5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (26 Dec - Results & Review)
Ups...
5. Trick Williams Sows Some Seeds
Trick Williams is about to slide into the cocksure heel role Carmelo Hayes was playing before he split from The Miz and went babyface a while back. During a pre-tape, Trick could be seen waiting for Nick Aldis in his office. Initially, Williams deferred to the WWE Champion when Cody Rhodes came in and asked him to leave, but then Trick came back to say Cody needed to hold onto the title “real tight” if Aldis throws cash his way and signs him.
He called himself “the hottest free agent”, so let a bidding war between Raw and SmackDown commence. Trick is just one of several knocking around the place (Je'Von Evans is in that bracket too). Again, this segment would've been far more pressing if WWE ever honoured the brand split properly, because what's really stopping Williams from showing up wherever and whenever he likes?
On the plus side, Cody vs. Trick should be something special that WWE builds to long term. It’d be one hell of a match, and it's about time that wrestlers started ruffling some feathers immediately as soon as they're called up from developmental. Not everybody needs the slow burn treatment. Williams has been killing it on NXT for years now, so he's ready.
Sowing some seeds for Trick vs. Cody was smart. NXT call ups shooting their shot at the poster boy makes sense rather than...say...having them target R-Truth or somebody like that. It's a huge compliment to Williams that he looked every bit the star in such a short promo skit.