What's Your Story? with Steph McMahon

Trick Williams

91 min
Apr 30, 2026about 1 month ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Trick Williams shares his remarkable journey from college football walk-on to WWE SmackDown superstar, detailing his struggles with identity, faith-driven decisions, and the mentorship that shaped his path. The episode explores themes of perseverance, gratitude, and the unexpected pivot from NFL aspirations to professional wrestling success.

Insights
  • Deliberate discomfort and self-imposed challenges (walking on to elite programs, leaving scholarships) accelerate personal growth and reveal true calling more effectively than comfort-seeking paths
  • Faith-based decision-making combined with actionable effort creates momentum; Trick's prayer-guided transfers and dream-based networking both required follow-up work to manifest results
  • Mentorship from unexpected sources (coaches, family, peers) compounds success; Trick credits Big John, Deuce Daly, Corey Jackson, and Carmelo Hayes as pivotal influencers at different career stages
  • Gratitude mindset rooted in scarcity (14 cents after bills, substitute teaching) prevents entitlement and maintains hunger even during rapid professional ascent
  • Athletic identity is transferable; skills from 20 years of football (discipline, work ethic, coachability) directly enabled wrestling success despite zero prior experience
Trends
Cross-sport athlete recruitment into entertainment (NFL to WWE pipeline gaining traction with charismatic athletes)Faith and spirituality as explicit career decision-making framework in mainstream sports entertainmentMentorship networks as primary career acceleration tool, replacing traditional agent-driven pathwaysAuthenticity and vulnerability in athlete personal branding resonating with Gen Z audiencesMilitary family values (discipline, sacrifice, no-ego work ethic) producing high-performing entertainment professionalsCollaborative creative process in wrestling replacing hierarchical athlete-coach model from traditional sportsFull-circle narrative marketing (hometown venues, family involvement, legacy moments) driving fan engagementFinancial scarcity as character-building asset; transparency about struggle humanizing high-profile athletes
Topics
College football walk-on recruitment and transfer portal strategyFaith-based decision-making in career pivotsNFL to WWE athlete crossover pipelineMentorship and relationship-building for career advancementPersonal branding and gimmick development in professional wrestlingMilitary family influence on work ethic and disciplineGratitude mindset and scarcity-driven motivationCollaborative creative process in sports entertainmentIdentity transition from athlete to entertainerWrestleMania preparation and competitive excellenceCommunity engagement and zoo visits as relationship buildingHealthy competition among peer talent (Gunther, Brawling Brutes)Lemon Pepper Steppers cultural legacy and family traditionCOVID-19 impact on wrestling training and career timingRelationship dynamics with Lash Legend and public personas
Companies
WWE
Primary employer; Trick Williams is a SmackDown superstar who recently debuted after training at the Performance Center
University of South Carolina
College where Trick walked on as football player and became starter after leaving Hampton University scholarship
Hampton University
HBCU where Trick received full football scholarship before transferring to University of South Carolina
Philadelphia Eagles
NFL team Trick pursued through rookie mini camp after college; connection through Deuce Daly and Alshon Jeffery
CZW (Combat Zone Wrestling)
Independent wrestling promotion in Philadelphia where Trick trained and had his first professional wrestling match
Knox Pro
Wrestling school in Los Angeles run by Rikishi where Trick trained during COVID-19 pandemic
NXT
WWE developmental brand where Trick trained in 2.0 class with Carmelo Hayes, Brawling Brutes, and others
NFL Spring League
First-year professional football league where Trick competed to generate film for NFL team submissions
People
Trick Williams
Guest; SmackDown superstar sharing journey from college football walk-on to WWE success and upcoming WrestleMania match
Stephanie McMahon
Host of 'What's Your Story?' podcast; engaged in deep conversation about Trick's career journey and personal values
Lash Legend
Trick's fiancée; mentioned throughout as supportive partner and fellow WWE talent; dream match against Trick discussed
Steve Spurrier
Legendary coach who gave Trick opportunity to walk on; quit mid-season during Trick's junior year
Carmelo Hayes
Peer in NXT 2.0 class; taught Trick collaborative creative process and relationship-building with writers
Deuce Daly
Played at Airport High School, University of South Carolina, and Philadelphia Eagles; mentored Trick and brought him ...
Rikishi
Trained Trick at Knox Pro wrestling school in Los Angeles during COVID-19 pandemic
Corey Jackson
Mentored Trick on personal branding, confidence, and networking at Pro Bowl events in Orlando
Alshon Jeffery
Signed $55M deal with Eagles; trained with Trick and connected him to Deuce Daly for NFL opportunities
Sweet Baby James
Trick's great uncle in South Philadelphia; charged $200/month rent, taught life lessons, originated 'Lemon Pepper Ste...
Lil Yachty
Collaborating with Trick on WrestleMania segment; wants to train and eventually have match; inspired gingerbread man ...
Gunther
Peer competitor in healthy competition with Trick and Javon for top spots in WWE
Javon
Peer competitor in healthy competition with Trick and Gunther for top spots in WWE
Triple H
Mentioned as authority figure; Trick wore shirt out of respect to avoid hitting his paycheck
Cody Rhodes
Worked with Stephanie McMahon on recent Raw segment; mentioned as part of creative collaboration
Quotes
"I'm a king created by God Almighty. Never forget who you are, who's you are. They can't break you."
Trick Williams (quoting his mother)Mid-episode
"You are a free agent. All that other stuff. Talk yourself up. You speak highly of yourself."
Corey Jackson (mentoring Trick)Career development section
"I knew I found my purpose right then and there. I didn't sleep for two days. In front of only 13 people."
Trick Williams (about first wrestling match)CZW wrestling section
"I had to lose everything. Everything. To the point I was down to 14 cents when I paid off all my bills. That's when WWE called me."
Trick WilliamsWWE call-up section
"Not everybody who has the option takes the harder path. But it's often the harder path that forges who we are."
Stephanie McMahonEarly conversation
Full Transcript
Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs. Shopify is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business with easy customizable themes that let you build your brand, marketing tools that get your products out there, integrated shipping solutions that actually save you time, from startups to scale-ups, online, in-person and on-the-go. Shopify is made for entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com. I drive down to South Carolina, University of South Carolina. The Gamecocks, the number 14 in the nation. I put on a suit. I mean, Tripp Willie style, you know, lemon pepper steppers. You know, I go straight to the facility. I go straight to the elevator. I go right to the top. Steve Spurrier's the head bald coach. He's a legend, but he has a son named Steve Spurrier Jr. I walk straight up to the office. He says, what are you doing here? I said, my name is Matt Belton. And I'm here to play football. He said, you here to play football? He said, do you attend the school? No, sir. I'm still at Hampton University. But, you know what I mean? I be here in the spring. He said, well, you can't play football here if you don't attend the school. Thank you. Oh, what's your story? Don't you dare be sour. Clap for Stephanie and feel the power. Welcome to What's Your Story with Steph McMahon, a WWE and Fanatics original production. Well, thank you so much, Tripp, for being a part of this show. I've been so excited to have you on. Thank you for having me. I mean, it's just incredible your rise and you are on a rocket. Do you feel it? Man, I'm enjoying every single day. I wake up every morning next to my fiance. And we are, excuse me, Lash Legend. Yes. And, yeah, like we both just so grateful, you know, as far as the first three months, four months on SmackDown, I couldn't picture it going much better than what is going right now. So, yeah, so, so, so, so, so grateful. Yeah, that's amazing. I think that's the best possible perspective you can have. For sure. Where do you think that comes from, that gratitude and that appreciation? Because I don't think everybody feels the same. For sure. I think not having it, not knowing what was next, you know, not having the money to wake up and like, no, go get food and, you know, I have to look at my account like, hmm, maybe I get lunch, maybe I get dinner. You know, like, you know, humbly. And at what time in your life is this? This is after college. OK. So you're on your own? This is on my own. Yeah. My parents, great parents, like, of course, they would have done anything to make sure I was good. But this is me as a man having to figure out what was next in my life. Now, moving out to California, training at Knox Pro with Rikishi and DoorDash and, you know, teaching online. I'm on the West Coast teaching online on the East Coast and South Carolina. Right, because you're also a teacher. I was also, you know, doing the teaching thing. So waking up four o'clock in the morning, you know, on the West Coast. So they had seven o'clock on the East Coast and DoorDash and throughout the day and then training at night and doing the same thing in Philadelphia. And, you know, I think going through that time period of my life, you know, I just had to love the craft and love what I was doing, you know, taking the chance with pro wrestling, not knowing if I was going to make it or not. But I truly enjoyed it. So now that I get paid for it. What you mean? I mean, you guys need to get paid even more for it as you move forward. Yeah, yeah. The people love me too. And I cried the cheek cold of life. There's nothing really that I could complain about, you know? I mean, I get to do what I love every single week. And going back to your folks house, that wasn't like a thought for you. Not for me. Yeah. I mean, it's not that they, you know, they offer like, yeah, you can come back and we can figure it out. But for the opportunities that I wanted, you know, going to a good wrestling school, you know, working with Rikishi, you know, I went to CZW and Philly, like I had to get some exposure. I had to get out there and take a chance on myself. I didn't want to be comfortable. I wanted to, I wanted to throw myself in the deep end and reach my potential. And here we are five, six years later. So it was worth it. I think that's incredible. Oh, thank you. Yeah. I mean, really, truly. Not everybody who has the option takes the harder path. Right. But it's often the harder path that forges who we are. Right. And where did you wind up in a place of gratitude when you're having so much success with the woman you love? That's right. I heard you refer to the PC as Love Island, which I thought was really funny. It is Love Island. It's so good. You know, the first thing I said is, come on, I ain't going to go date no Rassler. You know what I mean? Like, I don't want no linebacker. You know what I mean? Here I am, with a Rassler. You know what I mean? That's great. That's so funny. I know as soon as you said it, I was like, oh my god, that's funny. It's perfect. I truly believe sleep is the foundation for everything, your mood, your stamina, your brain power. And after a long day, I need a bed that actually helps me recharge. Brooklyn Bedding understands this. My mattress is not just comfortable. It's intentionally built for restorative sleep. Brooklyn Bedding knows sleep isn't one size fits all. That's why they offer mattresses for everybody, every sleep style, even in hard to find sizes. Brooklyn Bedding also offers a 120 night comfort trial. Love it, or they'll help you return it or swap it hassle free. Go to brooklynbedding.com and use my promo code Steph at checkout to get 30% off site wide. This offer is not available anywhere else. That's brooklynbedding.com and promo code S-T-E-P-H for 30% off site wide. Support our show and let them know we sent you after checkout. Brooklyn Bedding.com promo code Steph. But yeah, I think that's remarkable that that's the place that you've come to. And are you a person of faith as well? Yeah, 100%. Even the idea of joining the journey of becoming a WWE superstar. A piece of me at the time felt like it was self-seeking. I played football for 20 years. Went to Hampton University, walked on to University of South Carolina, worked my way up to becoming a starter. Which is amazing. And that's a whole other thing. And that's speaking to your character too and choosing the harder path. Because that was definitely not an easy decision at the time. It was not. Yeah, speaking of faith, I think that's when I first learned how to take a leap of faith and jump into something that was bigger to me. At Hampton, I love the school. It was a great time. But the athletics there wasn't what I needed like I felt to get to the next level, which was the NFL. So I had it up. Because that was always the goal. That was always the goal. That was always the goal. If you play football, you want to make it to the NFL. If you wrestle, you want to go to WWE. That's where you go. And at the time, Hampton wasn't providing those opportunities. So South Carolina was the hometown team for me. It was the number 14 in the nation. And that's where your dad went, right? Well, my dad played South Carolina State. It was next door in Orangeburg. But everybody aspires to be a game cock if you're from the area. And I remember thinking, man, they're the number 14 in the nation. Like the top dogs is playing there. They didn't recruit me heavily out of high school. They burned me in for some camps. And they saw potential in me. But ultimately, they passed up. So I had an opportunity to, I guess, walk on. Not even an opportunity. I went and found an opportunity to walk on. Right? So describe that. So this is. I'm sure there's a lot of kids. There's a lot of kids. In a similar spot right now, right? A lot of kids want to play for the number 14 in the nation. I remember, I'm not proud of this, but I quit the team at Hampton. Had a lot going on. No excuses. My grandfather passed. Things wasn't right with the coaches and everything. It was the first time I quit anything. But I knew where I wanted to be. And I had clarity for the first time. I said, I'm going to play for the University of South Carolina. And how did you get that clarity? Man, I had to pray about it. Yeah. I had to pray about it. And what were you asking? Like what my path is or what? And you don't have to share it? No, no, this is perfect. OK, OK. This is exactly what it was. So it happened like this. And that's why my brother says I have delusional faith, because it is that I am very delusional in a way. But that's what it takes sometimes. I remember it was the end of my freshman season. It's not delusional if you're believing in yourself. That's right. That's right. And it's working. Clearly. But I remember after my freshman season at Hampton, it was a good season, not a great season. And I remember my stream coach coming down. He was just driving past the dorms. Now he's out there. It's the last day I'm going to drive back to South Carolina. He says, Mattree, let me holler at you for a second. I say, OK, so I walk to his car. He says, you're better than Hampton University. He said, you're better than this place. I see you. I see your growth. I see your potential. I mean, I suggest you transfer to your home state of South Carolina or Clemson. And you take your chances. That's a weird thing for a coach. Right. To tell me. His name is Big John. He just hit me up a couple of weeks ago. Wow. Big John. So I remember going home and I was telling my people, like, you know, Big John told me that I should transfer to University of South Carolina or Clemson. And my parents like, finally, I was thinking the same thing. Let's get this thing going right now. Let's get you, you know, let's start applying. I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on now. You know what I mean? Like, I'm a Hampton pirate. You know what I mean? Right, right. I got a girlfriend. He's moving all the best. I got friends, you know what I mean? Like, I got a life here. I got a life here. I'm trying to uproot and just move like that. And then on. And then they was like, this is what you need to do. Like I'm telling you, like Hampton, your potential is not going to be met here. And I love Hampton. I love my HBCUs, but I'm just talking about the sports program. Sure, sure. At the time. Yeah. And so I remember, you know, I prayed on it and I went to my room and I opened the Bible. And I opened up to a story of what I believed to be Jonah. I just randomly opened it up and the scripture was saying, we're going to take you from this land, you know, to this next land. And he was fighting to get back to the land that he was from. And as I'm reading it, my eyes is like, it just spoke to you. It spoke to me. Yeah. I said, man, shoot, why did I read that? Now I got to move. You know what I mean? Yeah. Darn you, Bible. Right, right. Why did I do that? You know what I mean? And then so like I call my coaches at Hampton, I say, yeah, I'm not coming back. You know, thank you for everything. Thank you for your full scholarship. You know, I know you got big plans for me coming up on my sophomore season, but I'm going to walk on at the University of South Carolina. Very bold. Right. Yeah. You know what I mean? Oh, yeah. I say one month of superior faith. I'm feeling myself. I'm going to University of South Carolina. Right. And that you're going to actually get on. I'm going to walk off. Yeah. And then I got scared. And then I was like, what am I doing? Well, and were people, but you said your parents were supportive? My parents were supportive. And what about other people around you? Oh, you know, you know, the girl I was with at the time, like. Well, she wants you to stay. She wants you to stay. You know, we can't, if you go, we can't be together. You're like, I see you. My quarterback. My quarterback. My boy, my boy played quarterback and he was like, bro, it's supposed to be you and me. Like we took our official visit together and everything like that. I'm like, that's tough. Yeah, I do got a good thing going like, unquote, unquote, appreciated, right? Right. But it's not comfortable. Recognize. I was comfortable. That's exactly what it was. I was comfortable. And then so long story short, I decided to go back to Hampton. Oh, right. How long? This is like this is during the summer. So OK. So you told everybody at the end of the probably we're talking about June. OK. Like, OK, I'm not. No, I'm a transfer to Saacallana. The offensive coordinator, he's calling me like, what are we doing? We got a whole playbook just for you. We're going to do this, blah, did this, blah, did that. And then, you know, like, I don't got to leave. July, I'm coming back. When I get to Hampton in July, I tweak my hands during. No. Me and the girl break up anyways. Like everything, all hell is breaking loose. All the signs are like, what are you doing? Yeah. Back in the car. What am I thinking about? You know what I mean? And I knew right now, when from starting my freshman season to like second, third string, now, as I come back, you know, coming off of injury and everything like that. And then like, I knew where I was supposed to be. Yeah. I didn't do what I was supposed to do. And then we end up playing against Saacallana State. Dad's on the mother, right? OK, which is the crib for me. You know what I mean? Right. I got 20 tickets, 30 tickets. Everybody's coming to see me. I work my way back up the death chart. You know what I mean? Like, all right, cool. Saacallana State. Something happens. I'm not going to make an excuse, but I was late to the meeting. I'm suspended the first half of the game at my hometown at Saacallana State. I'm not playing. I'm like, man, this can't be life, man. I don't know what's going on. After the game, my mom tells me that her dad passed away, my grandfather. And he never got to see me play college ball. I remember like, it just hit a point for me. I was like, man, I ain't supposed to be here. And that's when I quit at Hampton University. Wow. I never quit. Officially. That's when I officially quit. I'm not supposed to be here. Before I get hurt again, I pull another hamstring or do something crazy. I said, I'm supposed to be at the University of Saacallana. So that's what I'm going to do. So then I go to the office. I tell the coaches, sorry, y'all. I wasn't supposed to be here this year. You know, I was supposed to be doing my thing at Saacallana. They said, man, if you ain't playing here at Hampton, how you going to play at the University of South Carolina? If you can't do it here, you're wasting your time, son. If you can't do it here, and all these coaches, the same ones that offer me scholarships and everything like that, turn on me just like that. That was just begging me to stay at Hampton, everything like that. I said, OK. That's interesting. Now I got a chip on my shoulder. Now you know even more it's the right decision. Now I know it's right. Now I can't turn back. I got to make it happen. I remember I drove down to Saacallana, University of South Carolina, the Gamecocks, the number four team in the nation. I put on a suit. I mean, Chip, Willie Style, Lemon Pepper Steppers. I go straight to the facility. Straight to the facility. I remember I didn't look left. I didn't look right. They got a fence there now. It wasn't there back in the day. So I walk straight in the building. I see the people working in front desk. I go straight to the elevator. I go right to the top. I'm going to get on this football team. Oh, I'm right. And it's Spurrier Jr. Steve Spurrier is the head ball coach. He's a legend. But he has a son named Steve Spurrier Jr. I walk straight up to the office. He says, what are you doing here? I said, my name is Matt Rebelton. And I'm here to play football. He said, you here to play football? He said, do you attend school? No, sir. I'm still at Hampton University. But you know what I mean? I be here in the spring. He said, well, you can't play football here if you don't attend the school. If you come here in spring, you're a good size kid. We're giving it an opportunity. Oh, that's great. And that's what happens. So I train and I'm training. I'm training. Put on 20 pounds of muscle. I got a point to prove. Hampton done told me this and told me that. I want to play at the University of South Carolina. Right. So that's what I'm going to do. We go to the spring trials. Jamie Spironis, the AD or whatever, the guy who's working the football operations, he says, this is the University of South Carolina. We're the number 14 in the nation. The truth is, we don't need any of you walk-ons. So the only way you can help us out is if you have a high GPA. I said, dang. Damn. This is rough. Because then it's the average of all the players. It's the average of the school and everything like that. If you don't run a 4,340, you can't play wide receiver. If you're not 300 pounds, you can't play offense a lot. I'm like, dang, well, it's stiff up here. You know what I mean? We go to the trial. There's 200 people there that want to spot on this team. They cut it down from 200 to 20. The first cut, just like that. And you make it. I make it to the 20. They cut it down from 20 to 8. Just like that. Eight of us make the team at the University of South Carolina. We go into spring camp. I was the outstanding offensive walk-on of the eight at the University of South Carolina. So awesome. You know what I mean? I made the team. I can go all day about this story. It's the truth. It's so great. I love it. Keep going. OK, so now. Are you kidding? That is awesome. And people don't just do this. No. No, no, no. But you did. No, not at all. No, people like. Why? Because of out of fear. But keep going. Out of fear. You know what I mean? In South Carolina, there's no professional football team. You either a Gamecock or you're a Clemson Tiger. And we don't wear purple. We don't wear orange around here. We keep it garnet. So, yeah, you know, it's my sophomore season. Red shirt, sophomore season. No, I'm red shirted at the University of South Carolina. And man, I just remember spurring. He gave me an opportunity. Yeah. You know what I mean? He was a good guy and his wife, Jerry, they just gave me an opportunity to show what I can do. They treated my mom well. And I really appreciated that. Here comes my junior season. Uh-oh. Junior season. I'm finally eligible to play. With my boys, you know what I mean? We working out. We training. We training. We training. I work my way up to being a starter my junior season. That's amazing. Amazing. You know what I mean? Like we're really moving in the right direction. Halfway through the season, Steve Spurrier quits. Oh. He quits. I know. I know. Right. The story telling is crazy, but this is the truth. Steve Spurrier quits. We played against Tennessee. And I remember it was a tough game. It was at Rocky Top. And, you know, my boy Jarrell Adams, he fumbled the ball late in the fourth. And Tennessee scooped. And it was the game. Then we have a practice, you know, a couple of days later. And Steve Spurrier, he told us, he said, you know, maybe it's time I take a step back and let somebody else call the plays around here. And he said, OK, somebody else is calling the plays. That's no problem. We get back to the locker room. Steve Spurrier is breaking news. He resigns as head coach at the University of South Carolina. But that's not what he told us, you know what I mean? On the practice field. He just said he's going to take a step back. Oh, shoot. Now we have an interim head coach. Everything changes within the program. Oh, boy. You know what I mean? So they didn't stick to the playbook and just pick it up halfway through. And because they had to change everything on everybody. That's that's what we do in our business. Sometimes sometimes things just change on the floor. I don't know. But when you have seasons and a team of people who like, you're a teacher, you're a leader when when there's a playbook and it's working right save for that game. You know, I understand wanting to make your mark, but like, you know, you got to be there for the players. But I broke two. Yeah. And I don't know the full story of why Steve Spurrier. And why he left in the middle of the season. It could have been could have been healthier later. I don't know. Who knows? We never got that story. Yeah. All we know is like, man, my coach is gone. Yeah. And apparently that does happen a lot. It happens a lot. Happens a lot. My daughter came to play softball and the coach that recruited her, her fresh student, like the day of orientation that coach left. Just like that. And she was like, you committed four years, many five years of education the whole future with that coach. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like I decided to walk on and transfer, you know, with that coach. It was number four. You're finally starting. Finally starting. Things are moving good. You find the situation out. Yes. You lose the game. You lose the game and the coach is gone. And a coach is gone. And here comes we have an interim coach named Sean Elliott. I think he's actually still at South Carolina. He left and came back, but he picks up. The team doesn't pick up. We met up. We might have won one more game in the rest of the season. Oh, yeah. It was it was rough. Yeah. You know what I mean? I'm sure it was. It was rough. Yeah, it's tough. But long story short, I think, you know, through everything that happened at Hampton at the University of South Carolina, you know, I had so many wins in the midst of even a team not being the best that it could have been. Yeah, tell me. Man, I tell you a big one. Steve Spurrier, the most winningest ball coach in South Carolina history, he has a banner on Williams Brecht Stadium. Williams, Tripp Williams, we can talk about that. It's probably 80 to 100 feet up. And it's just him, you know, his hand on this, you know, in his visor on when he leaves the team, they say we're going to take down the banner. Now we got to put up a new picture. But the truth is, Tripp Williams was in the weight room at all times. Of course he was. I was on the field. I had something to prove those coaches at Hampton told me that I wasn't going to play at the University of South Carolina. That's right. I got to prove them wrong. And that chip still sits on me to this day. And I was always in the weight room. I was always working out. I remember a kid was supposed to take a photo shoot for all the cups and all the tickets at the University of South Carolina. He couldn't make it. But he said, since TJ can't show up, trick Williams, can we take pictures of you? You bet you can. Mm hmm. Yes, you can. I worked this hard for nothing. You know what I mean? Let's take these pictures off the shirt. Right. I take off my shirt. I haven't worn a shirt since. You know what I mean? Today, I wear a shirt today out of respect for Triple H. You know what I mean? I didn't want him to hit my paycheck. I knew I was going to be in front of you, Stephanie. So I'm wearing this shirt today. But that's the only reason I got on a shirt today. I watched you do an interview somewhere in New York and you had your fluffy jacket on. And then you take that jacket off and then I got another jacket. I didn't expect you to take off one jacket and you have another jacket. But you were cold that day. I was cold. Also wearing only half three shirts. So I got to choose wisely when I wear it. But OK, but OK, we take a picture at the University of South Carolina. They put me on all the cups, all the tickets. I was like, OK, this is really cool. But when Spurge and Quits, they say, who are you going to replace that big 100 foot banner on Williams-Brite Stadium with? Who has the best pictures in the system? Who looks good with the shirt off? Right? Trick Williams goes on top of the Williams-Brite Stadium. No way. 100 feet in the air. A lot of you not. And that to me, it's a little win, but it's a big win. That's a huge, huge win. If I wouldn't have left Hampton University and taken that chance to be there, then that was just a 100 foot reminder of if you be obedient and you listen to what I got for you, you never know what that's going to take. And it's things like that. I lie to you, not Stephanie. That's full circle moments my whole life. Yeah, that just reminds me like, OK, you're on the right path. What's another one? Here's another one. OK. So this one's pretty funny. OK. This one's pretty funny. I told this on the pivot. OK. So long story short, I'm going to skip past my senior season with a must-champ, you know, spending the whole year, you know, substitute teaching and coaching the kids with my cleats. Yeah. And when did you how did you become a teacher? So I was a physical education major. OK. So going into my senior year, we had to do internships, you know, of PE outside the schools. When my shamp came in, you know, we was practicing in the morning, but I couldn't change my internship. So I wasn't even going to practice my senior year. Oh boy. Yeah. So I'm not playing on Saturdays at this point. All right. So now I got to tell this story. OK. OK. So my internship is at Airport High School is in Columbia, South Carolina. It's the airport Eagles. And, you know, long story short, I'm there instead of football practice for the University of South Carolina. The airport Eagles have a player who used to play there, who's a legend. The name is Deuce Daly. Deuce Daly played at Airport High School. He played at the University of South Carolina. And he also played for the Philadelphia Eagles. Stay with me. So the only the only reason I really know who he is. I mean, I knew who he was with the helmet on. But, you know, like I really know him because his pictures all around Airport High School. So as nothing happens my senior year, I do my pro day. Nothing happens. OK. Shoot. Coach Burnetta Airport, he says, you know, Trick Williams, can you please stay here and coach the kids love you here? OK, I can coach the kids. You know, I'm coaching with my cleats on. Then I have a dream. I'm going to play for the Philadelphia Eagles. I don't know how it's going to happen, but it's got to happen. I had a dream it was vivid. It was clear as that. Oh, literally, you had a dream. I had a dream. OK. And I'll tell my mom, I said, I'm going to play for the Philadelphia Eagles. I don't know how. Here's the dream, Stephanie. OK. I walk in the building. It's a bunch of doors. It's a bunch of doors. It's a bunch of doors. I knock on one door. It's the New England Patriots. Well, yeah, this is your dream. This is my dream. OK. And they say, sorry, we don't have space for you. I said, OK, knock on the next door. It's the Green Bay Packers. Here to play football. Sorry, we don't have space for you. I knock on the Philadelphia Eagles. I'm here to play football. You say, you serious? I said, I'm dead serious. You said, come in and see what we can do. Just like that. Wow. Had a dream. I go and tell my mom, I'm going to play for the Philadelphia Eagles. I don't know how this is going to happen. But now the reality is I do my pro day. Nothing happens. I'm coaching at Airport Eagles. You know what I mean? So maybe I misinterpreted. Maybe it's the airport. Eagles that I'm going to play for. You know what I mean? Maybe I'm going back to high school. But I know what's going on. You know what I mean? But I'm still training. I'm still riding. Right. I'm still working. I'm still working. Because when the opportunity comes, you want to be ready. I'm going to be ready. Yeah. I'm going to be ready. Here I go. I'm going to train with one of my boys from college. He doesn't show up. Alshon Jeffery shows up. I know it's a lot of football guys, but Alshon is from Saqqalani from the same place that I'm from. OK. I see Alshon. I know exactly who he is. He just signed a $55 million deal to the Philadelphia Eagles. He played high school with my cousin, DJ. So like so many so many points. Yeah. So I said, oh, this is how it's happened. I'm going to play for the Philadelphia Eagles. So I said, yo, Alshon was going on. I'm treat Williams. I would love to just learn from you. Can I train with you? Can I just learn the game at a higher level? He said, yeah, I'm training with Alshon maybe two weeks. One day Alshon, he sleeps in. I'm supposed to meet him at the facility. He doesn't show up. But Deuce Daily shows up in the facility. How do I know who Deuce Daily is? Because he played at Airport High School. He played for the Gamecocks. And he played for the Philadelphia Eagles. And at this time, he's coaching for the Philadelphia Eagles. I'm like, whoa, this is crazy. I got to say something to Deuce Daily. Right? I say, Deuce Daily, how you doing? My name is Trick Williams. I'm coaching at your alma mater, Airport High School. He said, for real? Come with me to my car. Let me draw you up some plays so you can show Coach Burnett. I said, I ain't worried about no plays. I ain't worried about airport. I want to play for the Philadelphia Eagles. He says, you serious? I'm dead serious. He said, send me a film and see what we can do. I said, on my film, he said, nothing we can do right now. But stay in contact with me. OK. I coach at the board. Door is open. Door is open. That's a great relationship. I'm coaching these kids with my Cleese song. I mean, I'm pouring my heart into it. Just meaning you're staying ready. I'm staying ready. You know what I mean? I go to the NFL Spring League this year. It's the first year they did the NFL Spring League. And I get good film. And they have a database sheet in the NFL. It was like John Dodd-Smith at Ravens.nfl. So if you find this database sheet, you can pretty much contact any coach in the NFL. OK. I contacted every single coach. Amen. And all 32 teams. That's awesome. Every wide receiver coach, quarterback coach, offensive coordinator, tight end coach. My name is Trick Williams. Here's my tape. I played in NFL Spring League. I played in South Carolina. Played at Hampton. Here's my resume. Two teams got to me. Who are the two teams? Patriots. The New England Patriots. And the Green Bay Packers. Oh, no. Yes. The two. That's right. The two doors that I knocked on in the first place. They said, sorry. Thank you for sitting in your highlights, but we don't have space for you. Oh, no shit. I said, oh, my gosh. You were like the next one I know is coming. My mom said, have you talked to Deuce daily? This is the same year that the Eagles win this. I have such goosebumps right now. This is a true story. A lot of you know. This is a true story. This is the same year that the Eagles win the Super Bowl. So I've been in contact with them. I've been in contact with Great Wind Coach, Great Wind Coach, Great Wind Coach. They win the Super Bowl. And then my mom said, did you send your stuff to Deuce? I said, all right, I didn't want to bother him, but here we go. I sent my stuff to Deuce. Two weeks later, he calls me. He says, Trick Williams, have you ever been to camp in the NFL? I said, no, sir, I haven't. He said, congratulations. We are bringing you into NFL rookie mini camp with the Philadelphia Eagles. Holy shit. What? No football agent. No stats my senior year. Coaching changes, dealing in practice. A whole year out of the game, coaching the kids. Found myself in rookie mini camp with the Philadelphia Eagles. It's like this. A lot of you not. I go to camp with the Philadelphia Eagles. Man, I've been coaching the kids. I know how to get in and outside my routes. Like, I'm good now. Man, I get to camp. Any ball thrown in my direction, I was catching it and coming down with it. I had the best camp ever. I say, if this doesn't work. Right. It's not for talent and effort. I get cut. No. I get cut. And I asked Deuce Taylor, I said, what can I do to make this team? He said, there's nothing you can do to make the team. Just try your best not to mess it up. They cut me. I said, but everything that I had been through up to that point, 20 years of playing the game, I was like, there has to be something better for me. Like, one tear, one tear, shed down my face. All right. What's next? Big news, WWE and sports fans. The world's number one sports fan festival, Fanatics Fest, is making its return to New York City. Fanatics is bringing you closer to the leagues, teams, superstars and athletes you love across four action packed days in July. Meet your favorite WWE superstars, get your hands on exclusive merch and interact with the biggest names in sports. Then fans of the show can get a 10% discount by using Steph 10 at checkout. That's S-T-E-P-H, the number one, the number zero at checkout. I finally signed with a football agent. OK. I finally signed with a football agent. OK. And this one's going to hit really home for you. This is where you get involved. Oh. I finally signed with a football agent. He said, man, you have great feeling to worry. We can get you to another NFL team. Nothing happens. I'm like, man, what the heck is going on? Right. He says, don't worry about it. We're going to get you with the XFL. He sends my stuff to the XFL. WWE reaches out to me the next day. He said, are you interested in coming in for a tryout? I said, I don't know, man. I don't know if I could wear those tights like triple A. She used to wear it back in the day. I don't know if I could. You know, I'm going to put on these tights, man. I don't know if I could wear these tights. I said, dad, you think I should go wrestle? So you better go out there and do something. And then when I thought about it, this is the perfect opportunity. The attitude era. I grew up on the attitude era. Right. Man, like I was three years old watching Stone Cold Steve Austin and I opened a can of whoop ass at three years old. My mama had to cut off wrestling. You know, that was my first cuss word. Watching Stone Cold Steve Austin. You know what I mean? That's so great. This is all true stories. This is not jokes. These are stories. Oh my God, that's so great. And man, and like when I thought about it, I was like, bro, this is exactly who I am. Like when I thought about all the. When you put all the pieces. When I put all the pieces together, I'm like, I'm working so hard at football. That's not what I'm supposed to be doing. I said, I love to talk. You know what I mean? I do public speaking. I'm working with the kids, all this stuff is what I do naturally. I'm athletic. Obviously I can do all of this stuff. I just never once thought about a possibility like WWE was over here. WWE was over here. NFL was over here. I just never put the two together. I never put the two together. But there's one piece that I'm confused on because the tape was submitted for the XFL. But how did becoming a superstar? Like was it open by the wrong department? Did somebody say? Must have been the wrong department. I think it was your department and you knew I had potential. I think it, I think God intervened. I think I intervened. Because that's your whole story. That's my whole story. And it's so interesting too, because your dream was just that you got the opportunity, not that you were on the team. And it, the dream was just getting inside the door. Yeah. That was it. And that's all it took. And then learning that it wasn't your path. Man, that's a lot of work for nothing. God, why did you do that to me? I know. But you had to get there. I had to get there. And experience all of that. Plus. And I learned so many lessons along the way about being a superstar. I don't know how much time we got, but I can talk all day. We had lots of time. This is your time. So, man, I remember a guy named Corey Jackson. He, when I was coaching at airport high school, he came and he was a public speaker and he played in the NFL and he shared how, you know, he played basketball his whole life and he played one season of football. And he made it to the NFL. I'm like, how in the world you do that? Yeah. You know. And he's six foot seven, great guy. And I went and talked to him. Yeah. I said, hey, Corey, like my name is Trick Williams. And your testimony moved me. I said, I would like to just learn from you. He said, man, I'll tell you what, come to my office. I go to his office, we chop it up. I just learned from him. He says, we're going to Orlando. You know what I mean? The, the Pro Bowl is in Orlando. I'm gonna do some guest speaking for the Hall of Fame and different stuff like that. I just want you to come with me. I just want you to meet certain people and just have the experience. Have the experience. Yeah. And I learned so many lessons through this moment. I remember the first time I got there. I'm talking to a goldjack at the Hall of Famer there. He's like, hey, man, you're a good looking kid. You know what you do? Like, yeah. So I'm coaching at airport and, but I'm really trying to get to the NFL. I'm giving this long story. And he was like, okay. I asked you, but I didn't really want to answer. I got something to do. And then Corey pulled me to the side. He said, from now on, you are a free agent. All that other stuff. Talk yourself up. Yeah. You speak highly of yourself. Yeah. You are a free agent. All that, I don't know what that was. Don't you say that. Did you ever do that? You embarrass me. You know what I'm saying? I'm like, okay, got it. I'm a free agent. Yes. You know what I mean? Got that. Yeah. And then we go to, we go to this club and all the pro bowlers are there. All the pro bowlers. I ain't going to give no names because where the story is going. All the pro, all the top profile guys are there. I'm there with my shirt off. You know what I mean? Because that's what we discussed. Now I remember like everyone. You want to stand out. I want to stand out. Yeah. But honestly, this, I got shut on for you today. When you're free. Not a bit like this a long time. You got to understand. But I remember like all the guys just lined up and lined up and like when you in these situations, like the women just go crazy. They flaunt over you. And I remember top guys in the NFL to my right and to my left. I remember it was like girls. Yeah. Coming up to me like walking past him and walking past him. They were millions of dollars. Uh oh. I'm substitute teaching at airport. You know what I'm saying? And they're looking at me like, who's it? Who's that you? And you're smiling. And I'm smiling. Yeah. You know what I mean? But I learned some valuable lessons from that too. I said, these girls are right here because they think that I'm worth millions of dollars. You know what I mean? Because I'm right here with everybody else. So I like, I'm glad I got to see that right then and there. Because if I would have got there and I was a pro bowler by myself, I would have thought it was because Trick Williams was so great. That's right. You know, because my abs poke out so much like, oh, they chose me over everybody else. It might be true. But the overwhelming arc is if they knew the reality of who I was at the time, they wouldn't have paid you any attention. They wouldn't have paid me any attention. I had to see that. I had to experience all these things. Boy, that is, that's cool that that was your perspective too. Yeah. I mean, and then you could have just been enjoying the moment. Right. Totally. Yeah. But you know, maybe you did that too. You know what I didn't know? It didn't. It wasn't right. It didn't feel right. It wasn't right. Right. You know what I mean? Like I had to be real with myself. I said, no, I want to earn everything that comes with it. Yeah. And then that's not really a perk because what does that really mean for me? Right. You know what I mean? I got a lash legend now. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? I got something waiting for me that's even better. But that was important for me to see at the time. I don't get don't be a mark. I don't know a lot of men who would have made that decision. You know, yeah. Corey said the same thing. Yeah. He was like for real. He said, I mean, you're. Who you are is very impressive. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. My mom took a time. Yeah. Well, you obviously have incredible parents and in your cut from a beautiful, strong cloth. I appreciate that. Yeah. Appreciate that. All true stories, no jokes. But that was that was just another story of just all these things. So that was one of the lessons. What's what's another one that I mean, a very important lesson to learn, especially as a professional athlete. Yes. Yes, for sure. I mean, and before you really became, you know, some something. Right. And now you're on the rise and you have lash. But that's, you know, to learn that lesson so early is important. So many professional athletes kick. Loser in terrible positions. Yeah. Yeah. Loser in the sauce. Yeah. I can see how it can happen. Like, man, when you went in and you're doing well in the business and you're successful. Sure. You're untouchable. Yeah. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like nothing can happen to me. You know what I mean? Like I'm champ. I'm doing this. I'm Super Bowl, whatever the case is. I'm glad that I had to lose everything. Yeah. Everything to the point I was down to 14 cents when I paid off all my bills. Wow. That's when WWE called me. You're kidding. I'm serious. That's when WWE called me. I lost everything. Everything. Because because at that time. So now you know what I'm confused is your timing at Rikishi School and like when did all that happen? Okay. So so um. All right. So after that whole Eagles thing, the whole debacle, I'll go back to the school system and then I finally I go to a trial with WWE and they said, if you're serious, we can tell you never wrestle before. Right. Go learn how to wrestle and we'll bring you back. Okay. No guarantees, no promises. So they had seen your tape. They see my tape. Like you reached out to you and this is what they said. They said you athletic, charismatic, you know, but you got potential. You need to know what the business is about. Right. Like, you know what I mean? Just just a little bit. You need to understand what we do here. Yeah. So from there, I was like, am I ready to drop my identity as a football player? I've been playing for 20 years at this point. Yeah. Am I really done with football? You know what I mean? I'm substituting coaching the kids and like, you know, is this self seeking? You know what I mean? Am I just trying to go be something on my own? And yeah, that's exactly what I was trying to do. It's hard to be a teacher. I'm not going to lie. Yeah, it is. It's hard. It's the system doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't. So that's when I moved to Philadelphia again. That's when the whole sweet baby James thing. I've talked to that story for a long time. I'm going to save that story, but I moved back to Philly and I'm training at CZW. And that's when I have my first, you know, wrestling match and I'm wrestling under the character sweet daddy trick and a lot of you know, Stephanie, my first match might have been 12 people there. Sure. 13. Yeah. It was the most lit environment I've ever been in. That's when I'm 13 people. They were in it. They were in it. They felt it. They was on a journey with me. That's so cool. I knew I found my purpose right then and there. Wow, that was your moment. That was my moment. Wow. I knew I didn't sleep for two days. Wow. In front of only 13 people. Right. And it made you like a lightning bolt. I knew it. Like when you just know it's the right answer. I knew it. I get to be every piece of who I am. You know what I mean? I get to talk. I get to take my shirt off. I get to perform. I get to, you know, all my gifts. I get to put it all into one and presented to the world. You know what I mean? Yeah. Hell yeah. The world was 13 people that night but it didn't matter. You know, I get to present it to everybody. It's so great that you felt that. I mean, I suggest if anybody gets into the business, they need to like see what it's about. Because if you don't have a moment like that, it has you hooked and makes you love it. Yeah. Then it's too much to just. Right. I agree. Because it is hard. Yes. It's a tough life, right? And in addition to all the bumps. For sure. And but it's an exciting, you know, gift as well. I mean, you get to, I've heard you say, you know, you guys feel like you're cheating or whatever. Like you get to travel the world together, you know, and it is true. Like you have the opportunity to learn how to be, right? How to be a star, how to be, you know, the best person for your audience that you can be. You get to travel, you get to do all this community work. You can learn behind the scenes if that's something that interests you. You can learn a different language. You can take financial aid classes. You can take classes in general. Like there are so many opportunities within the system. That's right. You know, and it's like, it's, but it's hard. It is hard. You know, but it is hard. It's a grind. And I think if you don't have the strength of character and the love of the business and the gratitude sort of mindset, it'll eat you up. For sure. Yeah. It's, it'll, it'll get, it's just not meant for you. For sure. No, I definitely agree. And then, yeah, that's what, that's what we went from, from Philly to COVID breaking out. Yeah. So they, they would, they would call me for a trial. They said, we're going to bring you back. This is the day COVID breaks out. Holy cow. The day. And other people was there too. Solo Sikoba was there. Jade Cargill was there. Tiffany Stratton was there. Really? This whole crew. This whole crew was at the same trial. What a crew. Yeah. COVID breaks out and then like they say, all right, sorry guys, but we're going to send you back home. COVID is more serious. So you never had the chance to do anything. So I never got the chance to be there. Okay. Okay. That's when I moved to LA and Knox pro with Rikishi and everything like that. Okay. Okay. And that's when I'm online teaching and Door to Ashen and anything I can to just make some money to pay my rent. That's great. He was able to keep the school going. Yeah. Yeah. He was the only one. We had to wear masks and everything. It was a weird time. It's such a weird time for everybody. It was a weird time. My oldest daughter, it was her freshman year at a new high school. And they had to wear masks and sit at like isolated tables and, you know, like partition tables and you weren't allowed to socialize and we all thought we were going to die. And it was crazy. It was a crazy time. That's a win in itself that we're past COVID. Right. And they say every hundred years or so, there's some type of epidemic. Well, we're good now. A little bit. Paid to be so positive. No, yeah. That's a great way to look at it. We lived through it, but we did. We did. We did live through it. So that's when you go to Rikishi school and you get some more experience. And now you get the final, you get a call back. Yes. Like so post COVID now, how does it go down? At the performance center. Yeah. Okay. At the performance center. Yeah. So, you know, my class is pretty special, you know, I mean, with the 2.0 group, you know, Bronn Breaker, the Creed brothers, Tony D'Angelo, Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller, you know, all of us, we came in together. It's still during COVID, you know, that funny time right there. And, um, yeah, man, like I remember them just throwing us into the deep end. Yeah. I remember two weeks, I was there for two weeks and I get a dot on my TR app and said, you're going to SmackDown. Oh shoot. They said, yeah, you're going to SmackDown, but don't get a big head. You didn't deserve it yet. So, okay, you know what I mean? Let's just see what's going to happen. Right. This is when Apollo Cruz is doing his Nigerian gimmick. Okay. And I'm one of his Nigerian bodyguards. No way. You were. I didn't know what the hard camera was. I'm like, oh my gosh, what is this? I just see a bunch of monitors and everything looking at me. And it was a crazy time. Also great experience. Also great experience. Yeah. Then, you know, all the producers, everybody in the back said they love the segment and everything like that. The next week I get COVID. No. Yeah. So they said, let's leave those NXT boys down there. Yeah. We can't chance that. Then we can't mix. We can't mix. And that's how that whole thing started and ended for me. Wow. But again, meant to be this way. Meant to be this way. Way better. Way better. Way, way, way better. Way better. I wasn't ready. You know what I mean? Yeah. Well, but so cool though for you to, well, A, just to get that, right? Like, huge. Obviously, you knew you had something they were interested in. For sure. Right? For sure. And then you go and to have that experience in the ring where you don't, like where you learn, even before you ever make it up there again, right? But it's like you had the chance to stand in the ring and to feel all that and experience all that. So it wasn't such a surprise the next time. Yeah, for sure. For sure. It was definitely beneficial to my career. Yeah. You know, my first time going through Guerrilla because I wasn't even on NXT TV. Right? So I remember like little things like Pyro being the loudest thing ever in the world. And it's hard not to react to it. Yes. Like my heart jumping straight to my stomach. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. So if you watch when I briefly manage Kurt Angle, every time his pyro will go off, I, I, I, but on camera, I mean, I couldn't help it. And I just talked to myself, don't, don't jump. Don't jump. Yeah, don't jump. And I couldn't do it anyway. I couldn't help it. Yeah. Like you need these reps, you know what I mean? Yes. Yes. See these things. And then they throw us, you know, into the deep end again with the whole rebranding of the 2.0. Sure. And everything like that. And pretty much the most of us. So how did that feel when that happened? So it was black and gold. It was black and gold. Right. And I remember because especially it was right around the time of my husband's heart attack. Right. So, right. So, you know, it was very clear then when the rebrand happened, right, it was just like a very particular time. I remember it. For sure. Clearly. For sure. For sure. Um, I remember. And it became all colorful. All colorful. We had the new NXT title with the rainbow and everything like that. Right. But it was an interesting time because it was a rumor like all of you will be debuting next week on TV. Like, okay, you know what I mean? Selling us a dream. Right. He told us when he signed this is probably going to take three years, three years, four years. Sure enough. For NXT to get placement. For NXT to get placement. Okay. Okay. Because when you come in as an athlete, like I had some experience on the indies, but you know, I was still in the athlete category. It took some time for me to, you know, experience what the business is truly about. So when they say we're going, you know, next week, we're going to get this thing going. Like, oh shoot. He said, trick or mellow, y'all going to be a package deal. And from there, you know, mellow's like, But you guys sort of came up together. Yeah. We was the same class. You know what I mean? And we, you know, he always wanted to be a solo act. And I always wanted to be a solo. Sure. You know, because that was the dream. Yeah. That was the goal. And it said, y'all going to do this together. And to mellow's credit, you know, he took the challenge, you know, on the head and said, let's do this. Let's make this work. And I was able to learn a lot from mellow. And I feel like it was beneficial for both of us, you know, them throwing us into the deep end of NXT 2.0 to see us both doing our thing today is pretty dope. Yeah, it is. Yeah. Yeah, it is. Yeah. What do you think is like, is there a moment when you guys, what are some of the things he taught you, you know, being a package deal? And so, a, he taught you whatever you're given, you're going to make it great. For sure. Right. For sure. And B, like what are some of the other? I would say having an athletic background, you know, I was raised in my positive in the military. There's a dynamic of, no, players play, coaches, coach, you know what I mean? Whatever they say you do. And you like it. Right. You know what I mean? Or people who came from the Indies had a more sense of being their own personal brand and being in control of their brand. And like, if they don't like something like they pitching different things. Right. They're part of the process. You know, I never went to Steve Sperry and said, I don't like your play. You know what I mean? Let's throw it to me. What if I did this instead? You know, I would have got the ball away more. That was the case. I could have saved myself a long time. I've been open for years. That's all I had to do. If only you knew. If only I knew. Like, dude, go say so. But that's one of the things I learned. Like, he had ideas and he was, he formed a relationship, you know, with the writers and everything like that. That's smart. Yeah. I'm like, man, like, you know, I've always, in a weird way, I always looked at the coaches. The opposition. Probably because of Hampton. You know what I mean? It's so interesting. They told me like, and I always had a chip on my shoulder. Right. Where I had to prove to the coaches that I'm good enough. You don't give me the spot because I earned it. And I saw him actually, he didn't have that chip. He probably has a different chip. I don't know. Everybody's got some kind of chip. Everybody got a chip, you know what I mean? But, you know, his, he worked with them for the best product. And I was like, you know, I was like, Collaborative. Yeah. Up to that point, I've never been able to just kind of go with the flow and trust the process. So that was where I had to learn like, this is a collaborative effort. Yeah. And everybody wants everybody's brand to be as big as it possibly can be because at the end of the day, we want to make money. You know what I mean? Yeah. And maybe it might be. It's business at the end of the day. It's a business. Yeah. And it might be your role. For all of us, right? Everybody. It might be your role to help somebody else look better today. Yeah. And that's okay. But at the end of the day, if you do it well, then somebody might be helping you one day. That's right. And that's why exactly what I was doing for me. Hello. Lil Yachty is doing for me today. Yeah. Oh my God. You know, the gingerbread man shirt. Let's talk about it. Oh my God. That was my idea. Good. Was it? I love it. Yeah. Gingerbread. Gingerbread. Gingerbread. Ginger snap. I just saw the new one. It's pretty good. Have you seen it? I heard something. I heard something's in the works. Wait. I don't know if it was sent to me. I think it was. It was either shown to me or was sent to me. No, no. Oh, I'm going to show them first. Oh, that's per... I got teeth. Oh, that's selling out. That's selling out. I'm buying one. I'll show you later. I just don't know that. I know Sammy don't like me. I know he don't like me, man. I'm happy to share it. I love it. I love it. So good. Oh, that's good. Okay, so... I know he's sick of me. I know he's sick of me. Oh, my God. It's great. It's great. But it is so great. Thank you. Yeah. And it's going to be amazing this weekend, too. Oh, yeah, man. We going to turn it up, man. I got another chip on my shoulder. You know, it's the first rest of May. Yeah. Let's talk about it. So tell me about a little bit about Lil Yachty. Because he looks like he is having the time of his life. And he took one hell of a haluba kick. Man. I mean, he's impressed me. This is what he told me. He says, trick, I can't believe they let me do a WrestleMania with you. He said, I ain't want to take no shortcuts. I ain't want to go straight to the top. He said, I want to go to Delaware. I want to go to Baton Rouge. He said, I want to be one of the boys. He said, I love this business. I've been watching this for years. And you know what I mean? And he wants to be one of the boys. We talk, man, sometimes two o'clock in the morning. Like, I got it. Y'all, you know. Lashes like Yachty? Lashes had enough. She has had enough. You know what I mean? But, man, that's my boy, man. And it's crazy because we both have a desire for excellence. We want it to be good. That's clear. You know what I mean? We want everything that we do to feel like magic. Yeah. The same feeling that we felt when y'all was doing your thing and attitude error. Like everything has to feel real to the people. Yes. And he loves it. And, you know, he said he wants to have a match. All right. You heard it here first. Y'all just say he wants a match, man. He going to get in shape and we going to do this. All right. All right. Let's make it happen. Let's make it happen. 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See fanatics casino app. So, you know, I don't want to end it. How long has it been? Okay, we can keep going. Because this is too good. Oh yeah. I'm right here. Yeah. No, this is fun. Yeah, you do. But and I think part of what you just said about demanding excellence of yourself, right? Like that is obviously a key value, you know, that you've put on yourself throughout your life. Sure. Right. And where do you think you get that from? Man. Like you've mentioned your mom and your dad. Yeah. Like how did do you think growing up in a military family taught you some of these core values? Sure, man. My pops is rough in a good way. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like we up at five o'clock, you know what I mean? Make sure the house is clean. Yeah. I mean, like we playing football, we playing sports. And it's you and how many siblings? I have two brothers. Okay. Andre's my older brother. Hassan's my younger brother. Okay. Three boys, three big boys, I imagine. Big boys. Yeah. We competing, you know what I mean? We wrestling. Yeah. You're tearing the house down. I broke Hassan's collarbone in a royal rumble, you know what I mean? At 10 years old. That's a rough one. And he was eight? He was seven. Seven. He was seven. It was the scariest day of my life. But oh my god, you must have felt awful. Yeah. Parents wasn't home. What happened? Man, he had to go. No, but like what would you do? Body slam off the top. Royal rumble style. But onto what? On the ground. Hard floor. On the floor. And how did he land to break his collarbone? He landed. I didn't see him because I was in my victory stance. Oh, right. You know, but I just remember the yell. The sound. The sound. Did you hear it crack? I didn't hear it. I heard his, oh, it was the sound that I'd never heard anybody make before. A human make. Yeah. And it's like he moved and then he stopped. I thought he was paralyzed. Oh, shit. Oh, that's terrifying. Yes. So, you know, the viewers discretion, don't try these moves at home. Yeah, no, we. Let's take these very serious. Sure do not try this at home. Because I'm a living example. But it's not doing great. He'll be at WrestleMania. Yeah, no, he's all good. He's all good now. He's doing great. Yeah, he's doing great. I mean, I know those moments, right? Like I was more on the receiving end, but I can't. No, no, but I can't imagine how you felt. Yeah, I felt terrible. Thinking you hurt your little brother and your parents are not home. They're not home. And you're 10. I'm 10. So what do you do? Who's the oldest kid there? Andre. Okay, your brother. Who's what, 12, 13? He's 13. Okay. And he's notorious for telling on us anyways. Okay. This is right up his alley. Mom. You know what I'm saying? He's going to be mad I said that. Right. You know, but. He's your big brother. That's my big brother. And that's one time I didn't get a whooping. You know what I mean? We didn't whoop that trick that time because I was already. So bad. I was already. You were so scared. And we went to the ER and he was wearing a sling, but I actually helped his game because he was lefty. And when I did that to the left side of his collarbone, he developed the right side. So he became a better athlete. On the right side. So he has me to thank. You know, I did it with him. So is he ambidextrous? Now he's ambidextrous. He can do it all. He can do it all. That's so super lining. But um, yeah man. But so your dad would have you up at five in the morning, all three of you. Five in the morning. Clean the house. Clean the house. Like going to runs. Like no football practice. Like I remember we used to go to the gym like five o'clock in the morning. You know what I mean? We're going runs in the neighborhood. Like. And you never knew what it was when he woke you up. I'm sorry. Oh. I was just going to say how old were you guys? Man. Go to the gym at five a.m. I might have been five all the way up to like, you know, graduating like, you know, he wanted to stay in good shape. Yeah. Right. You know. And you wanted to come with him. And he wanted us to come. Or was your mom working or like? My mom was probably sleeping. Sleep. Okay. She was probably sleeping. Good for her. But honestly, you know, speaking to that fact, and I hope my pops wouldn't mind, but I watched him be the hardest worker. Our entire life. Set the example. He worked in the school system. You know what I mean? Like he was coaching after, you know, he got hurt in the military. You know what I mean? And what branch? Not that it matters. He was in the Navy. Okay. Yeah. And I'm a ser, I'm a shed is and I hope he doesn't mind, but this is just a testament to the man he is. Like I, I watch him work all type of different jobs. You know what I mean? From teaching, you know, he was in the Navy. He was, you know, foot, he was our football coaches. You know, he worked in car repair. You know what I mean? No, he did anything in everything. Anything to make sure that we was good. He'd come back, spend like oil. Everything he could just to make sure it was good. When you're young, you don't really realize what that means. But as a man, I'm like, he had no pride, no ego. And he demanded that out of us too. He's like, you need to learn how to do this. As a man, you need to learn how to do this. There ain't no time for being lazy. You won't be sorry. Like we watched it firsthand. So that's why all of us work at it. Cause never been a problem. Like that's not even an option to be sorry and not do your job. That's crazy. Yeah. Cause they sacrifice too much for us to get to this point. Too much. That's beautiful. And my mom is the same way. No, she, she spoke greatness into us. Like I just remember, you know, I'm like, y'all gonna be so famous one day. Yeah. Like y'all gonna be famous. Y'all gonna be the women gonna be throwing the panties at you. They gonna be throwing the panties at you. You gonna be swatting them away. You gonna be swatting them away. I'm like, yeah, that's gonna be me. This is who she is. You know what I mean? And she spoke greatness into us. Another story. I remember, like I told you that game, I went back to Saaclona State. I wasn't playing. My grandfather passed away and I came home. You know, I didn't even ride back with the team. I said, I need some time to figure out what I'm gonna do. And I remember just talking to my mom. I said, my like, I don't know what's going on in my life right now. Like nothing's happened the way I thought it would. She said, you are a king created by God Almighty. Never forget who you are, who's you are. They can't break you. And that's the same thing I chant when I go into the ring sometimes. I'm a king created by God Almighty. Never forget who you are, who's you are. They can't break you. Sometimes I ain't saying nothing, but sometimes I am saying those exact very words. Because it's an affirmation. Me putting my foot in the ground letting the world know who I am. So even if I'm nervous, even if I don't know what I'm gonna do, if I know I'm just go out there and give everything I got, that's enough. And that give me enough confidence to just go do my thing from there. As a mother, that moves me more than you can possibly realize. You know, because she obviously loves you so much. That she spoke all that truth, you know, but giving you that affirmation and believing every single word of it when she said it to you, enough to make you believe it and feel it. And now that you say that before you go out for your matches, most of the time. Yeah, she said this at the lowest, one of the lower points, you know what I mean? Like, you know, you needed it. I needed it. Yeah. And it hit home. Yeah, you were listening. I was listening. I had to. I had nothing else to hold on to. That's a good mom. So you're middle child. I'm the middle child. I keep everything together. You know what I mean? Is that the role of the middle child? I think so. In my house. Yeah, I heard the middle child doesn't ever feel, you know, like they get the attention. Oh, so maybe that's why I have a chip on my shoulder. It might be a little bit of bone. Maybe there's more than one chip. Maybe there's more than one chip. Chips of Hoy. I do love chips of Hoy. Okay. Yeah, you soak them in milk, though. I like it. Uh-huh. Yeah, because they're too crispy. That's right. Like the chewy ones? No, I don't like the chewy. No, they don't smell the same, I find. They don't. Do you eat chips of Hoy ever? Chippoy. Yeah, I keep that. You know what I mean? I keep. You gotta keep that. Chinching, chinching, chinching. So what's your, what is your cheat? Do you have a go to? Oh man, so. This is one of our favorite questions, actually. Pizza, man. Pizza is the perfect, and whoever invented pizza, can you imagine them saying, we're going to take this dough. Take them tomatoes over there, mush them up, you know. Basil, spinach, cheese, mama mia. You know what I mean? Like who thought about pizza? I don't know. It is perfect. I don't know. Somebody. Yeah, somebody. It is perfect. It is, I love pizza too. And then like we might throw some pepperoni on it. Oh my gosh. Right? Some other foods. I don't do the pork no more. But there's not many things in life I miss more than a pepperoni pizza. Oh, sorry. You were never a bacon guy. I love bacon. Oh. But you know, I sacrificed it for the greater good. Okay, all right. Well, that's good. Didn't, again, here you are, sacrificing, giving up what you love. Yeah, yeah, you got to. Yeah. So thicker thin crust. Or both. I'm going thin crust, man. What about Sicilian? I love a good Sicilian slice. You know, we got WrestleMania in three days. Yeah. You know, it's for after. It's for after. Okay, okay. Okay. I'm helping you plan. Okay. Well, yeah, pizza. Like what do you and Lash love to do if you're like, you finish a big event, you're going to go, you know, celebrate. What does that look like? You know what we love? We go to BJs and get one of those Pazookies. It's like a, it's like a big chocolate chip cookie. Oh. And then throw vanilla ice cream, two scoops. Do you heat up the Pazookie? And it's, oh my goodness. Is the cookie warm? It is amazing. With melted chocolate. It's greatness. Yes. And then the ice cold ice cream combined with the warm chocolate gooeyness. 899. Yes. What else is in this? Oh man, just a warm chocolate chip cookie. And just so I don't feel totally bad, I get my chocolate chip cookie gluten free. Okay. And then I put my ice cream on top. That's all right. That's all good. That's my cheat meal. And vanilla ice cream? Vanilla ice cream. It's got to cut through the sweetness. You know what I mean? Yeah. Boom, boom, boom. Yeah, a little combo. Yeah, yeah. Do you like to have two cookies and chip which it? No. Too much. Now you're getting nasty. I can go there. Yeah, yeah, look there. Now you're taking it to a whole other level. Because that's pretty amazing. Yeah, for sure. For sure. And then you can even put chocolate chips. You know, like the original chip which you can make it. So are both of these cookies warm? They're both warm? Well, it depends on what you're doing. Okay. Right, because yeah, if you're eating it warm with the cold ice cream, I see that's its own independent spoon-fed thing, right? Because the cookie's going to break up. For sure, for sure. Yeah. And you want it to be able to... To break this little bit? Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. I'm just, I know. Oh man. Which I'm telling you. We're right there. But yeah, we're doing the chip which then... Wait, wait, what's your cheat meal? What's your cheat meal? Well, right now I'm kind of not indulging. Okay. Right? I'm just... But I do love cereal. And granola in particular. And granola cereal? So what I do love is, yeah, I mix granola and I have this new granola that's like very healthy granola apparently. I used to eat the knock rate. Okay. This is really good, healthy as far as it can be with chocolate chips and milk. Okay, okay. And I eat it like a cereal. That sounds good. Yeah, I love cereal. And it's not too unhealthy. You can eat it over there. No, that's a thing. I mean, but obviously too much of anything is too much. But... And there's still like sugar in the chocolate, you know? But it's this type of chocolate that's like really good for you. Healthy cheat meal. I mean, not with the amounts. She's like, well, when I eat the whole bowl. In theory, it's a great healthy cheat. But yeah, I like to eat a lot like when I'm going to have a cheat. And I don't know what that is, but it's like, I've got to overeat, you know, to satisfy whatever craving that is. You deserve it. Hey, you work hard. Yeah, for sure. Like Sunday night meal for you? Yeah, yeah, whenever it happens. Oh, this week. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not even thinking about it. Okay. Yeah. I am for you. Because it's going to be an insane weekend weekend. That's right. For all the right reasons. That's right. Yes. I can't wait. And you guys are going to deliver in such an unexpected way. You know, you are going to bring it to the next level as you tend to do when you're out there. You've got everybody with you whoop that trick. That's totally good. Oh yeah. I mean, but I want to, I want to ask you before I go too far about that, but I do want to, it's not just you and your match that I'm talking about, right? It's like you and your class. It's you and all of the talent that's out there competing. Like you guys are setting the bar for the next year's WrestleMania. For sure. Right? For sure. Like this is your WrestleMania and I have no doubt all of you are going to deliver. For sure. And over deliver. That's right. Because that's what we do. That's what we do. And we want our fans to keep wanting to come back every single time. That's right. Myself, Oba, Javon, you know, the standing deliver last year. And I remember, like everybody said, I'm going crazy. Like, man, they're going to remember our match. They're going to remember our match. And that's exactly what we did last year. That's right. Those are two guys and myself included who want to be the top of the business. And we all compete. I mean, we both want that number, all three of us. We all want that number one spot. Right. But it's healthy. You know what I mean? Yeah. Oh, it's good competition. But like now, man, like you went viral this week. I'm going viral. I'm going viral. I'm going viral this week. Every week we add level up. Level up. Yeah. And I think we push in each other. And I'm glad to be with them boys because they want it. And you will all demand the best of each other. For sure. For sure. Right. It's like it brings out the best in you. It's healthy competition. Healthy competition. Yeah. Which is necessary. Yeah. In life. You know, if it was all a great job, you so great pat on the back. No, you're great. And then we go out there and suck it up. Yeah, then what are you going to do? Yeah. Yeah. No, man. Get them out of here. You don't want to be comfortable. No. That's not your nature. My whole life. As we can see. Right. You know, I'm going to jump into the deep end and I'm going to learn how to swim. Do you ever feel that moment of like, yes, I did this. I still have this, this, and this to go. But do you ever allow yourself to feel comfortable for any time? You know, ironically, only time I felt it is when I go back and watch. Like disconnected from it. Yeah. Because every match I'm guilty of it. Like, I could have did this. I could have did that. Right, right. And it's always in my mind. You know what I mean? And then sometimes I go back and I watch them from like two years ago. Whoa. This moment was so magical. You know what I mean? Like, yeah. And it's gone. You know what I mean? But like, look at what we did, you know, two years ago with this or with that. Yeah. Now, maybe I just processed it late and maybe that helps me stay hungry and everything. Right, right. So I don't think I would change it. But I'm glad you get the glimpses of it anyway, because I mean, you sound like you're in such a great grounded place anyway. But sometimes, you know, I was, I did a, we did a pod with Paul the other day and he was interviewing me, actually. And we were talking about the ability to appreciate the moment when you're in the moment. Right. And I was just watching Sean's documentary too. And he talks about the same thing. Like, he couldn't appreciate what was happening in the moment, you know, and he couldn't realize how big that moment was in the moment. What does that look like to you? So I'm just starting to get to this place where for the Hall of Fame, I actually, I'm feeling it and I'm able to appreciate it and accept it and take it in. And I wasn't there. Like, I really genuinely was not there. And I've talked about this a lot, but it's like, I did not feel like I deserved it. And getting to this place feels really, really good because if for nothing else, like it really is my whole life. And that's a lot of what I talk about in my speech. It's like, since I can remember this is my life, you know, and the journey that I've been through and where I am now and how old I am. Right. I think my age reflects an ability or a maturity or a perspective, I guess. Carry it well. Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Bless you. But, you know, you're able to look at things differently. And that's where I'm getting to and being able to enjoy it. And I wish, and actually I'm so mad at myself that I didn't enjoy it more in the moment with Cody on Raw the other night because I did. Come on now. You got to deliver when you're given the opportunity. That's what you did. But I was nervous and more nervous than in the moment. And it was still great and it was a lot of fun, but it could have been even better if I weren't rusty, right? A, because it's been a long time. And we were trying to think it through and hammer it out. And it was really cool because it was me, Cody, Paul Heyman and Paul Levec, and we were just riffing. Right. And it's like reminded me so much of the old days, so to speak. And, you know, it was, it was fun. It was really, really fun. And that part I was able to enjoy, but I wish I was in the moment more. I was in the moment, but I will be. It helped prepare me more for Friday. For sure. Yeah. You know, as a fan of you and your family, of course, and watching those segments back in the day, it's crazy because you literally did grow up in front of everybody. Most of your life, but it's cool because in our eyes, from a fan perspective, you can do no wrong. Like we just, it was so good. You know what I mean? And like, it's so bad. It's the right kind of bad. It's the bad that we all love. I still go back and watch those segments. Like when is you and Shane and y'all just going at it and, you know, going against whoever and everything. So it was fun. It was beautiful. It was so much fun. Oh my God, we had a blast. I love how y'all so vulnerable. Feels like like with your whole family dynamic and like giving everything, you know, for the business. So I appreciate it. Well, thank you. That's why I'm here. But that's what it's all about, right? It's about giving, right? And and that's what it was for. Like all my life, all I ever wanted to do is give back to the business because that was my family's. That was my family, right? Like, and I saw my parents work so hard. All they ever did, you know, was WWE. And at the time we couldn't afford, you know, nanny or whatever. And they always took me to dinners, right? And I there were always business dinners and I listened to the business side and then the creative side and like all the troubles they were having, right? Because my mom was the CEO and my dad is the, you know, founder creator. And and so to listen to their conversations about what was happening and what they were struggling with and who they were struggling with, more from a executive side than anything else, because they were trying to, you know, run the business at the same time. And it's just, it's just such a special business, right? You know, there's nothing like it in the world. And nothing like it. And it's just it was such a privilege to be able to be a part of for all these years and to have had all of these experiences and all of these lessons and wild and crazy moments. We need to do another episode. I just want to hear everything. My fact, I'm going to watch you in trips when I come out tomorrow. That's good. I hope I hope everybody likes it. There's some great stories. I mean, it's funny because we feel that he even said he goes, I don't know what to ask you because we know all of each other's stories. Right. I know I was just sitting here listening to the two of them. Right. You got firsthand. She made more inappropriate comments than that one. Okay. It's kind of her thing. To me. I am. But I would love to do it. I'd love to have a part two. Are you kidding? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I thought about you and Lash together even to do some stuff together and it could be fun. Man, I would love to work with Lash. You know, her dream match is against me for some reason. Just singles against you. Just a singles against me. There's like a weird thing there. I'm saying nothing. That seems like it has multiple levels. Right. What you really want out of this situation. I just want to buy this family. I want you to do the job for me. You're right. Only think about yourself. But no, I love working with Lash. Yeah. I mean, you love her. And I've heard your story and she, you said how you've always had so much game and swagger and especially with words and everything and you, you know, saddled up to her and tried to. For some honey and like. Love Island, man. Honey did not come out. Man, that was not a good day for me because the truth is I was hoping she was going to give me like, you know, something I could work with. A little something. Yeah. Right. But as I looked into her eyes, it was nothing there. Nothing. You didn't feel it. I didn't feel it. No. Oh, she's not feeling this. Let me abort mission. You really got an abort mission. I'm working on it. But she was, no, she just plays a good poker face. Well, you got to work for it. I had to work for it. Yeah. I had to work for it. Amen. I said, you know, I don't know if you heard what people have been saying between me. There's rumors. Rumors going around. You know what I mean? That you and me look good together. You know, no. I told them no to, you know what I mean? Don't worry about it. She's checking. Yeah. All right. Okay. I just want to make sure. I just make sure that we're on the same page. Nothing. You said she like tapped you up. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, no. And here we go. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But no, she liked me. She, she played hard to get. Yeah. Yeah. She's good at playing. And you were so cute. You were saying how, you know, because obviously you guys live together and how she'll still be like, there's a lizard in the house. Right. And you're like, you are the strongest woman I've ever known in my entire life. And you are, I need to do something with this lizard. That's right. Yeah. She does not play about lizards. You know, like she has an open doors. If I'm there, you know, I open the door. I'm like, what do you do when I'm not here? Right. Well, that's different. That's different. But you know, that's where, you know, she allows me to be the man. Yeah. You know, she likes, she, you know, and I appreciate that. And she wants you to be the man. She wants me to be the man. Yeah. So I'm going to get every single door. Yeah. Every single door. Good for you. Open it and close it. They, yeah. The bang open again. That's right. Let's make it happen. With a smile on your face. With a smile on my face. That's right. Happy to do it. I'll remove every lizard. The tail comes off and then I chase the rest of the lizard. That's what happens, you know. Really? Yeah. Oh yeah. The tail comes off when you, yeah. That's crazy. Yeah, man. Really? You mean like they jump out of their tail? They like detach their tail? Mm-hmm. Really? And then they keep running. Losers are smart. And then they regenerate? They regenerate. Yeah. That's going to need a fact check. This is the same face lash made when she found out the tails fall off too. Oh my God, look at those tails. I can't. The shock when it first happens. Especially like you're holding the lizard. Yeah, I was a kid learning this though. You know what I mean? I would chase them for fun. That's probably great. Yeah. Oh, okay. Yeah. I got the lizard. Oh, the tail fell off. Yeah, so it was fine. She doesn't think it's cool or funny. Yeah. If I were holding the lizard by its tail and it detached and ran away. And ran? That freaked me out. Yeah. Yeah, that's what happens. Ooh. And you're left holding it. Yeah, you left holding it. Does it wiggle? Is it moving? Yeah. Yeah. You know, I think it does a little bit. You know what I mean? Little twitch, little nerve. Oh. Nerve ending. You know, I just try to catch it in the trash can, you know. And I break it into the trash can and then I dump it into the bushes. Something like that. So there's no murdering? Oh, no. She always does that. We love animals. Yeah, no, because some people don't. Yeah, for sure. That's actually me and Lash's thing. Like every city, if we had the time, we go to the local zoo. Oh, yeah. My favorite animal is the lion. You know, she loves the elephant. Yeah. She's like, yeah, I'm big in the EU and I can beat you. I wonder if there's any like great lion elephant parable or something somewhere. I'm going to look it up. I'm going to look it up. There has to be. Yeah. She said I'm. Because that's cool. I'm the true queen of the jungle. That's right. I was like, that's right. That's better than the lion. You said elephant. I'm like, oh, she's got you. Yeah, she's got me, I guess. Yeah, she's got you good. She got me good. She got me good. That's great. For sure. I'm so excited for you guys. So happy for you on a personal level and on a professional level. Thank you. You know, you're both just climbing so fast and you're both so talented. Oh, thank you. Thank you. You know, and and I think the right mindset and the right heart, you know, it's it's a beautiful thing what you bring to all of us. I appreciate that. So thank you. And I'm sure she does too. And thank you for doing the pod. Man, anytime, you know what I mean? Absolutely. Anytime you want to have a story time. Oh, wait a minute. I want to ask you about lemon pepper stepping. Let's talk about it. Okay. Yeah. So is it after the chicken went lemon pepper like? So, you know, you got to understand these lemon pepper step is have been passed on which are which are generation. Generation. Thank you so much. They are. And can we get a close up? Can we get a close up of the lemon pepper step? I mean, we need to do this. How many generations? Man, two generations. Okay. We briefly talked about my uncle's sweet baby James. Yes. So when I moved to Philly, I thought you said it was a story you didn't want to tell. Yeah, but now we hear. Okay. Now we got to. I was expecting it. So, okay. But my uncle's sweet baby James, man, he's a great dude. He's a great dude. I didn't meet him until I decided I was going to learn how to wrestle and move him back to Philadelphia. That's when my pop said, hey, you got an uncle in Philly. He's staying in South Philly. I said, okay. He's like, you know, just hit him up. See what he's talking about. So he says, yeah, come on. And you had never met him? Never met him. And it's your brother, your dad's brother? It's my dad's uncle. Oh, your dad's. So it's my great uncle. Okay. Okay. My great uncle, my dad's uncle. So I drive to Philly. He's like, yeah, come on. You know, he's not there. But he has his friend open the door for me. So I'm just in South Philly. You know what I mean? In some place. In some place. With this man. This man I never met before for two days. But while I'm there, I'm applying for jobs and doing everything like that. So you're living there. I'm living there for two days. And I'm from the South. Right. There's a big difference between the South and South. In South Philly. You know what I mean? It's not the same at all. You know what I mean? It's not. Yeah. But that's why I'm leaving that. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But he shows up maybe two, three days later, says, hello. I'm like, what's going on? Hey. You know, I'm Patrick's son. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? Thanks for letting me stay. Thanks for letting me stay. He's like, yeah, of course. You know, I do anything for my nephew, Pat. You know, he says, so what is it that you want? I said, well, I'm dead serious about this wrestling journey. You know what I mean? Like figuring out my job situation, I think I got a good thing lined up. But, you know, if I could stay here, that'd be very helpful. You know, what can we do to make that happen if that's OK with you? He said, you want to stay here with me? I said, yeah. He said, $200 a month. That's it. Welcome here. I get you a key. And the $200 wasn't because he needed the $200. No, it was because, I'm sorry, you're telling him. But you're right. As a man, you have to pay your way. Like nothing in life is free. That's right. So there's there's a value to it. There's a value to it. He said, you're going to stay here. You want to appreciate it. That's right. And it makes you appreciate it more because you're working for it. And my uncle, I love you not talking about lessons. I love my uncle, man. He would cook every single day. Just seafood, all the eaters, seafood. And he'll just give you life lessons, you know, like I say, he's my great uncle. Right. He's a smooth. He's a lot of wisdom. He's a smooth player type. So where do you get the name, sweet baby? Sweet baby James. Sorry, sweet baby James. Because, you know, back in the day, you know what I mean? He had one, two ladies, one named Lexus, one named Mercedes. Lexus driver Mercedes, Mercedes driver Lexus. And sweet baby gets him confused from time to time. So I ain't saying he was a pimp. Right. But he has some he has a play. He has some cool qualities about himself. And that's what my whole persona sweet daddy trick came from. Right. Right. Right. He wants to be like him. I said, uncle is the coolest man alive. I ain't gonna lie. Cool. So how long did you stay with him? I stayed with him for a year until COVID broke out. And then when COVID broke out, I said, I can't. You know, he's 60, 70 something. You didn't want to put him at risk. I said, I already know I'm going to be moving. I got stuff I'm trying to do. I can't live here. But, you know, that was a rough conversation. It was hard to leave him. It was hard to leave him. You fell in love with him. Yeah, man. That's my uncle. Yeah, that's so beautiful. Then we came back and did WrestleMania there. It was a beautiful thing. He got to see me. I've been in action. That's so great. It was a crazy. Oh, I bet he was so proud. Another full circle moment. Yeah. Another full circle moment. What did he say to you? Man, I just remember, first thing first, if we did a whole package at NXT, when I went back and I was telling people where I first started my wrestling journey, you know, training at CZW, training, you know, staying with my uncle, sweet baby James. So when he came to the venue at NXT standing to deliver, he had fans. People knew who he was. People were like, sweet baby James. Sweet baby James. That's sweet. He was outside selling his own merch. He had a low t-shirt. Oh, that's awesome. Oh, my God. That's what he do. He runs his shop downstairs. Well, yeah. He's a hustler. He's a hustler. And that's what he was teaching me. He was like, you got to keep some Stacey Adams on your feet. You know, we call them Lemon Pepper Steppers, you know. So that's where we got the Lemon Pepper Stepper from. And we passed it down for generations. And so why? What does that mean, Stacey Adams? It's a stylish shoe. Okay. So it's this style of shoe. Yeah, it's a stylish shoe. Like with a heel and a toe. Yeah, with a heel and a toe. You know what I mean? Real player. Like you just got to keep them clean. You know, it's when you dress them up. Whatever it is. Yeah. That's right. When you dress them up. You know, my dad was always the same. He had to have his shoes shined. Oh, yeah. You couldn't walk around with scuffy shoes. Yeah. Yeah. That makes sense. They had to look. So he had some Lemon Pepper Steppers too. Is that what you're saying? All of his were Lemon Pepper. That's what's up. That's what's up. Oh, man. And where did the all white come from? I'll tell you what. So the all white, you know, I had this coat I've been saving for a big moment. It was just sitting in my closet. I got it when I was at NXT. And then once I found it. How'd you find the coat? Man, I was just so in Atlanta, you know, last year from Atlanta. And they had some nice malls with some nicer stuff over there. So I'm like, if I'm gonna spend this type of money on a coat, I'm aware that the right time. Right. And you saw it. I saw the coat. You were like. It was glistening. It lit up. It lit up. This is for me. And then as I debut on SmackDown and I cut off Sami Zayn, the gingerbread man. And I come out with this all white coat, white pants, white belt buckle. No shirt, of course. White Lemon Pepper Steppers. And I go and I hold my foot up just like this before I get in the ring and everything like that. And they had means of everything with me and this coat. They had some dude from Power Puff Girls. And you know, all types of stuff. I was like, oh, it's Trick Williams last night on SmackDown. And I remember I show up the next week and Michael Hayes comes to me and he's like, Trick, where's your coat? I said, uh, well, you know, it's not my coat. It's a coat. But, uh, is that the house? Thank you very much. You know what I mean? Right, right. And then Bruce says, where's your coat, Trick? Yeah, that's part of your gimmick. I was like, oh, it's my coat. All right. And then your husband trips. He goes like, Trick, where's your coat? I was like, well, it wasn't really my coat. You know, it was my coat. He said, I've never seen Elvis Presley without his coat. Okay. It's my coat. Right. Makes sense now. I've been rocking the coat ever since. Okay. And so that's going to keep you in the all white color unless you change the color of your coat too. Yeah. So it just made sense. I'm the anointed one. I share my testimony all the time. You know what I mean? So the all white just fits so perfectly. Yeah. So perfectly. Yeah. Oh, I love it. And then if you turn heel, you're going to change the color. Yeah. It's going to take a lot for me to get out of this white. If I step out without the white now, you know something's going terribly wrong. Something's off. Or terribly right. That is a good, or terribly right. Or terribly right. Okay. You're going to keep us guessing. That's right. I love it. I love it. Well, thank you so much. Hey, thank you so much for having me. Yes. Yes. Thank you all so much. Thank you.