When news broke that AJ Francis, better known to WWE fans as Top Dolla, was being released from his contract for the second time since Hit Row's initial SmackDown appearance, it seemingly spelled the end of his run at the world leader in sports entertainment.
… or did it?
While the former New England Patriots defensive tackle has seemingly landed on his feet, presenting the Cheez-It Championship at the Citrus Bowl and becoming the Digital Media Champion in TNA, that doesn't mean Francis isn't still on WWE's radar, as, in an interview with The Angle Podcast, he let it be known that the line of communication between himself, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and his former champion, Paul Heyman, has remained open.
“Yeah, I mean I talked to Paul Heyman and Triple H last week. I still am in communication with everybody there. The thing is, I’m just doing my own thing right now. Before, if you thought that I was just the heavy big man in a crew and just stand there and look big and be that person in Hit Row, if you thought that, you were wrong then,” AJ Francis explained via Fightful.
“But if you pay attention right now, you’ll see exactly how wrong you are. The best thing that happened to me in TNA is Tommy Dreamer will make sure I get a mic every single episode. I talk every single episode. I have major talking segments in huge spots, and I kill them because there’s no one that talks better than me. There never has been. The fact is, I need a mic. If you give me a mic, I’ll show you that I’m better than everybody else you got. If anyone thinks I’m not, stand six feet away from me with a microphone in your hands, and let’s just see what happens.”
You know, in a way, it makes sense that Francis would still be in contact with WWE, as TNA is in the middle of a cross-over program with NXT that could see the former Hit Row member return to the PC as either AJ Francis, Top Dolla, or even an amalgamation of the two, something like “Top Dolla” AJ Francis. While only time will tell if Francis ever ends up back in WWE long-term, being pushed like the kind of star he believes himself to be, for now, it looks like even Levesque and Heyman are keeping tabs on the Digital Media Champion.
AJ Francis puts over another ex-WWE guy, Ricochet
While AJ Francis used plenty of his time on The Angle Podcast to discuss his own career and put over his own work in TNA, the former Hit Row member found some time to put over another ex-WWE guy, Ricochet, who he believes is the best wrestler in the business today.
“Absolutely, 100%. Ricochet, I use this as an example, and I stole this from Jon Cruz, who’s Serpentico at AEW. He’s the person that trained me more than anyone else. I use this quote from him, it was like, ‘Stop trying to do crazy moves and start trying to get over with the crowd. You can’t make a new move, Ricochet already exists.’ Ricochet already exists, Ricochet is the guy,” AJ Francis explained via Fightful.
“In my personal opinion, Ricochet, if we’re talking about in-ring ability, there’s nobody better than him. There’s nobody. I would love to put this on the line against him. I think that we would have an incredible match. We had an incredible three-minute match on SmackDown, it was a lot of fun. We have the history there. Me and him are very good friends. I would love to potentially put this on the line versus Ricochet. We would have an absolute banger of a match. He’s so good. He’s one of the greatest, if not in my opinion, the greatest in-ring guy ever. The way he sells, the way he moves, the moves that he does, it’s undeniable. They say the rumors are he’s going to AEW, that’s what I’ve heard. They say that on the interwebs. But I would love if I got a chance to defend this against Ricochet because, in my opinion, there’s nobody better.”
Though Ricochet doesn't have the same resume as his long-time indie rival Will Ospreay, with just two five-star matches on his resume versus the “Billy Goat's” 39, if he does make the move to AEW, it's safe to say that number will rise rapidly, as, considering even Booker T believes Ricochet was woefully underutilized by WWE, a major “Highlight of the Night” revival is in the works.
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