Shawn Michaels Makes Trick Williams Admission Before Big NXT Title Match
Shawn Michaels is looking to see something out of Trick Williams as the NXT Champion heads into Halloween Havoc.
When the WWE NXT brand debuted on the CW on October 1st, the main event of that show saw Trick Williams become a two-time NXT Champion by defeating Ethan Page in the main event. The match also featured Chicago’s own CM Punk in his hometown as the special guest referee, which made it feel like a bigger deal.
The first time Trick Williams won the NXT Title back in April, he only held the title for 74 days, which led some people to question if WWE officials really believed in Trick as the top guy on the brand.
Shawn Michaels is a two-time WWE Hall of Famer who is considered by many people to be one of the best wrestlers ever. In his current role, Michaels is the WWE Senior Vice President Of Talent Creative Development and also the guy who runs the NXT brand. Michaels has the final say as the head of the NXT creative team (or booker) and he is often praised for his work in that role.
At WWE NXT Halloween Havoc on October 27th, Trick Williams will defend the NXT Title against Ethan Page in a Devil’s Playground Match where anything goes. The 18-year veteran Page has talked about how experienced he is in that kind of environment while Trick, who has only been wrestling for three years, doesn’t have much history in a match like that.
Shawn Michaels Believes Trick Williams Will Be Tested At NXT Halloween Havoc
During an appearance on Busted Open Radio with Dave LaGreca and WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray, Michaels reacted when Ray wondered if Trick was “missing one thing” as a wrestler.
“[Bully Ray & I] can have a little bit of a difference of opinion when ‘he’s missing that one thing.’ I don’t know if he’s missing one thing, but this Devil’s Playground match he’s going to have with Ethan Page, Ethan has been doing this a long time.”
“Yes, Trick has been in a cage match and a last man standing match, but not with guys the likes of Ethan Page. Ethan is going to push him in a way that the other two have not. It’s sometimes hard to help the viewer understand, I’m not talking ECW hardcore, but sometimes there is a limit you have to be able to push a talent to from a hardcore, ‘How rough and rugged are you? How much are you willing to put your body on the line out of love and passion for this job?’”
“That’s something, for me, that is going to get tested at Halloween Havoc. There are some things you can’t help and that is time and reps. That is something Trick has no control over. He’s getting a lot of variety in his three years. He’s done a lot of things. To do a lot of things once or twice is okay, but until you’ve learned to master all of them, there are going to sometimes feel like there are things missing.”
The full card for WWE Halloween Havoc is below.
* Devil’s Playground match for the NXT Championship: Trick Williams (c) vs. Ethan Page
* Tables, Ladders, and Scares match for the NXT North American Championship: Tony D’Angelo (c) vs. Oba Femi
* Roxanne Perez & Cora Jade vs. Giulia & Stephanie Vaquer
* Ambulance Match: Ridge Holland vs. Andre Chase
* NXT Women’s North American Championship: Kelani Jordan vs. Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley or Jazmyn Nyx. The Fatal Influence trio gets to choose what kind of match it is because when they did “Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal” it landed on Spinner’s Choice.
You can watch NXT Halloween Havoc on Sunday, Oct. 27, streaming live at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else.