Trick Williams Talks Learning from Carmelo Hayes and Making Plays for WWE

In a recent interview with Denise Salcedo, NXT’s Trick Williams shared some details about his work at the brand and how he’s grown and gained opportunities during his time there (via Fightful). Williams cited his experiences alongside Carmelo Hayes and how he feels he’s risen to the occasion whenever he’s presented with a chance to perform. You can find a few highlights from Williams and watch the full interview below.

On having the freedom to learn at NXT: “This is the vision that I had for myself all along. This is what I wanted for myself, I wanted to be a superstar, I wanted to be the guy. With that being said, I was brought into WWE alongside Carmelo Hayes, which is one of the best NXT superstars to ever do it, and I’m very fortunate for that. With me being so close to him, I got to learn a lot. I got to see how you conduct business, your mindset going into these big matches. I got to be in the light, even though it’s kind of more his light, but I didn’t have the pressure. Being at those big stages, okay, this is what it feels like, this is what it’s about right here. Being able to build connections with the crowd, it was awesome for me and it’s also able to build my hunger, because when you see your boy eating, it makes you want to have some success on your own too.”

On asking for a chance and rising to the challenge: “That’s just what it was to the point where I had to go to Shawn Michaels myself and say, ‘Shawn, I want the ball.’ I played football before I was wrestling, and I played wide receiver. Wide receivers are the guys who catch the ball and if you don’t catch the ball, you can’t eat, you can’t score the touchdowns, the camera is not on you. Me being able to go to Shawn Michaels off and say, ‘I want the ball’, is probably the best thing I could’ve ever done because he looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘A lot of people come in my office and say they want the ball, but they’re not ready for it.’ He gave me the opportunity and thus far, I’ve been making plays.”