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AJ Francis, known in WWE as Top Dolla, asked John Laurinaitis if Hit Row could receive more opportunities shortly after their main roster call-up.
Hit Row (Ashante "Thee" Adonis, B-Fab, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, and Top Dolla) joined SmackDown from NXT on October 1, 2021. Despite the group showing potential in NXT, B-Fab received her release on November 4. The other three members were also let go by WWE on November 19.
Speaking on the Public Enemies Podcast, Francis disclosed the conversation he had with WWE’s Head of Talent Relations about Hit Row’s schedule.
“They never had nothing for us, man,” Francis said. “Even after Briana [B-Fab] got released, we went to Connecticut and we had to beg John Laurinaitis to put us on the Christmas tour. We were like, ‘Yo, we wanna work house shows. We want to work on our craft.’ We went out of our way to tell them that.” [41:41-42:07]
Hit Row’s only televised main roster match took place on the October 22, 2021 episode of SmackDown. Isaiah Scott and Top Dolla teamed up to defeat enhancement talents Daniel Williams and Dustin Lawyer in an 80-second contest.
Why John Laurinaitis did not put Hit Row on live events
After debuting together in May 2021, Hit Row quickly proved popular with NXT fans. The four-person group was selected as the 11th pick on the first night of the 2021 WWE Draft, ahead of the likes of Jeff Hardy and Theory.
Francis thought his stable could learn a lot by competing in matches at untelevised live events, but WWE's higher-ups rejected his request.
“Even after we got drafted, we were like, ‘All right, so we gonna start house shows this week?’” Francis added. “They were like, ‘No, we’re gonna take our time.’ Even before we got drafted they had Bronson Steiner [Bron Breakker] on house shows in England because they had a plan for him. See what I’m saying? They didn’t have a plan for us.” [42:08-42:23]
Francis also said in the interview that he expects Naomi and Sasha Banks to return to WWE television following their recent RAW walkout.
Please credit the Public Enemies Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
