WWE star Trick Williams notches historic championship win in rare TNA crossover

TKO announced in January an industry-shaking, multi-year partnership between WWE and TNA that would allow superstars from each promotion to appear on programs from each wrestling brand.

The NXT Battleground main-event match, a singles match between Wiliams and Hendry for the TNA World Championship, was the biggest crossover yet between former rivals WWE and TNA.

Williams, 31, defeated Hendry by slamming his face on the TNA title before dropping him with a Trick Shot for a pinfall victory, adding insult to injury as he became the first WWE star to hold the coveted world championship.

Becoming the first contracted WWE star to win the TNA World Championship was not the only historic feat Williams achieved at NXT Battleground. 

Following his main-event win over Hendry, Williams became the seventh Black wrestler to win a WWE World Championship in the men's division. He is the 13th Black wrestler to win a WWE world title overall. 

Behind The Rock, who became WWE's youngest world champion (at the time) and first Black world champion at Survivor Series 1998, Williams, 31, is the second-youngest Black wrestler to win a WWE world title. 

Williams joins an exclusive list of Black WWE world-title winners headlined by Booker T, Bobby Lashley, The Rock, Mark Henry, Big E and Kofi Kingston. 

His win at NXT Battleground was Williams’ first championship win outside of WWE/NXT, where he is a two-time NXT Champion and a one-time NXT North American Champion. Williams is not only the first WWE-contracted talent to win the TNA World Championship, but this was the first time in history that the title changed hands outside of TNA.

Following his historic win, Williams shared an Instagram post of himself posing with the title while smoking a cigar. The viral social media post also took a (not so) subtle jab at Hendry, as Williams featured his new single "Average Joe," citing that he's "never backing down to an average Joe."

Now, with the TNA World Championship immersed in the WWE landscape, there's no telling what's next for Williams and the world title. 

Perhaps a rematch with Hendry is in store as the former champion aims to bring the world title back to its rightful promotion. Or maybe Williams jumps ship from NXT and begins his title reign as a main-eventer for TNA. 

Williams could also carry the belt on NXT, his current brand, where he carries feuds with high-flyer Je'Von Evans and NXT Champion Oba Femi. 

Either way, one thing is clear: The reigning TNA champion Williams isn't backing down from an average Joe.