A main roster name was considered for the Royal Rumble, but was ultimately passed on.
On Sunday, Fightful Select reported that Kit Wilson’s name was discussed for a spot in the men’s Royal Rumble match. He ended up not appearing at all during WWE’s time in Saudi Arabia this past week.
Wilson has been seen more on television as of late establishing himself as a singles wrestler and debuting a new theme song. The song has seen some success on online streaming charts. He has appeared on recent episodes of SmackDown losing to the likes of Carmelo Hayes and Matt Cardona.
Elton Prince, Wilson’s tag team partner, recently revealed that he had undergone neck fusion surgery following an injury that took place last May, putting him out of action indefinitely.
Notable surprises from the men’s Royal Rumble match include La Parka and Mr. Iguana from AAA. Chad Gable returned from injury, portraying himself as the Original El Grande Americano, seemingly starting a feud between himself and the second El Grande Americano who started appearing on screen once Gable was injured.
Kit Wilson is a singles wrestler right now — but his Pretty Deadly tag team partner Elton Prince is still always on his mind.
Prince, who has not wrestled since May 2025, is recovering from neck fusion surgery and likely faces a long road to recovery. Given that, Wilson has adopted a new presentation as a singles wrestler, gaining momentum on SmackDown with his catchy new theme music and Titantron video. While he has aspirations for singles gold, Wilson thinks Prince deserves a lot of the credit for any success he achieves as a solo act.
“I think I’d be a really good U.S. champion,” Wilson responded on Insight with Chris Van Vliet when asked about fans calling for him to win the United States Championship. “I’ve always made this point in private, but I guess I’ll say it publicly, again, I’m a tag guy ’til I die. I would love to win the U.S. title, and I would love to cut that thing right in half. I’ll give half to Elton. I’ll take half. I’ll proudly wear the half. I’ll come to SmackDown, but the other half in my eyes belongs to Elton. So I think that’s a venture I’d like to take on.”
The United States title is defended in open challenges on SmackDown nearly every single week. Sami Zayn instituted the practice in 2025, with Ilja Dragunov and now Carmelo Hayes picking up the mantle during their reigns.
Wilson never really expected to be a singles wrestler during his WWE career; Pretty Deadly was always his focus. But now that he’s been thrust into this role, Wilson is going to give everything he has for as long as it lasts. The United States title and Intercontinental title are both goals he’d like to achieve during this run.
“I’m a singles guy now, I am. But, again, my mindset was always tag,” Wilson said. “I just never even remotely considered being a singles guy. And now I’m here, I’m going to commit just as much as I’ll commit to everything. So, yeah, I am a singles guy. I will come for the U.S. title. I really want the IC title. I love the Intercontinental Championship. It’s always been a favorite of mine. So those are two big goals now. I think we’ll get there.”
Kit Wilson played an active role in shaping what his new WWE theme music would sound like.
The theme song — titled “Man Up” — has become a viral hit with fans over the last few weeks. Wilson adopted the new music for his singles run after Pretty Deadly tag team partner Elton Prince was forced out of action due to neck surgery. On Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Wilson said he was hoping the new song would be catchy, but it’s exceeded any expectations he had.
“I ended up having a fair amount of input. I was pushing for new music when I kind of found out what the situation was going to be and maybe I was gonna go solo. I started messaging a lot, saying, ‘I would love new music, can I get new music?’ Then eventually I got into contact with Neil [Lawi, the head of WWE Music Group], I believe, and then he called me. We had a little discussion on the phone. He said, ‘What kind of thing are you looking for?’ So I said, ‘Can I send you an email?’ Got off the phone and I started writing this email just with all my references, with all the songs I like, with all the ideas I had, lyrics, kind of the theme of it, the vibe of it. So I had so much [input].”
Some of the artists that Wilson used as inspiration were Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Jennie from the group Blackpink, Harry Styles, The 1975, and Jade Thirlwall. He sent WWE clips of their songs as the idea of the theme was formed.
“There’s just so many references there. I sent them all,” Wilson said. “I timestamped the bits that I like, the choruses, the here, the here. I’m always trying to give as much as I can so as much of me is there. And then they came back, gave me the first draft. It sounded great. A few tweaks, a few tweaks, a few tweaks and we kind of, I felt like we hit it, you know?”
Wilson knew he wanted a female singer for the song and wanted it to start with a phone call. He wanted a British voice for the call, but the decision was made to go with an American one. The song started to catch on once it was introduced, and it really went viral once WWE created a Titantron music video to go along with it. Wilson noted that he worked with Jeremy Borash (Senior Director, Content & Development) and Rob Fee (Director of Character Development) on creating the video at the WWE Performance Center
It’s possible that Wilson will go back to his old Pretty Deadly presentation one day, but he thought it was important to have a fresh start as a singles wrestler.
“it was scary going from Pretty Deadly [to] being a singles guy, because our whole career in this company was Pretty Deadly,” he said. “And I remember kind of having a discussion, and I think I was talking to Triple H, and he said, ‘Do you still want this music? Do you still want the ‘Yes Boy?’ Do you still want this aspect?’ And I did, and I cherish so much of that. That was so much of who I was as a person. I was scared, but I just felt like if we’re going to this new chapter, we have to go. So I said, ‘I want to get rid of all of that.’ And then obviously it comes back if it comes back, but I just wanted to start new. And I think, as you say, a fresh new start is — it’s going pretty good.”
Wilson competes on SmackDown and is feuding with Matt Cardona at the moment. WWE has leaned into the popularity that his new music and video have generated, including streaming a four-hour loop of it on YouTube.
Kit Wilson is sharing his thoughts following his tag team partner’s surgery.
On Friday, Elton Prince revealed that he had recently undergone neck fusion surgery stemming from a match that took place last May. On social media, Wilson wrote a message of support for his tag team partner, calling his ability to push through the pain and struggle “admirable.”
“Elton is a very private person, so he would never fully tell people just how hard this journey has been for him,” Wilson wrote. “So I would like to share a little. The amount of pain, struggle, and hardship he’s pushed through just to get to the point of having this surgery is nothing short of admirable.”
“He was injured during the middle of a match. While trying to figure out what was wrong, he took another move that cut him open badly,” Wilson described. “At the time, I didn’t know how serious it was, but I knew he was hurt. I was screaming at him to tag me in so he could get out and get medical help. Even then, he was determined to stay in the ring and finish the match – that’s just the kind of performer he is.”
Wilson continued, writing about his relationship with his long-time tag team partner. Although he hopes the two can reunite as a tag team, he stressed what’s important right now is Prince’s recovery process.
“We became best friends and tag team partners on the independents,” he continued. “We signed our contracts, moved across the world together, and grew up side by side – from single boys who love each other to family men (who maybe still lvoe each other more than our girls). We always talked about being a tag team for life, no matter what. So for him to suffer a career-threatening injury was, and still is, devestating.”
“Everything I do now as a singles competitior is the hope we can be Pretty Deadly again. But that isn’t the priority. Right now, I’m just glad that Elton has finally had his surgery and is on the road to recovery, so he can be the best partner and the best father he can be. I could say so much more, but I’ll let Elton do that in his own time. Love you, Lewis.”
The match took place on SmackDown back on May 2, when Pretty Deadly faced Fraxiom. At some point in the match, Prince took a bump and after a standing shooting star press, was bleeding everywhere. Despite this, he continued the match through its conclusion.
Prince has been out of action since May 2025. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Prince has been sidelined with a “significant neck injury.” On Friday, Prince took to social media to reveal that he successfully underwent a two-level neck fusion on Thursday.
“Back in May I took a bad landing in the ring, the top of my head hit the mat and what felt like burning hot electricity exploded through my neck and my arms, I lost control of my hands as all my fingers curled in and were stuck for a moment. It was pretty terrifying and what followed has been 7 months of tests, questions and well pain. But thanks to the efforts of the WWE medical staff and Dr Kanter, Gina and the Hoag team we found the problem and yesterday I successfully underwent a 2 level neck fusion. Not exactly where I hoped to be at 28 but we are owed nothing in this life and I am just grateful to be on the road to recovery. I want to thank everybody who has messaged or commented to ask how and where I am its been nice to not feel forgotten and I will try my hardest to overcome all the obstacles and get back in the ring for you.
But my focus right now is just getting healthy and reclaiming the basics like being able to be the best dad I can be for my daughter as @kellykincaid_wwe is long overdue a good nights sleep! I Can’t thank her enough for the support and help during all this and while im recovering im excited to watch my brother @kitwilson_pd crush everything he does and get a well deserved spotlight shone on him ⭐️”
Prince hasn’t wrestled since Fraxiom defeated Pretty Deadly on the May 2, 2025 episode of SmackDown.
Prince’s tag team partner, Kit Wilson, has since been wrestling in singles matches on WWE programming. On the January 2 SmackDown, Wilson debuted new ring music before losing to the returning Matt Cardona.
The NXT & NXT UK Tag Team Championships have been unified.
Elton Prince and Kit Wilson (Pretty Deadly) won both sets of titles on Sunday at NXT Worlds Collide. They defeated The Creed Brothers (Brutus & Julius Creed), Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang), and Brooks Jensen & Josh Briggs in a four-way elimination match.
The finish of the contest saw Damon Kemp turn on his Diamond Mine stablemate and hit Julius in the back with a chair. This allowed Prince to cover him for the win.
Briggs & Jensen was the first team eliminated after being pinned by Gallus. The Creed Brothers then eliminated Gallus, leaving just them and Pretty Deadly left in the match.
Earlier in the show, Diamond Mine’s Roderick Strong was discovered laid out in the parking lot. Our own Dave Meltzer reported recently that Strong is out with a legitimate injury.
Heading into the show, The Creed Brothers held the NXT tag titles while Briggs & Jensen held the NXT UK belts.
Pretty Deadly previously held the NXT Tag Team Championships from April 12 up until dropping them to the Creed Brothers at In Your House on June 4. Prince and Wilson also held the NXT UK Tag Team Championships from February 25, 2021, until dropping them to Moustache Mountain on December 9.
Pretty Deadly are the next NXT Tag Team Champions.
Elton Prince and Kit Wilson defeated The Creed Brothers in a five team gauntlet to win the championships for the first time. The Creed Brothers had started the match and by the time Pretty Deadly arrived, they were tired. Despite this, the final match in the gauntlet remained competitive until Pretty Deadly hit a spinebuster/neckbreaker combination to win the titles.
Other teams in the match included Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen, Joaquin Wilde & Raul Mendoza of Legado del Fantasma, and Grayson Waller & Sanga.
Pretty Deadly revealed themselves as the newest members of the NXT roster last week after spending weeks harassing The Creed Brothers, including attacking them prior to a NXT Tag Team title match. They are former NXT UK Tag Team Champions and had wrestled on the brand under the names Lewis Howley (Prince) and Sam Stoker (Wilson).
The NXT Tag Team titles were vacated over the weekend following the release of Nash Carter, who was one half of the Tag Team Champions alongside Wes Lee. Carter has been accused by ex-wife Kimber Lee of domestic abuse. Additionally, a photo surfaced of him stylzing his facial hair similar to Adolf Hitler and doing a Nazi pose.
After Carter was released, the company announced that the titles were vacated and a gauntlet match would determine new champions on tonight’s show.
