7 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (20 Feb - Results & Review)
3. Trips Backs Trick
Trick Williams beat Damian Priest and Carmelo Hayes to qualify for Elimination Chamber in the men's Triple Threat. It was lovely to see old NXT pals-turned-enemies Hayes and Trick out there doing their thing on SmackDown, and the live crowd picked up on that by chanting for the third brand. Somewhere, one Shawn Michaels cracked a smile under his cowboy hat.
Going with Williams as winner was the right call. Carmelo has his United States Title deal going on, and Priest has been pretty boring for a while now. Trick was definitely the best option of the trio, and this victory shows how much faith Triple H is willing to put in the main roster newcomer. He's quickly pushing his way to the top of the SmackDown tree rather than spinning wheels round about the roots, and that's a good thing.
Priest almost acted like a protective big brother to Melo early on, but that was never going to last. The best thing about that bit of booking is that Damian can't stomach how arrogant Trick is, so he wanted to tear him down more than help Hayes. They were still opponents, and there was still a Chamber spot up for grabs after all.
Williams managed to overcome that 'cause he can back up his big mouth with big actions inside the ring. His win was greeted favourably by the fans as well, so WWE could have their work cut out for them to keep Trick and his "lemon pepper steppers" full blown heel for too long.
Cracking match.