Summary

Shawn Michaels says he pushed for Trick Williams to spend more time in NXT because he felt Williams still needed work before making the full jump to WWE's main roster.

During a recent conversation with Paul Levesque, Michaels explained that his biggest reason was creative development. He believed Williams needed to revisit the heel side of his character so he could better understand the psychology of helping an opponent and not just the crowd response that comes with being a popular babyface.

That comment stands out now because Williams has already reached the WrestleMania 42 card and is in line for a United States Championship match with Sami Zayn. It also adds another layer to how WWE viewed his growth, especially after Williams recently spoke about trying to become the first true version of himself on the main roster.

What Michaels and Levesque said about Trick Williams

Levesque said he recently reminded Williams that many talents feel ready before WWE believes the timing is right. In Williams' case, Levesque said the extra time in developmental was meant to prepare him for a bigger stage later.

Quotes

While speaking with Variety, Michaels and Levesque described that decision as a deliberate part of Williams' development:

**Levesque:** "So as far as who's ready, when, in my opinion, everybody's different. I just said it to Trick (Williams) the other night. He gets a WrestleMania match and he's so excited and he was being thankful for all the positioning and I said, 'Look, I'm thankful that you're ready to get there.' I said, 'So now, look back on the frustration that you had of being in a time where you knew you were ready, in your mind. We were screwing you over by keeping you in developmental, and trying to get you.' I said, 'But, we're getting you ready for this. We believed you weren't quite ready yet and that you could benefit more, even if it was just slightly from baking a little bit longer, and that time will pass and you'll be frustrated.' Almost every talent that has come from NXT to the main roster has come to me at some points and, 'What am I doing? I've been here forever. Why haven't they moved me up already? I'm losing my mind waiting.' They all do the same thing but, there's a certain point in time where you just wanna be sure. No one's ever 100 percent ready, ever, and you move guys up when you think that they are and sometimes, a guy's still not ready but you think, well, he's learned everything he's gonna learn here."

**Michaels:** "You all had made the deal with Trick, and I had mentioned that, 'Hey, I think he still needs a bit more time.'"

**Levesque:** "And you were right."

Michaels then explained why he felt a heel turn was important to Williams' long-term growth:

**Michaels:** "Yeah, well, thanks," he laughed. "And I felt like he needed to go back over to the heel side. He was a really good babyface, but it was kind of going down a road to where it was getting very just focused on him being a babyface and what his opponents could do for him to help him continue to grow as a babyface and get more over, and continue to have more success and I had mentioned that, 'I feel like you need to be a heel,' and because in my mind, he hadn't quite understood the benefits of what your heels do for you as a babyface, and I needed him to kind of jump on that other side to try to understand that now he was going to have to be that guy that certainly gets his stuff over and continues to do his stuff, but now has to make that other individual and understand how much work and effort and psychology goes into that."

**Levesque:** "And appreciate it. So when somebody's doing it for you, you appreciate it."

**Michaels:** "He's one that I would have loved to have been able to certainly build a brand around but, I'm never going to keep guys from success. That's something I don't ever certainly want to do..."

What it means for Trick Williams after NXT

Michaels' comments make it clear that Williams' extra NXT time was not just about waiting for a roster spot. WWE wanted him to sharpen the parts of his game that become more obvious once a wrestler is asked to carry bigger matches and understand both sides of a feud.

That matters now because Williams is no longer being discussed as a future project. He is already on the WrestleMania stage against Sami Zayn, so this look back from Michaels reads like confirmation that WWE saw his ceiling early and chose patience over a faster call-up.

Sources

Shawn Michaels and Paul Levesque while speaking with Variety