Trick Williams Recalls Initial WWE Main Roster Appearance Prior To NXT Debut

In the present day, Trick Williams is an official member of the "WWE SmackDown" roster, with two reigns as NXT Champion and one as TNA World Champion to his name. Back in March 2021, though, Williams appeared on "SmackDown" as merely a background character for Apollo Crews, who proclaimed himself as Nigerian royalty.

During an interview with the "No-Contest Wrestling" podcast, Williams detailed his outing as an elite guard, dressed in combat boots and gear, for Crews.

"So first things first, this is like my second week of even being employed in WWE," Williams said. "I remember I ain't know which way the camera was. I ain't know nothing. [I was] brand new. Happy to be there. They said, 'Hey, we need you on SmackDown. We looked at your ancestry roots and we saw that you are 32.5% Nigerian, so you going to come be a Nigerian bodyguard.' Alright, cool.

"I meet Apollo, he's dope. Denzel Dejournette, he was the other Nigerian guard. That's the first time I met the [office], people in Gorilla at the time. That was a cool moment for me. Then I think the next week we was coming to do it again, and Apollo was hyped. This is a new character for him. The pressure is on. At this point, I know who Apollo is. I don't want to mess this up for him."

On the March 5, 2021 edition of "SmackDown," Crews recalled his childhood as a descendent of Nigerian royalty, while Williams and Dejournette stood behind him as his backup. As a child, Crews claimed he tried to fit in instead of embracing his roots. After being disrespected by then-WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E, Crews asserted that he'd no longer try to fit in, but rather stand out and stand up for himself. As such, Crews then challenged Big E to a rematch for the IC Title.

Williams' role as Crews guard didn't last long because by April 2021, Commander Azeez took the place of both Williams and Dejournette. According to Williams, this can be attributed to an untimely case of COVID-19.

"I just remember a couple days before we had this ring build at NXT where everybody's together and we're building the rings for training. Somebody must have had COVID or whatever the case was. That wasn't good because that thing must have spread." Williams said. "I didn't know that I had COVID and I rolled down to Tampa with Denzel. He didn't know that he had COVID. We got to get tested to enter the building because the protocol is serious. We both get tested. We were riding down, laughing, joking, eating food the whole ride down to Tampa. Then they said, 'Actually, both of you tested positive for COVID. You are not needed for SmackDown.'"

In retrospect, Williams believes his onset of COVID and subsequent storyline removal may have actually been the best thing for his professional wrestling career at the time. After all, Williams was only weeks into his WWE tenure at the time, which meant his knowledge on company operations was limited. Fortunately for him, the training at the WWE Performance Center and "WWE NXT" brand that came after taught him an abundance of valuable skills that he now applies to his full-time work on WWE's main roster.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "No-Contest Wrestling" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.