South Carolina Football: Gamecock featured at Wrestlemania, looks to become second Gamecock star in wrestling
By Kevin Miller
The final week of March through the first week of April is one of the best times on the annual sports calendar. Typically, the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments play their Elite Eight, Final Four, and national championship games during this time. Major League Baseball has its Opening Day and begins the season. College football spring practice reaches its “in-pads” portion. “A tradition unlike any other” happens in Augusta as the Masters tees off. The NBA and NHL regular seasons begin the playoff push. And then there is Wrestlemania.
Former South Carolina football wide receiver Matrick Belton took part in the event. Trick Williams, as the Gamecock alum is known in WWE circles, influenced an important match at the biggest event in wrestling. Serving as an ally to championship challenger Carmelo Hayes, Belton pulled his partner away from a precarious hold by belt-holder Bron Breakker. Ultimately, the move saved Hayes who went on to win the match and the NXT Championship.
The former Keenan High School football standout bet on himself after college when he gave up an NFL training camp opportunity to pursue a career in professional wrestling. Since then, after several years of training and a 2021 debut, Belton has become a young fan favorite, and his career will certainly benefit from that reality.
Belton is not the first former Gamecock to play a prominent role in professional wrestling, however. Del Wilkes, known by his stage names The Trooper and, more famously, The Patriot, was a star in the ’90s. After an All-American career as a guard for Joe Morrison and the Gamecocks, Wilkes pursued a career in wrestling and jumped around from organization to organization before finding his niche as The Patriot.
The Patriot served as a foil to the heel Bret Hart, who was loudly Canadian and, at times, anti-American. Wilkes was becoming a star in the industry in a short amount of time, but a severe triceps injury ended his career. The Irmo High School alum Wilkes passed away in the summer of 2021, just a few weeks before Belton’s WWE debut.