Williams’ role as Crews guard didn’t last long because by April 2021, Commander Azeez took the place of both Williams and Dejournette. According to Williams, this can be attributed to an untimely case of COVID-19.

“I just remember a couple days before we had this ring build at NXT where everybody’s together and we’re building the rings for training. Somebody must have had COVID or whatever the case was. That wasn’t good because that thing must have spread.” Williams said. “I didn’t know that I had COVID and I rolled down to Tampa with Denzel. He didn’t know that he had COVID. We got to get tested to enter the building because the protocol is serious. We both get tested. We were riding down, laughing, joking, eating food the whole ride down to Tampa. Then they said, ‘Actually, both of you tested positive for COVID. You are not needed for SmackDown.'”

In retrospect, Williams believes his onset of COVID and subsequent storyline removal may have actually been the best thing for his professional wrestling career at the time. After all, Williams was only weeks into his WWE tenure at the time, which meant his knowledge on company operations was limited. Fortunately for him, the training at the WWE Performance Center and “WWE NXT” brand that came after taught him an abundance of valuable skills that he now applies to his full-time work on WWE’s main roster.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “No-Contest Wrestling” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.