WWE NXT’s final premium live event of 2023 is NXT Deadline, which will bring with it two Iron Survivor Challenge matches and two opportunities for a shot at the top Championships in NXT. Trick Williams’ star has been rising all year long, and now he is one step closer to that next big opportunity courtesy of the Iron Survivor Challenge. ComicBook.com had the chance to speak with Williams ahead of his match at Deadline, and he is more than ready to prove he belongs with the top-tier stars. The fans are clearly with him too, creating a wave of whoop that trick chants every time he steps in the ring, and we had a chance to ask him his reaction to those chants when they first started.
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“The funny thing is people started chanting whoop that trick, this is during the 2.0 time, and I remember the first time I heard it and Melo kind of looked at me and he was like, ‘they for us or they against us?’ I’m like, ‘I think they for us, dog’. We just kind of roll with it,” Williams said. “Slowly but surely the chants just kept being louder and louder and louder and louder over time. Whenever I had a moment, whoop that trick, whoop that trick.”
“And then once the theme changed and once I came out to face Dragunov and the theme changed, it was so crazy because the whole crowd was in unison, almost like, man, we don’t have any plants. They was right there,” Williams said. “It’s like everybody knew, oh, this is the moment we’re going to bring it in the right way. And the new theme played and they was right there, whoop that trick. Oh, this is tough right here. This is tough.”
It’s difficult not to get hyped up when those chants ring out, and the same can be said of Raw fans when Jey Uso’s music starts and he hits the ring. It’s a close competition for which entrance gets the crowd hyped up most, but Williams thinks he takes that battle. “Man, Jey’s a bad boy, but I think the whoop the trick movement is something unparalleled,” Williams said.
Williams will be ready to deliver in the ring at Deadline, but winning isn’t going to be easy, as there’s some lethal completion in the ring. That isn’t lost on him though, and Williams knows it’s time to show and prove. “Oh, absolutely. I mean this is everything. Like you said, man, there are some big guys in this match and you got Josh Briggs, Mr. Country Strong, you got Bron Breakker, the dog, and you got Dijak, 6’6 and acrobatic man. I mean, this is the time for me to prove myself and show that I can hang with the best of the best on a whole different level,” Williams said.
While there’s only been one example of the match previously, there are still plenty of strategies to take from that one match, and Williams is weighing all the options and will adapt as the match continues. “Right, man, I remember watching the Iron Survivor Challenge last year. I’m thinking this is probably the dopest match I’ve seen,” Williams said. “The 90 seconds locked up… It is like, hey, which is the best spot to have? Do you want to start off the match and have the most time in the match, or do you want to come in fresh on the back end where other people are tired and try to collect your falls that way?”
“So it just kind of depends on where your mind is at. Me being the fighter I am, I probably want to start off the match, but I’m looking forward to it. I also going to keep in mind, like we said, there are some big guys in this match Matthew, so you got to be careful what you ask for here,” Williams said.
WWE NXT Deadline:
- WWE NXT Championship Match: Ilja Dragunov (C) vs Baron Corbin
- Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge Match: Dijak vs Trick Williams vs Josh Briggs vs Bron Breakker vs Tyler Bate
- Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge Match: Tiffany Stratton vs Lash Legend vs Blair Davenport vs Kelani Jordan vs Fallon Henley
- North American Championship Match: Dominik Mysterio (C) vs Dragon Lee
- Steel Cage Match: Roxanne Perez vs Kiana James
- Carmelo Hayes vs Lexis King
NXT Deadline takes place on Saturday, December 9th.
Will we see Trick Williams win the Iron Survivor Challenge at NXT Deadline? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!
