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Being released from WWE certainly isn't the end of the world, and Top Dolla, aka AJ Francis, is a living example of that notion. During an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, the former WWE star spoke about bagging high-profile appearances without the support of a major wrestling company.
The former Hit Row member was released from WWE in September, and while he only recently became a free agent, Top Dolla has ensured he is seen at all the right places outside the pro wrestling realm.
Apart from giving many interviews, Top Dolla has been spotted in some top shows on multiple television networks. He will also present the MVP title at the 2024 Citrus Bowl, and Top Dolla noted that he continues to get such opportunities despite not having the backing of WWE, AEW, or any other wrestling organization.
Francis is doing all of this without the "machine" behind him, and the 33-year-old seemed very proud of himself and self-assured about his future. Here's what he told Sportskeeda Wrestling's Riju Dasgupta:
"Let's call a spade a spade and be real. Without the machine behind you, right? Without WWE behind them, or AEW behind them, or even TNA, any of the major promotions in this country, without their company going out of their way to set it up for them, how many people could be on the Pat McAfee show, the Scott Van Pelt show, could be on Big Noon Kick off on Fox, could be on CBS, NBC, ABC, could be on ABC on January 1st with the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl as the person giving the MVP title to the MVP of the game. How many people in wrestling can do that? That's what I did in the last month." [03:48 - 04:34]
Top Dolla considers himself a natural heel but issues clarification on how he is in real life
The online hate that Top Dolla gets has been pretty visible throughout his WWE run. The physically gifted performer also never shied away from taking on Internet trolls and often found himself the victim of unnecessary animosity.
AJ Francis, however, understood how the wrestling business worked and why the job of a heel was to get heat.
While Francis came across as a natural villain due to his honest demeanor, he is a genuinely great person who is heavily into charity and other noble activities.
He explained:
"At the Christmas party, I went to, I wore a Roddy Piper Christmas sweater. Did Roddy Piper try to make sure everybody liked him? You know what I'm saying? No. You need heels. I am a genuinely good person. How many other wrestlers had canned food drives for homeless kids this year? But I'm somehow a bad person because of what? And that's the funny thing." [06:59 - 7:36]
An unexpected WWE release isn't stopping Top Dolla from being relevant, and it's pretty impressive that the wrestling star has found ways to keep up the hype around his name as he prepares for a run on the indies.
Please credit Sportskeeda WrestleBinge and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.
