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South Carolina

Trick Williams, AKA former South Carolina receiver Matrick Belton, becomes wrestling world champion

by: Kevin Miller05/26/25kevinbmiller52
Former South Carolina football wide receiver Matrick Belton, now known as Trick Williams in the WWE world. Photo credit: Katie Dugan | GamecockCentral
Former South Carolina football wide receiver Matrick Belton, now known as Trick Williams in the WWE world. Photo credit: Katie Dugan | GamecockCentral

South Carolina football alum and Columbia native Matrick Belton spent three years with the Gamecocks before a brief time in camp with the Philadelphia Eagles and a short stint in coaching. Now, going by the name of Trick Williams, the local product is reaching new heights as a professional wrestler.

On Sunday night, Williams became the TNA World Champion. Despite being a WWE star and recent WWE NXT Champion, Williams has made several appearances alongside talent from TNA Wrestling. None of them were bigger than his victory at WWE’s NXT Battleground against TNA World Champion Joe Hendry to claim the belt for his company.

Williams is the first wrestler on the WWE roster to hold the TNA World Championship title. The honor also could indicate a possible upcoming promotion for him to WWE’s Raw or SmackDown rosters, something WWE legend and current executive Shawn Michaels has hinted at previously.

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During his South Carolina football career, Williams–then only known as Belton–worked his way up from FCS transfer walk-on to Gamecock contributor. Following a pre-transfer portal NCAA-mandated transfer redshirt season, he was the team’s Most Outstanding Offensive Walk-On for the 2015 spring. The strong offseason led to him playing in all 12 games of the 2015 season. That came with five starts, 11 catches, and 121 yards receiving. He had a smaller role as a senior after missing part of the offseason. Still, he played a lot on special teams for USC that year.

A former standout at WJ Keenan High School in Columbia, Williams began his college career at Hampton University in Virginia. He played two seasons for the Pirates before transferring home to join the Gamecocks.

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