WWE has several people in NXT who are on the cusp of greatness and becoming breakout stars. This includes Trick Williams, who truly came into his own on NXT. That said, it appears Williams almost joined the XFL before making his way to WWE.

Trick Williams had to let Carmelo Hayes know that he is not a sidekick anymore and has since impressed fans with his singles run, as WWE is clearly giving him a nice push at the moment.

Trick Williams signed with WWE in 2021 and he had no experience in the independent circuit prior to his WWE signing. While speaking to Booker T on his Hall of Fame podcast, Trick Williams talked about his start in WWE and revealed that he almost joined the XFL before his WWE debut.

“Growing up, I did watch wrestling. This is around your day, Book. My first favorite wrestler was ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. I opened a can of whoop-ass at three years old. My mama told me like, ‘Hey, we gotta cut back with the wrestling a little bit. I got in trouble, you know what I mean? Then I stopped watching wrestling for a little bit, and I kind of focused on football. But I knew what was going on. I knew the next generation past the Attitude Era. I watched Booker, and I saw John Cena, Randy Orton, these guys. But I wasn’t all the way into wrestling. I was fully involved with football. After college, I had a minicamp tryout with the Philadelphia Eagles, and I got cut. Then from there, I didn’t know what I was gonna do. I was still trying to play footbal.

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I had an agent at the time. He was trying to sign me up for the XFL. The XFL was owned by Vince McMahon. So I filled out this questionnaire for the XFL, and then the next day, WWE reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, if you’re interested, we want to bring you in for a tryout.’ Just like you, I never once really thought about wrestling myself. Where I’m from, I don’t know any professional wrestlers. I didn’t know any schools at this point in time. I didn’t know how you even get into it. But I did go to the tryout, and I thought, ‘Man, I think can do this. I think I can do this. I think I’m actually made to do this right here.’ They didn’t sign me right away, so I had to pursue it. I had up my mind. I said, ‘I’m not a football player anymore. In a wrestler.’ So since then, it’s been history.”

Trick Williams’ most recent match was against Ilja Dragunov at NXT Heatwave. We will have to wait and see what’s next in store for Williams, as NXT clearly has big things for him.

What’s your opinion on what Trick Williams said? Are you glad he ended up joining WWE? Let us know in the comments!

Subhojeet Mukherjee

Subhojeet has been covering professional wrestling for over 20 years, delivering reliable updates and insights on everything from breaking news to backstage developments. His passion for the sport and deep knowledge keep fans informed and engaged.

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