15 Times WWE Stars Made Cameos BEFORE They Were Famous
9. Trick Williams
If NXT success story and surefire Raw or SmackDown hit Trick Williams ever takes his skills to Tony Khan's AEW, then someone cracking an "Elite Guard" joke is a must. Like, if it doesn't happen then questions need asked about who's paying attention in this weird and wonderful industry! Of course, the wrestler coming up with that gag would have to be a hardcore fan of ThunderDome-era WWE content in the first place.
On the 5 March 2021 SmackDown, Trick played the role of an anonymous “Elite Guard” protecting Apollo Crews. This was during Apollo's ever so slightly awkward 'Nigerian Prince' era when he put on an accent and claimed to descend from African royalty. It gave the guy a character to play on TV, sure, but Crews ultimately watched WWE top brass lose interest in the idea after booking him as Intercontinental Champion for 4 months in 2021.
He even worked what could well be Big E's final WrestleMania match at 'Mania 37. Their 'Nigerian Drum Fight' proved to be a real letdown, and that might've been the death knell for Apollo's push. If so, that's a pity, because the man has skills. Incredibly, and this is something nobody could've reasonably predicted, it was Williams who went on to supersede him.
Trick even became the first WWE contracted star to win the TNA World Title in May 2025 when he defeated Joe Hendry at NXT's Battleground show. Who saw that in the pipeline when he was rocking some camo and a beret during long-winded Crews promos on SmackDown?!