Report: Top Dolla Rubbed People The Wrong Way In WWE
He reportedly failed to endear himself backstage
Nov 19, 2021
Just under two years after he signed with the company, Top Dolla - former NFL player AJ Francis - was released by WWE on Thursday, November 18 along with the remaining members of Hit Row, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott and Ashante "Thee" Adonis.
While the faction and Top Dolla were popular with fans, especially on NXT, Francis appears to have been less popular behind the scenes.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer, Top Dolla "rubbed a ton of people the wrong way" while he was a member of the NXT roster and he was starting to gain the same reputation on Friday Night SmackDown.
If this contributed to WWE's decision to release him is currently unknown, but Meltzer noted that once WWE decided to let the former NFL player go, it "pretty much doomed" the remaining members of Hit Row as Francis was the individual who Vince McMahon thought could be a future star.
Past reports had noted that WWE planned to push Top Dolla as a singles star on the main roster, while Isaiah "Swerve" Scott and Ashante "Thee" Adonis would primarily be a tag team.