Vancouver’s “Golden Boy” has grown up and Travis Williams is anticipating an even better 2025 after what was a meteoric 2024.
The 25-year-old Williams signed with Total Nonstop Action in June, captured three sets of tag team titles (Prestige, PrideStyle and Smash) with partner Judas Icarus and continued solidifying himself as one of the most active wrestlers in Canada.
This calendar year saw Williams compete in Germany for WXW, wrestle in the historic 2300 Arena in Philadelphia and become the second-ever winner of Prestige’s Cascadia Cup in August.
But it’s a promotion that Williams has significant history with that he will help bring to British Columbia’s Lower Mainland for the first time ever in October – 365 Pro Wrestling.
The Vancouver Island and Ontario-based promotion invades New Westminster on Oct. 12 and Williams takes on one of his mentors – Vancouver legend Nicole Matthews.
Debuting in 2017, Williams excelled early on in the Vancouver scene, winning both tag and singles gold in his first two years. Training out of B.C.’s Lion’s Gate Dojo, Williams learned under Matthews, Artemis Spencer, Tony Baroni and Billy Suede – even joining The Wisemen stable with Baroni and Suede.
When the pandemic hit, Williams stayed busy and quickly became a fixture with 365.
It was wrestling on Vancouver Island that first planted the seeds of the Sinner and Saint tag team with partner Judas Icarus, with Williams as the “Saint” since Icarus is a “born sinner.”
The pair wrestled to a 60-minute time limit draw for 365’s Global Championship in Campbell River on Nov. 7, 2020 and then a few months later locked horns again in an Iron Man match.
“We had built this friendship and just became really close and the pandemic gave us the opportunity to wrestle all the time,” Williams said of his relationship with Icarus. “We had that first hour-long match in front of maybe 14 people, but we just developed a lot of experience and chemistry with each other. I give 365 a lot of credit for letting us work together and just building us up.”
Sinner and Saint, Travis Williams and Judas Icarus
Eddie Osbourne is the owner of 365, and said that he noticed Williams’ presence and smoothness in the ring very early on. He said the matches between Williams and Icarus raised the bar for his promotion.
“It had to have brought them even closer as friends because of all the wars they had,” Osbourne recalled of the two matches. “I remember being unsure if we should do an Iron Man after we did the 60-minute match. There’s just so much pressure and also to be able to hold the people’s attention for that long is enormously tough. I believed in Travis and Judas and they delivered again.”
Williams said it was actually the Seattle-based DEFY that decided to pair them up as Sinner and Saint. He admitted that he initially wasn’t sure if the team would work out.
“At the time we were just so different from each other character-wise,” Williams said, pointing out that he mostly portrayed an arrogant heel and Icarus was a stiff brawler. “It wasn’t something we had even considered and we were on the fence because of just how different our styles are. But it’s worked out for the best, at least for me specifically, because it helped me find myself, change for the better and evolve both my wrestling style and my character.”
Travis Williams ties up an opponent.
While Sinner and Saint took over the tag scene outside of Vancouver, Williams continued to rack up accomplishments as a singles star in B.C. He was the inaugural Nation Extreme Wrestling champion and helped establish that promotion in its early days.
Williams has also flexed some of his comedic muscles in Vancouver’s Boom Pro Wrestling. Boom storylines have Williams as the offspring of a time-travelling Abraham Lincoln and promoter Max Mitchell’s mom. He said he’s enjoying doing something completely unique.
“It’s a chance to do something different,” Williams said, chuckling. “Boom offers an alternative and they incorporate a lot of different things. It’s just a fun time. I think a lot of the fans that go to those shows aren’t even typically wrestling fans, so I think it grows wrestling and helps us as performers to develop.”
Travis Williams with a whole lot of hardware.
By 2023, his buzz had reached some of the top promotions in North America, as All Elite Wrestling brought him in twice.
Both occasions were fairly significant roles for a non-contracted talent. Williams worked Juice Robinson on AEW Dark in Portland on Jan. 6, 2023 and then he and Icarus battled The Righteous on a live edition of AEW Collision in Seattle on Sept. 30, 2023.
The Robinson match, in particular, was notable for the amount of offence Williams received.
“Juice is the man, just the coolest guy ever,” Williams said. “We actually had a pretty back-and-forth match, which I was surprised about. I didn’t know if that’s what people wanted to see in one of Juice’s return matches but I really enjoyed it and it was awesome. It’s a very special memory for me.”
Williams said inking a deal with TNA this summer is another big step. He gives a lot of credit to wrestlers like Josh Alexander and the Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) for putting in a good word about himself and Icarus to TNA decision makers. The TNA journey has opened Williams’ eyes.
“It has been a great experience so far,” Williams said. “Everyone in the locker room has been so helpful. There is just so much to learn and it’s the perfect place for us to grow. Having this opportunity has been just massive for us.”
Judas Icarus is the Sinner and Travis Williams is the Saint.
Just a few months into their TNA run, Williams and Icarus have competed against top teams like The Rascalz, ABC and First Class. The pair have recently aligned themselves with the aforementioned Alexander, who both have wrestled singles matches against in the past.
TNA is also in the midst of a unique partnership with NXT that has seen talents go back and forth between the two promotions shows. Williams said he would love to appear on NXT and that the partnership is proof of how hot TNA is.
“TNA really does feel like the place to be,” Williams said. “There are so many opportunities, so many great tag teams and now this partnership with TNA. Of course, we would love to do something with NXT, but I guess we will just have to wait and see.”
Williams said short-term goals for the TNA run include making it on to a pay-per-view show. He added that he believes both he and Icarus could thrive as singles wrestlers in the X Division and in matches like Ultimate X.
Another benefit to TNA is it allows Williams the flexibility to continue to take independent bookings. He hopes to return again to Germany’s WXW in the future, as well as continue taking dates all across North America.
Travis Williams vs Nicole Matthews.
As for the 365 match against Nicole Matthews on Oct. 12, Williams said fans can expect a strong scientific match. He stated that Matthews has had a big hand in nearly every talent to come out of Vancouver for the past decade or more.
“She is a massive influence on me and so many others,” Williams said. “Her, Artemis, Tony, Suede and Cat Power are the ones who trained me and have taught me literally everything I know. If you go to the Lion’s Gate Dojo, she is always there.”
Williams and Matthews have not wrestled one-on-one since 2018 and he said he has been preparing to impress his teacher.
“I’m really looking forward to it and have been trying to improve my technical prowess recently,” he said. “Just because she’s one of the best technical wrestlers in Canada and is kind of the standard for technical wrestling out here.”
Matthews shared on Twitter that she believes Williams is the best wrestler in Canada and she is both nervous and excited for the match.
Osbourne said the match was an easy one to decide to book.
“One of the, if not the, best pro wrestlers in Canada versus one of the pillars of pro wrestling in Canada,” Williams said. “Student versus coach – this is a main event any night of the week in any promotion in the Pacific Northwest or Canada and I’m expecting an excellent match where the fans win no matter what.”
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