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At WWE NXT Vengeance Day, Trick Williams battled Eddy Thorpe in a Strap Match. The two have been butting heads since late 2024 when Thorpe failed to capitalize on several NXT Championship opportunities. Thorpe has been a thorn in Trick's side ever since they were both defeated by Oba Femi, who won the title in a three-way match at New Year's Evil.
Tonight, Thorpe picked up, arguably, the biggest win of his career. The 34-year-old star pulled the strap between Trick's legs, hitting a legal low blow before finishing him off with a running knee. This marks Williams' second big loss in back-to-back major WWE events.
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Williams had a meteoric rise in 2024, sending his former best friend, Carmelo Hayes, to the main roster before capturing the NXT Championship from Ilja Dragunov. By the year's end, he had become a two-time champion. Unfortunately, 2025 has not been his year thus far. He needed a victory at Vengeance Day to get back on track for a potential rematch with Oba Femi. With the shocking loss to Thorpe, what's next for Trick Williams?
Well, the 30-year-old star seems to be gearing up for his main roster transition. So what possible paths are left for him before he makes that eventual move?
#3. Trick Williams could step away to reflect on his career and arrive on the main roster after WrestleMania
The past few years have been wild for Trick Willie. Nobody expected him to become one of NXT's breakout stars. After sitting behind Carmelo Hayes for over a year, fans expected HIM to be the Shawn Michaels to Williams' Marty Jannetty. Instead, both men elevated themselves to main event status.
Wiliams sent Melo to the main roster at WWE Stand and Deliver 2024. However, before that, the two shared a special moment on SmackDown. Before Carmelo turned on Trick, the latter saved the former from a two-on-one beatdown by A-Town Down Under.
As Trick rushed to the ring, the crowd erupted, chanting, "Whoop That Trick" at the top of their lungs. It was a huge moment for the young superstar, and fans have been eagerly anticipating his main roster debut ever since.
There's not much left for Williams to do now that he's without a championship. It would be an easy choice to send him to SmackDown to start another feud with Hayes or perhaps form a partnership.
#2. Trick Williams and Eddy Thorpe could end their feud at WWE Stand & Deliver
At this point, Eddy Thorpe and Trick Williams have faced each other three times. Once in a triple threat, while the other two meetings were one-on-one. Hearing that, you might think another match is all that's needed to wrap this up, but that's actually one match short.
Eddy Thorpe defeated Trick Williams at WWE Vengeance Day, but Williams has never been able to beat him. In their last singles match, Trick defended the NXT Championship against Eddy in a contest that ended in a draw. Both men pinned one another after the champion hit the challenger with the Trick Shot.
It was a controversial moment that fueled Eddy's rage in recent months, as he believed the title had been stolen from him. For Trick to be able to TRULY get over his loss to Thorpe, he needs to beat him twice to prove himself as the better man.
Unfortunately, we're running out of time before WrestleMania weekend, and call-up season is nearly here. With two months remaining, Trick Williams has more than enough time to continue heating up this rivalry with Thorpe before wrapping things up at Stand and Deliver.
They'll get that rubber match in at some point. It may not be in NXT, but we could very well see these two competing on the WWE main roster.
#1. Trick Williams could lose to Oba Femi at WWE Stand and Deliver during WrestleMania weekend
(It's kind of strange that A-Town Down Under is sprinkled throughout this list when it has nothing to do with them, right? Almost feels like I have a hidden agenda.)
The most obvious option, of course, is the Oba Femi door. Let's be honest, this is probably where we're headed. After last year, many are pegging Oba Femi a future Hall of Famer. Unlike Trick Williams, who battled through quite a lot of back-and-forth and adversity, the Ruler has dominated every time he's stepped into the ring.
The only time he has lost on WWE TV, apart from a tag match against Grayson Waller and Austin Theory, was against Tony D'Angelo. The Boss defeated Oba Femi for the North American Championship twice, but he didn't do it alone. The Family helped the Don in both instances, ganging up on Femi to keep the big man down long enough for a three-count.
Since Trick lost the NXT Championship at New Year's Evil, he's clashed with Oba Femi several times, both verbally and physically. Regardless, the energy has been off the charts when these two have interacted. In that tag match against A-Town Down Under, Oba's partner was Trick Williams, and if they had won, Trick would have been added to the title match at WWE Vengeance Day.
After tonight, Trick's got some moves to make before he can face Oba for the final time. He needs to finally defeat Eddy Thorpe, which can be done at NXT Roadblock on March 11, 2025.
That leaves Trick a little over a month to say whatever he needs to in order to secure a championship bout with The Ruler. Once that's done and Trick loses for the final time at WWE Stand & Deliver, he can move on to the main roster.
