Prior to his fatal four-Way NXT Championship defense against Je'Von Evans, Ethan Page, and Shawn Spears on "WWE NXT" Heatwave, Trick Williams spoke with The Toronto Sun about who led him on the voyage to become the face of NXT. Like many stars of the present and future, Williams was first drawn in by the infamous "Attitude Era" that helped define professional wrestling in the 1990s and early 2000s, and there was one man whose look and expressions caught Williams' youthful eye — as well as his ears.

"I was three years old and being a big fan of 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, some of my first words apparently were opening a can of whoop ass," Williams said.

Unfortunately, as a young child, imitating the catchphrases used by the beer-guzzling "Texas Rattlesnake" — most of which would be censored by the network in today's WWE — landed Williams in hot water.

"That got me in trouble, and my parents have to turn off wrestling a little bit because I was learning some language that shouldn't be said," Williams chuckled. "That's one of my first memories of wrestling."

If Williams was attempting to channel the same energy at Heatwave that Austin projected decades earlier, it was not enough for him to retain against Page, who seized the NXT Championship in the show's main event. While no longer the brand's top champion, Williams rebounded robustly when he and returning TNA breakout star Joe Hendry gained a tag team victory over Page and Spears in the main event of Tuesday's "WWE NXT."