went to a middle school to talk to the kids. Now I didn't know there was going to be the full student body of a whole middle school, you know, right there in Columbia, South Carolina.

But man, I went up there and, you know, I was talking, a lot of you not, you would have thought I was the president of the United States, like not a pen would drop. And this is middle school. And you know how middle school kids are, you're big full of energy and rowdy, going crazy.

It gets rowdy. But it's because I was presented as Trick Williams, the Philadelphia Eagle, you know, and I just saw the power that came with that. Like, hey, these kids, you know, they listen because you're doing something that they perceive to be cool at life. And the respect they showed me was amazing. Mind you, I get cut from the Philadelphia Eagles, come back to work the same school or similar school right there in the same area.

And I can't get the kids quiet to, to, you know, take the role, you know, that's because they wouldn't listen to me because I was a substitute teacher. You know what I mean? That's a tough job in itself, you know, it's a tough job in itself. And that's why I say these teachers, you know, they just have more money, man.

They really do. But I learned a valuable lesson that day. Just like, hey, your message hits way harder when it's coming from somebody who, you know what I mean?

It was on that platform. And I never get it twisted to think that, hey, it's really about me. You know what I'm saying? Like, like, I'm, I'm grateful, you know, for the opportunities and everything like that. But ultimately, I know, man, this platform is to do good. You know what I mean? Like, tell people what's real.

Motivate somebody else, man. Like, yeah, I got the title. That's great. But since I got the title, I'm gonna take it back to my old high school. You know, I took it with me to Jamaica. You know what I mean? I'm with the kids in Jamaica.

That meant everything to them. You know what I mean? Like, when has the WWE title ever been in Jamaica? Now, you part Jamaican? Man, I'm not. I just wanted to go. I just wanted to go.

And I didn't want to go to even go be with the kids. I just happened to see these kids on a field trip, you know, at the Bob Marley Museum, you know? And I was there because I wanted to see what was going on. And these kids on a field trip, and they're like, oh, big muscles, big muscles and everything like that.

You know what I mean? Then some of the kids recognize like Tripp Williams. I'm like, man, I got my title in the car. I went and got the car. I mean, went and got the title. And, you know, these kids was having a great time, man.

You know, if even for five minutes, you know, they was the WWE champion. And I'm like, bro, this is more powerful than, you know, me just trying to get all the glory all the time. Like, that's not what it's about. Like, I'm trying to, man, I want to motivate somebody else because, and somebody was doing that for me when I was a kid, when it was my dream to become an NFL superstar. You know, if an NFL guy had came back and told me, hey, yo, you want to do this? Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

It wouldn't have meant so much. And I know that. So it's just, I'm grateful for the opportunity to do that for other people.

That's beautiful, man. And we want to remind everybody for the third consecutive year deadline will feature the men's and women's iron survivor challenge with the winners, earning a future match for the NXT championship against trick Willie and the NXT women's championship. In addition, now this PLE, the premium live event, and that's still weird for me to say, I still get caught up trying to say PPV trick, and that's not the case anymore, but this premium line of event will also feature the biggest superstars from NXT. In addition to NXT champion, trick Williams, who's with us now, NXT women's champion, Roxanne Perez, NXT North American champion, the Dawn, Tony DeAngelo, NXT women's North American champion, Fallon Henley, Javon Evans. We spoke about him, Kalani Jordan, all ego, Ethan page. Who's a guy you've had some beef with low, the vice Jada Parker and, and more. So deadline, what should we expect this Sunday, Saturday, I'm sorry.

As it streams in the U S exclusively on peacocks, starting at 7 PM Eastern 4 PM Pacific, man. It's definitely a, it's definitely a stat show. Um, and look, man, you just named some of the, some of the dogs of NXT, you know, even page, you know, we're talking, uh, we still ain't got love for Ethan page, right? Man, we'll never have love for each page, even though he made it, he made a decent district. I'll give him that. Okay. You know what?

I want to interrupt you. Speaking of which this tracks PD, butch, that song, bro. I had that on.

I was just playing that. Talk to me about the music real quick. I mean, they're up to you, but you brought that in this DC, this track you had on Pete Dunn. How did that come about?

Because that, let me tell you something. It was banging, man. You know, it was crazy. I just always love hip hop, man.

It's literally that simple. And, you know, rapping is just something that you do, you know what I mean? Like we was on the back of the bus, we would always wrap, we would freestyle. And I never been to the studio because, you know, honestly, I just never wanted to be that guy. You know, that's that SoundCloud rapper. That's just me. You know what I mean? Like football was my way. But, you know, for some reason I just said, man, forget that.

And I got something I want to put down. So I went to the studio and I said, he's a butch. And I meant every word.

He's a butch. And, man, the song blew up, man. We had like millions of views on Twitter alone.

It was in Forbes magazine. And shout out to everybody who part of the music video with me. Like, the cameos went crazy for that one.

Yeah. You know, like the Don was in there, Lash was in there. You had everybody just vibing. He's a butch.

Artin O from Battle Rap was in there. People were down with it. So, I mean, we let the world know that Pete Dunne is a butch. And, you know, it was crazy because people still, when he travels, you know, that's a chant that goes on for Pete.

You know, so that's pretty cool. And right now, R-Truth is taking that up. He's beefing with him. You know, R-Truth doesn't know that there's a difference between Pete and Butch. He thinks that they're two different people, I think. You just never know with R-Truth who, I will say this, R-Truth's one of the greatest sports entertainers of all time, in my opinion. Like, man, tell R-Truth to get on the remix, man. Look, if he wants to get his thing started.

If he wants to get his thing started. Look, and I'm working with Ridge. You know, Ridge ain't far from a butch himself. Well, him and Pete were together for a minute. So, you know, the brawling groups. Now we're talking. Let's go ahead and drop a diss track. What if we get you and R-Truth battling Pete and Butch. Well, Pete is Butch.

Ridge. I mean, look, the stories write themselves there, Trick. Stories write themselves. So, Trick, what we usually do is, you know, every guest that we have here, O'Shea and I like to say, we are now inducting you into the No Contest Wrestling Hall of Fame for joining us. So I want to, you know, applaud you for that. And I usually ask wrestlers, you know, and you know, we've had CM Punk, we've had Mark Henry, you know. I've asked them, like, we've had Bianca Belair.

What matches would they like to see placed on a on a loop on a reel next to their bust in our Hall of Fame? Now, because Trick, because you're just getting started. And I know, man, we haven't even seen the best of Trick Williams yet. Let's just be honest. This is just the start for you. So let me ask you something different. If you were to find someone who was unfamiliar with wrestling.

Right. And you wanted to get them hooked. And you were going to give them three matches to watch that would make them wrestling fans. Three matches that you've loved since you came up.

What what three would they be? Oh, man. Well, I'm going to start off with Rock Hogan. OK, WrestleMania. WrestleMania, Rock Hogan.

Like to me, like to me, that match right there is the ultimate feeling of what the sport is about. I can only imagine the electricity in that in that building. I believe it was in Canada. Toronto. Yeah.

Yeah. So, man, that has to be number one, especially from a psychology point of view. The way one walked in is the face. One walked in as a hill.

The crowd said, nah, this ain't what we want. So they had to kind of flip it until they got to the to the final to the finish. So, yeah, just as far as wrestling psychology goes, that's got to be one of the greatest matches of all time. Has to be.

Has to be. Man, probably Shawn Michaels Taker. Which one?

Man, man, I would probably say the first one. WrestleMania or the hell in the cell, though? Man, the WrestleMania. OK. When Taker was diving.

Oh, that was almost that we avoided that disaster with that dive, too. Right. So I believe that was was that 25 WrestleMania, I think I have to double check that. I'm not mistaken.

Something like that. OK, so the first Undertaker Shawn WrestleMania match. OK. And the Iron Survivor match last year. That was an Iron Survivor match.

Like to me, if you're a wrestling fan or not, if you know what I mean, if you understand entertainment, period, if you like sports, if you like wrestling, if you like people, period, man, that match will make you feel so. The Iron Survivor. And can you refresh my memory?

I forget who who came out on top of that men's match. Really? Two times. So you say it two times, man. Yeah.

Trick Willy, trick Willy. And shout out to everybody else in that match. Like, seriously, and Dijak, Josh Briggs, Tyler Bate and Bron Breakker. And everybody was like this on fire, which made this match mean so much more than I can do by myself.

So and everybody you see is pretty much doing good now. So it just goes to show you. Yeah, no doubt. Speaking of which, you brought up his name. I know this is about you, but since you brought him up, Bron Breakker, man, you guys share that football background. Were you guys tight during his time in NXT?

And did you really have any real interaction with him? Yeah, man, me and Bron are the same class. And I hope actually, you know, decently tight me, Bron Breakker, Tony DeAngelo and the Cree brothers, you know, was kind of the athletes, you know, being brought into, you know, the performance center.

I think it was one of the first times they did it in bulk like that, like kind of an athlete tryout and just kind of brought in athletes and put us to the side and say, hey, we find something new with y'all. I mean, and there's also a guy, Parker Boudreau. He's no longer with us. He's over in Japan right now, doing some stuff.

Yeah, he's in Japan doing something. But yeah, and, you know, they gave us an opportunity. And now we all rose to the occasion, man. All of us title holders at this time.

I mean, at some time, excuse me, sometime. So shout out to everybody who, you know, came up with the game, man. Yeah, the future, man, the future of wrestling there. And I've also said that if Tyler Bate was six feet tall, he might be the greatest wrestler on there. I just love Tyler Bate, love his style, you know, just the big strong boy for a dude not that big in height.

He just makes up for and almost everything else. And, you know, of course, Braun's doing his thing. You're doing your thing. Tony's doing his the future of NXT and WWE, man.

It's as a wrestling fan. We're excited to see where the future takes you guys. And, man, trick, I'd sit here for the next two, three hours and talk to you, brother. But I think it's time we let you go. I'm going to pull this out. You know, I got I got my own version right here. You know, you got to keep that thing on you, man. You got to keep that thing going. Now, you got the newer one. I got an I got an older one here.

You know, I was there was this I share a quick story with a trick. There was a Instagram page called Wrestle Rumble a few years ago and great page. What they do is, you know, they they give out, you know, prizes. You know, they have pick them games for all the ples, NXT and WWE. They give out prizes, belts and things. And one time they had a contest that they were giving out all eight NXT title belts. So we're talking the NXT men's and women's, the two European titles, the North American, the Cruiserweight and the tag team title.

So eight titles. And I paid ten dollars. I know this contest. I spent a dollar, you know, ten entries, ten dollars. Three months later, I get this email that they've been trying to find me. They're like, you won this contest.

And I was like, this ain't true. And then three days later, I get two boxes and I've got all eight NXT belts in my possession. So, you know, I'm a big NXT fan is what I'm what I'm getting at, which is true. I mean, likewise, my brother, likewise. Well, the NXT champion trick Williams, you can catch him at deadline this weekend, defending that title and get used to the name, get used to the face, the future of the WWE, the future of wrestling.

One of them, you're staring at him right now. And future is bright trick. Can't wait to see what the future holds for you, my man. Yes, sir. I appreciate you, TJ. Thanks for having me. No doubt.

On behalf of O'Shea, who's out doing, you know, movie star type things when I say thank you. And I got to leave you with one more. Oh, yeah, man. Yeah, man. That's trick. Trick Williams, everybody. Appreciate you, brother.

So shout out to that dude. Trick Williams, man. What a great interview we had with him next week.

We're still working on the guests. We'll have one for you. I'm sure O'Shea will be back.

He'll be done doing this movie star type stuff. I'll be here. Cause I'm always here and hopefully you will be here too. And remember follow us on all the socials on X there's no contest on Instagram, no contest wrestling podcast.

And you can always find all of our videos on the Rich Eisen show YouTube page until next week. Peace. Let's talk sleep number people. It's the official sleep and wellness partner of the national football league. So if you get good sleep, you play well. 80% of Kansas city chief players have a sleep number, smart bed, 90% of Vikings players have a sleep number, smart bed. So do I, my sleep number setting is 60.

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