Why AJ Francis, FKA Top Dolla In WWE, Says He's The 'Hottest Free Agent In The World'

As he plots for success all over the independent wrestling world, AJ Francis, formerly Top Dolla in WWE, isn't pulling any punches in terms of how he sees himself in the free agency landscape.

In a Wrestling Inc. exclusive, Francis explained why, at MLW's The Burning Crush, he described himself as "the hottest free agent in the world" while verbally jabbing Alex Kane via a pretaped segment.

"[The distinction] fits me because everybody's talking about me," Francis said. "The likes of guys like Matt Cardona bring me up for no reason. People get their most engagement talking about me. That's wrestlers, that's wrestling reporters, that's just news people. People get their most interactions talking about me. I get my most interactions talking about me. There's a clear correlation there."

As for Kane, it sounds like Francis is equal parts invested in beating him down and building him back up. Calling Kane "a good brother," he said he has plenty to learn and plans on teaching him.

"First thing I'm going to do is make sure that he goes to a new barber because that mohawk is atrocious," Francis joked. "But, after I take care of that, I'm going to teach him how to make himself the most talked about prospect in wrestling."

While respecting Kane's successes to this point, Francis notes that he, like many others, downplays what he brings to the table in terms of what they can learn from someone like him. In particular, Francis' size and prowess, even as a four-year starter at Maryland, and a veteran of nine NFL games, gets discounted for whatever reason.

"When I show up places and I'm as big as I am, for some reason, people downplay my NFL career even though they couldn't start on varsity at their high school, and I show up every bit of 6'5", 330 — and that's real life, not wrestling," he said.