The end of WrestleMania Season brings with it a lot of excitement for what’s next in WWE. Typically, this is the time when NXT stars “graduate” to the main roster, taking their places on either WWE Monday Night Raw or SmackDown. For several, this is a huge jump in their career. For others, it doesn’t play out as well. Trick Williams is someone who has been mentioned as a potential call up and it’s a situation that has created concern among his biggest fans.
Trick Williams has been a hit in NXT. From the time he started as Carmelo Hayes’s best friend and partner, to breaking out on his own to become a two-time NXT Champion. Williams is a home-grown talent as much as anyone else. Fans chant “Whoop Dat Trick” in unison, powering him into and through his matches.
Still, there’s concern about whether Williams’s development in NXT will translate to the main roster. His in-ring abilities are growing, but not there with some of the best workers on the roster. Yet, that’s not the real reason his fans are expressing concern.
Triple H refuses to book Black males as strong singles stars on the main roster
Triple H isn’t booking Black male superstars as singles acts. The main roster currently includes seven Black men. The Street Profits, The New Day, R-Truth, Carmelo Hayes, and Apollo Crews. Crews is reportedly injured, but before that, he was teaming with Baron Corbin. The New Day and Street Profits are holding tag team gold on each show. R-Truth is a comedy act who is used sparingly.
Then there’s Carmelo Hayes. He’s the one who fans had the most hope for recently. Hayes held the NXT Championship, Cruiserweight Championship, and a two-time North American Champion. Yet, all that momentum has ceased to exist on the main roster. He recently won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal, which can’t be ignored, but also shouldn’t be overblown.
Hayes was brought to the main roster in the same WWE Draft as Lyra Valkyria, Tiffany Stratton, and Bron Breakker. Valkyria is a two-time champion, holding the Women’s Intercontinental Championship and a 24-hour run with the Women’s Tag Team Championship. Stratton was the Money in the Bank winner and is now the WWE Women’s Champion. Breakker was a two-time Intercontinental Champion and is now involved in the top angle on Monday Night Raw. Hayes? Hayes has the Andre and is paired with The Miz. See the difference?
This is why there’s concern about Williams reaching the main roster. Will he get booked as a strong singles performer, or will he get an early intro only to be used in a lesser role? The idea of pairing him with Hayes for a tag team run also misses the point that fans are pushing to see Black men used as singles performers, just like their colleagues of other racial demographics.
Trick Williams checks all the boxes of what WWE is looking for in its top superstars. He looks the part, is serviceable in the ring, can talk on the microphone, and fans are behind him. If he gets the opportunity that fans hope for, Williams can become a huge star in WWE. Will he get that chance? The trends on the main roster do not look good.