AJ Francis, Formerly Top Dolla In WWE, Details How TNA Deal Came Together

Despite being released from WWE on two separate occasions, AJ Francis didn't give up on his wrestling ambitions and is currently in a working relationship with TNA. In a recent interview on "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," Francis explained how his TNA debut came together and his current relationship with the promotion.

"I trained at the Team3D Academy when I first started wrestling, so I have a relationship with Bully Ray already," he said. "And one of the very best friends I made in this industry is Mark Henry -– he looks like my dad. They both also do 'Busted Open Radio' with Tommy Dreamer, and because of that I also have a relationship with Tommy."

Francis claimed he was already considering going to TNA after his WWE release, but he was even more excited once he found out the promotion was returning to its former moniker. "I was like 'Oh! I gotta go to TNA.' I was like knocking down Tommy's door." 

Francis also blamed reporting by the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer for hindering his efforts in getting into TNA due to claims that he was hard to work with.

"Tommy's like telling people at TNA, 'Bring him in, we'll see how it works, if he is hard to work with like they say he is, we just won't bring him back,'" Francis said. "Brian Meyers goes on his show with Matt Cardona and he goes, 'Man, AJ was great to work with, he's hard-working.' So it went from 'We'll see how it works with TNA' to now, like, I'm at TNA for the foreseeable future."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.