Training and early years (2018–2021) After being cut from the mini-camp, Belton sent a tape to
WWE in an attempt to enter the
XFL, a quickly defunct football league also ran by
Vince McMahon. While he was unsuccessful, WWE reached out to him via
email to encourage him to try out wrestling. He moved in with his uncle to train and perform for
Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) in
Philadelphia, working as a
fitness coach for
Orangetheory Fitness by day and attending wrestling school at night. To honor his uncle and black roots, Belton created a
Dolemite-inspired character named after his uncle's nickname, "
Sweet Daddy Trick", and a
short film to develop his new
persona. During the
COVID-19 pandemic, he moved out of his uncle's house and relocated to
Los Angeles, where he worked odd jobs while also training at KnokX Pro Wrestling Academy until he was signed by WWE. The following month, he appeared as an unnamed bodyguard of
Apollo Crews on
SmackDown. On the September 14 episode of
NXT, Belton made his first NXT appearance as a friend of
Carmelo Hayes under the
ring name Trick Williams and attacked
Duke Hudson, establishing himself as a
heel and forming an alliance known as the Trick Melo Gang. Williams made his in-ring debut on the October 5 episode of
NXT, teaming with Hayes in a
fatal four-way elimination tag team match for the
NXT Tag Team Championship, which was won by
MSK (
Nash Carter and
Wes Lee). In mid-2022, Williams
feuded with Lee, defeating him at
NXT: The Great American Bash on July 5, before losing to Lee in a
rounds match on the August 9 episode of
NXT. Williams and Hayes turned
face on the April 4, 2023 episode of
NXT, after
Bron Breakker turned heel by attacking them. On the August 1 episode of
NXT, Williams told Hayes that they needed to part ways so he could achieve his own accomplishments, amicably breaking up the Trick Melo Gang. At
NXT: Heatwave on August 22, Williams lost to
Ilja Dragunov. On the September 26 episode of
NXT, Williams defeated
Axiom,
Dragon Lee and
Tyler Bate in a
fatal four-way match to become the number one contender for the
NXT North American Championship, which he won from
"Dirty" Dominik Mysterio four days later at
NXT No Mercy. However, on the October 3 episode of
NXT, Williams lost the title back to Mysterio after interference from Mysterio's
Judgment Day stablemates, ending his reign at three days, the shortest reign in the title's history. On the October 17 episode of
NXT, Williams was slotted into the
triple threat match between Hayes,
Dijak and
Baron Corbin to make it a fatal four-way match for a
NXT Championship opportunity against Dragunov at
NXT: Halloween Havoc, causing a rift between Williams and Hayes. Before the match started, Williams was found attacked backstage and taken to a hospital. Hayes then defeated Dijak and Corbin for the title opportunity. On Night 2 of Halloween Havoc on October 31, Williams returned and cost Hayes the NXT Championship match. At
NXT Deadline on December 9, Williams won the men's
Iron Survivor Challenge to earn an NXT Championship match against Dragunov at
NXT: New Year's Evil on January 2, 2024. At the event, after it was announced that Dragunov was not medically cleared to wrestle, Hayes placed Williams in a match against
Grayson Waller with his title shot on the line, which he won after interference from
Kevin Owens. On the January 16 episode of
NXT, Dragunov returned from injury and informed Williams that their title match would take place at
NXT Vengeance Day.
NXT and TNA World Championship reigns (2024–2025) At the same time, Williams and Hayes competed in the
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, losing to Corbin and Breakker in the finals at NXT Vengeance Day on February 4. Later that night, Williams failed to win the NXT Championship from Dragunov. After the match, Hayes attacked Williams with a
steel chair, ending their partnership. On the following episode of
NXT, Hayes revealed that he was the one who attacked Williams back in October 2023. After
Tony D'Angelo defeated Hayes at
NXT: Roadblock, Williams made his return and attacked Hayes. At
NXT Stand & Deliver on April 6, Williams defeated Hayes. The following week on
NXT, Williams called out Dragunov to challenge him for the NXT Championship. Dragunov agreed to a title match at
Spring Breakin' on the condition that Williams
leave NXT if he loses, which Williams accepted. In a NXT Stand & Deliver rematch on the April 16 episode of
NXT, Williams defeated Hayes in a
steel cage match despite interference from Hayes' security team, ending their feud. On Week 1 of
Spring Breakin', Williams defeated Dragunov to capture the NXT Championship for the first time in his career. Williams began feuding with the debuting
Ethan Page, who signed a contract that contained an NXT Championship match at
NXT Battleground on June 9, where Williams retained the title in his first defense. At
NXT Heatwave on July 7, Williams lost the title to Page in a fatal four-way match also involving
Je'Von Evans and
Shawn Spears, the former of whom Page pinned, ending his reign at 75 days. Following the loss, he feuded with
Pete Dunne, who derided Williams for seeking advice to recapture the NXT Championship. At Week 2 of
NXT: The Great American Bash on August 6, Williams lost to Dunne. He retaliated by costing Dunne a triple threat match against
Joe Hendry and Wes Lee for a NXT Championship match at
NXT No Mercy on September 1, where Williams served as the
special guest referee for the NXT Championship match between Page and Hendry. On the September 10 episode of
NXT, Williams defeated Dunne in a
Last Man Standing match to end their feud and earn an NXT Championship match at
NXT's CW premiere on October 1, where he defeated Page (with
CM Punk as the special guest referee) to win his second NXT Championship. At
NXT Halloween Havoc on October 27, Williams successfully defended the title against Page in a
Devil's Playground match. After the match, he was attacked by Page and
Ridge Holland, before being saved by
Bubba Ray Dudley. This led to a
tag team match at
NXT 2300 on November 6, which Williams and Bubba Ray lost after Holland
pinned Williams. At
NXT Deadline on December 7, Williams defeated Holland to retain the title, ending their feud. On the December 17 episode of
NXT, Williams' title match against
Eddy Thorpe ended in controversial fashion, as two referees counted two separate pins. After the show went off the air, NXT General Manager
Ava confirmed that both Williams and Thorpe's shoulders were down, resulting in a double pinfall, thus Williams retained the title. At
NXT: New Year's Evil on January 7, 2025, Williams lost the NXT Championship to
Oba Femi in a triple threat match also involving Thorpe, ending his second reign at 98 days. Williams lost to Thorpe in a
strap match at
NXT Vengeance Day on February 15, but defeated him in an
NXT Underground match on the March 18 episode of
NXT to end their feud. At
NXT Stand and Deliver on April 19, Williams failed to regain the title from Femi in a triple threat match also involving Evans. On the following episode of
NXT, Williams began to tease a heel turn, as his character shifted to becoming more entitled as he whined for another title opportunity from Femi. Afterwards, Williams would insult
TNA World Champion Joe Hendry following his surprise appearance and quick loss to
Randy Orton at
WrestleMania 41. Williams solidified his heel turn by attacking Hendry at
Rebellion and helping DarkState defeat Hendry and Hank and Tank (
Hank Walker and
Tank Ledger) on the May 6 episode of
NXT. Hendry caused Williams to be eliminated from the battle royal to determine the number one contender for the NXT Championship later that night, with a match between the two being made official for the TNA World Championship at
NXT Battleground. At NXT Battleground on May 25, Williams defeated Hendry to win the TNA World Championship. On the August 19 episode of
NXT, Williams lost to Evans in a match to determine the number one contender for the NXT Championship at
NXT Heatwave after interference from Santana, who eventually defeated Williams to win the TNA World Championship at
Bound for Glory. He failed to win the NXT Championship from Saints at
NXT Halloween Havoc on October 25, and in a
Last Man Standing match on the November 11 episode of
NXT. At Week 2 of
NXT: Gold Rush on November 25, Williams lost to
Myles Borne in a men's Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying match. On the December 26 episode of
SmackDown, Williams declared himself to be a free agent, ending his time in NXT.
SmackDown and United States Champion (2026–present) On the January 2, 2026 episode of
SmackDown, Williams confronted
Sami Zayn and announced that he had been signed to the
SmackDown brand. The following week on
SmackDown, Williams defeated
Rey Fénix in his first match as a main roster talent. On January 16, Williams defeated
Matt Cardona to qualify for a
fatal four-way match at
Saturday Night's Main Event on January 24 to determine the number one contender for the
Undisputed WWE Championship, which was won by Zayn. At
Royal Rumble on January 31, Williams entered the Royal Rumble match at #10, eliminating
Mr. Iguana and
El Grande Americano (I) before being eliminated by
Cody Rhodes. On February 20, he defeated Carmelo Hayes and
Damian Priest to qualify for the
Elimination Chamber match at the
titular event on February 28, where he was eliminated by
Logan Paul. At Night 2 of
WrestleMania 42 on April 19, Williams (with
Lil Yachty) defeated Zayn to win the
United States Championship for the first time in his career. On the following episode of
SmackDown, Williams and Yachty solidified their partnership as the Trick-Yachty Gang. They also announced that the United States Championship open challenge (which was held by former champions Zayn, Ilja Dragunov, and Carmelo Hayes) was abolished.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2025) Trick Williams made his
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) debut at Rebellion on April 27, 2025, attacking Joe Hendry following his successful TNA World Championship defense against
Frankie Kazarian and Ethan Page. Williams attacked Hendry again on the May 1 episode of
Impact!, costing him and the
Hardy Boyz their match against Kazarian,
Nic Nemeth and
Ryan Nemeth. Williams and Kazarian lost to Hendry and
Elijah in a tag team match at
Under Siege on May 23. On May 25, Williams defeated Hendry to win the TNA World Championship at NXT Battleground, marking the first time a WWE-contracted wrestler won a TNA title. Williams successfully defended the title against Elijah at
Against All Odds on June 6 with the help of A. J. Francis, Hendry and Mike Santana at
Slammiversary on July 20, and
Moose at
Emergence on August 15. Santana and
Steve Maclin defeated Williams and Francis on the August 28 episode of
Impact!, earning Santana the right to challenge Williams for the TNA World Championship. At
Bound For Glory on October 12, Williams lost the title to Santana, ending his reign at 140 days. == Other media ==