Two years ago, WrestleMania 40 — arguably WWE’s greatest spectacle ever — took over Lincoln Financial Field. Home to the Philadelphia Eagles, WM40 drew more than 120,000 wrestling enthusiasts and unfolded as a cinematic answer to Avengers: Endgame. Heavyweights like The Rock, The Undertaker and John Cena flexed their in-ring superpowers, leaving thousands awestruck just hours before reality came calling.
Minutes away, inside the Xfinity Mobile Arena, Trick Williams was writing his own origin story. Headlining NXT Stand & Deliver, the former NFL hopeful was inching closer to the stage he had always envisioned for himself.
Now, his moment has arrived. On Sunday night, Williams will look to carve out his WrestleMania moment, making his official debut alongside Lil Yachty, with the United States Championship in his sights.
“This is my first WrestleMania. This stage is the biggest and where the lights are the brightest,” Williams tells Billboard in his first-ever interview with the publication. “On top of that, I have a purpose and a why. My mom had knee surgery about a month ago — she got a knee replacement. She’s been rehabbing every single day. She said, ‘There’s no way in the world I’m going to miss my baby’s first WrestleMania.’ I got to show up and show out. If she’s fighting, I’m fighting. It’s way bigger than me.”
Williams’ volcanic rise isn’t only a product of grit and tenacity — it’s charisma. His in-ring promos drip with it, leaving fans hungry for more. Add in his entrance theme, powered by triumphant horns inspired by Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem’s Grammy-winning track “Family Ties,” and Williams feels like a star built for more than just the squared circle. He’s an in-ring firecracker with rap sensibilities, ready to conquer the entertainment world. On Thursday (April 16), Williams leaned further into that lane, releasing his new song “Gingerbread Man” featuring Lil Yachty, which is aimed at his WrestleMania opponent Sami Zayn.
“Some people are gonna kick, fly, flip, and that’s cool. But Trick Williams ain’t no stunt double — I’m a superstar,” he says. “I’m gonna make you want to watch me work. When I come out, I don’t have to do all the moving. I’m gonna sit still and soak it in.”
For entry 020 of Mic Drops and Elbow Drops, Williams speaks with Carl Lamarre about Kendrick Lamar’s influence on his entrance theme, his own musical ambitions, working with Lil Yachty, and navigating comparisons to The Rock.
Two years ago, you were main-eventing NXT Stand & Deliver. Now you’re on the WrestleMania card fighting for the U.S. Title. What’s been the biggest shift in you as a performer and as a man during that rise?
I think it’s the pressure. Going into the deep end time after time again and having ups and downs. You mentioned Stand and Deliver and that was my first time main-eventing during WrestleMania weekend. I remember being hyped for that match with myself and [Carmelo Hayes], which was crazy. It was the biggest NXT attendance ever — no title involved. I remember just saying to myself, “Oh shoot. We’re breaking records.”
I just remember the pressure and the anxiety that came with that. But, as time progressed, with winning and losing the title eventually, main-eventing, going to TNA — no, excuse me, “Trick-N-A” — as the world champion, I had to learn to be a dog, jump off the deep end and work with some GOATs who were honestly better than me. Now, you take all that and transition to Smackdown, I felt the fire. I felt the pressure. Now I can stand across from Randy Orton. I can stand across from Sami Zayn and call him Ginger Ale or Ginger Snap, because I been here before. I’ve been working my whole life for this entire moment.
Your relationship with Carmelo Hayes goes back to your early NXT days. What did it mean to share the ring with him again on SmackDown, this time as two fully realized stars?
It was a dope moment. Even in that environment, with us trying to make it to Elimination Chamber, it felt oddly familiar hearing his music play before mine — or I’m sure it felt the same way for him hearing my music. We’ve both been here both countless times. So it’s cool to see all that hard work that we put in from day one manifest into something great like Smackdown every single Friday.
With that history between you and Melo, how much deeper can the storytelling go now that you’re both on the main roster stage?
I feel like that’s not really up to me. I’ll be honest with you: I’m not really chasing the past. Ex-girlfriends, they’re back there. I’m getting married soon. That’s just how I look at it. The past is in the past, and if Melo is in the main event scene, shoot, I’ll meet him there — because that’s what I’m on the way to, ’cause there’s where I’m trying to be.
“Whoop That Trick” went from an NXT crowd chant to arguably one of the hottest themes in WWE today. Why do you think it connects the way it does?
The theme song is just lightning in a bottle. There’s a lot of things you can’t orchestrate or predict the way they need to hit. I’ll tell you this, Carl, I just knew I wanted horns at the beginning — because to me horns signify royalty. When Jesus is coming back, there’s gonna be horns playing. I love [Baby Keem and] Kendrick Lamar’s “Family Ties.” [Starts humming the beat.]
Triumphant.
Triumphant. Glorious. It feels like something big is on the way to the ring and I love that. I said I needed some trap drums on there, some 808s and something to make it feel like hip-hop because that’s a large part of who I am being The Anointed One. So I sent the “Family Ties” instrumental to our musical team and they sent me back my instrumental within the next 10-20 minutes. Right away, I said, “That’s a hit.” I could feel the energy.
Man, I was in my living room and just walking out remembering where I was going to hit my points — I already knew it. Mind you, the “Whoop That Trick” chants — if you listen to the instrumental — there’s no words in the song. Since day one, when I had a match against IIja Dragunov and debuted this theme, the crowd was right there, chanting “Whoop That Trick.” That’s why I said it’s lightning in a bottle: Because I didn’t know they were gonna chant. They were chanting “Whoop That Trick” with my old theme — which is why it crossed over so smoothly — but you don’t know if it’s gonna hit the same. It fell right on their lap. Then, Booker T was right there with the ad-libs. Nobody heard this before. There were no rehearsals.
I’m manifesting Kendrick and Keem popping out at WrestleMania 43 and 44 to do a mash-up of “Whoop That Trick” with “Family Ties.”
That would be so tough, man. Inspirational place to be. I love that.
You’ve shown flashes on the mic, even rapping on NXT. Could you ever see yourself taking music seriously like John Cena or R-Truth did?
Absolutely. Trick Williams and music are intertwined. I speak from this, because I’ve been a fan of music for a very long time. So I understand music — maybe not to the doctorate level where I’m hitting notes and everything — but I know what sounds good and I know what doesn’t. Now that I’m rocking with Lil Yachty, we might have a little something on the way. Gingerbread, let’s [talk] about it. Music, it gotta happen.
Lil Yachty recently appeared alongside you on SmackDown. How do you see that relationship evolving both creatively and musically?
Can’t lie. Working with Yachty has been dope, man. He loves the business. He’s not here to be no part-timer or just pop in for WrestleMania, he wants to be here for [even the smaller markets like] Delaware or Baton Rouge. He wants to hit the cities because he loves the game. It’s funny seeing him before we went out on [Smackdown]. You can tell he was getting in his state. He said, “Man, I don’t even get nervous for no concert no more, but I feel something for this.” That’s special.
Your charisma is undeniable. How do you make sure the personality enhances and not overshadows your in-ring work?
I can’t be worried about that. Shoot, I’m just gonna do my thing, nah mean? [Laughs.] If it overshadows, then so what? Everybody here for a different reason.
As the kids would say, some people just have that aura.
You know what I’m saying? And the work gotta be there. That’s a non-negotiable, like having your degree. Yeah, it’s a necessary requirement to get the job, but it doesn’t make you qualified in the sense that you’re the best to do it. So know I can lean on more than what I can do inside the ring. I want to make you feel like it’s a whole other environment when my music plays. You just stepped into Trick Willy’s world. Let’s talk about it.
Wrestling feels more embraced by hip-hop and the Black community than ever right now. From your perspective, what’s changed and what does that mean for the next generation?
Wrestling was cool — it was always cool — but especially in the Attitude Era. Stone Cold been accepted amongst us. The Rock, Booker T, DX, it was cool. People were proud to say, “Did you see what The Undertaker did last night? — it was part of the culture. Things are circling around to where wrestling is becoming hotter now than it was ever before. Shout-out to TKO, Nick Khan, [and] Triple H, because they got us on different platforms where the brand can expand to places we ain’t ever been before. Now we’re on The Breakfast Club, and ESPN. I’ve been on ESPN five times.
You were on First Take with the Lemon Peps.
With the Lemon Peps. Me and Stephen A [Smith] kicking it, talking about South Carolina basketball. This doesn’t happen 10 years ago. It’s a good time to be in the game.
You’ve drawn comparisons to a young Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. How do you take that as motivation without letting it define you?
When it comes to being a WWE Superstar, that’s one of the best compliments you can ever receive, because I feel like nobody has ever done it like The Rock. That being said, I don’t want people to see The Rock in my work. Maybe the way people feel might be similar to when The Rock was doing his thing now that Trick Williams is doing his. I want that to be the extend of it, but as far as, “Oh man. He’s doing what The Rock does?” Absolutely not, man. Trick Williams is his own man because The Rock is one of those guys who can really, really say, “I’m going to pursue this.”
When I was putting down my football helmet with the Philadelphia Eagles — it was around KofiMania time — I said let me go back to what made me love wrasstling. I watched The Rock and his promos. I saw how he can pick the crowd up and set ’em down and they can know everything he was about to say. He controlled the crowd. It was almost like a pastor at church. It was crazy how he can do it. I said if I was going to do this, I want it to feel like this. I gotta find my way to make the people know that they can have a great time. I’m not The People’s Champ, I’m The Anointed One. Let’s talk about it.
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