“Top Dolla” AJ Francis Reflects On Being Left Off WWE WrestleMania Cards

As a guest on the latest episode of the WWE After the Bell Podcast with Corey Graves, AJ Francis aka Top Dolla of Hit Row Records joined the show to talk about being on the main roster and what his expectations are. Having played at AT&T Stadium in Dallas as a former NFL player, Francis said his main goal is to be at WrestleMania 37 this coming April.

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"Man, I ain't going to lie to you, that's exactly what I want and that's exactly what I think we're going to go out and prove that we deserve," Francis said. "I went to WrestleMania 32 in Dallas and I was in the fourth row and I was like, this is incredible. I played the Dallas Cowboys in that stadium, that stadium, it doesn't even feel like an arena, it feels like a mall. It feels like you're playing in the middle of a mall, it's gigantic and there's nothing like it. To be there again, the opportunity to perform there again but this time with WWE, I don't care what I'm doing.

"I don't care if all I'm doing is eating a stunner, I don't care if I get brogue kicked in the face 400 times, I don't care what I'm doing. I cannot wait for that opportunity because it's all that I've been thinking about ever since we got called up to SmackDown. I have notoriously overestimated my abilities in everything that I do and because of that I've been able to succeed a lot because I believe in myself. I honestly thought that after I signed in WWE in January 2020, I think in my mind I'm going to be on WrestleMania 35 and 36 no doubt about it. 35 comes and goes and I'm kind of on it but not really, 36 comes and I'm like, 'this is going to be me,' and it doesn't happen. To me, I'm like I need to be on every year. Some people think it would be nice to be on a WrestleMania, I think that I need to be there. To get that opportunity, hopefully coming up very soon, man, I can't wait."

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WWE announced the release of 18 wrestlers this past week, one of the names was Hit Row Records' B-Fab. The group reacted to her release on social media and even paid respect to her on SmackDown this past week.

Francis also spoke about how exciting it would be to be a member of the Royal Rumble this year. The former NFL player said he'd love to hear Hit Row's music play and run down to the ring in St. Louis.

"The other opportunity I'm looking most forward to, obviously WrestleMania is great but I want to be in the [Royal] Rumble," Francis said. "The Rumble to me is the best event of the year. It's not just because of the stars returning, it's because it's literally a two hour story. There's not a lot of times in sports entertainment or entertainment in general when you can have something that from beginning to end tells a story and is so entertaining and is everything from a nostalgia act to a comedy act to an actual knock down drag out brawl. It's everything in between and I think that it's so much fun every year.

"Every year you think like what's the Rumble going to be like this year, I can't wait for that opportunity. To hear them count down 10-9-8-6... then hear Hit Row hit? Man, I cannot wait for that."

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If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE After the Bell with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

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