Shawn Michaels has revealed the real reason he turned Trick Williams heel in NXT, and it had nothing to do with the character running its course as a babyface.
Speaking with Triple H in a sit-down conversation for Variety, Michaels explained that Williams’ babyface run was becoming too dependent on his opponents doing the heavy lifting to keep him growing, and that a heel turn was the only way to make Williams truly understand the dynamic.
“I felt like we needed him to be a heel. Because in my mind, he hadn’t quite understood the benefits of what your heels do for you as a babyface, and I needed him to kind of jump on that other side to try to understand that. Now he was going to have to be that guy that certainly gets his stuff over and continues to do his stuff, but has to now make that other individual, and to understand how much work and effort and psychology goes into that and appreciate it. So when somebody’s doing it for you, you appreciate it. And to understand that it’s a mutual business partnership that you have with the individual going out there.”
Michaels acknowledged that Williams was someone he would have loved to keep building NXT around, but said he was never going to stand in the way of a talent’s advancement.
“Here’s one that I would have loved to have been able to build a brand around, but I’m never going to keep guys from success. That’s something I don’t ever certainly want to do.”
Triple H added that he had a recent conversation with Williams about how his time in NXT, even the frustrating parts, was all part of the plan.
“I just said it to Trick the other night. He gets the WrestleMania match, and he’s so excited, and he was being thankful for all the positioning. And I said, look, I’m thankful that you’re ready to get there. I said, so now look back on the frustration that you had of being in a time where you knew you were ready. In your mind, we were screwing you over by keeping you in developmental. But we were getting you ready for this. We believed you weren’t quite ready yet, and that you could benefit more, even if it was just slightly, from baking a little bit longer.”
Trick Williams challenges Sami Zayn for the United States Championship on Night Two of WrestleMania 42 this Sunday, April 19 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Variety with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
