Vince McMahon was a fan of released WWE star - reports

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was a fan of Top Dolla before he was released last week. The Hit Row member was seen as a star, but the 'budget cuts' saw his time in the company cut short.

As per Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Top Dolla was seen as the one to take Hit Row to the next level. However, the WWE star reportedly had backstage heat and was upset after the release of his crew member, B-Fab.

Speaking on WON today, Meltzer compared Top Dolla to Xavier Woods in the New Day and said:

"I know it sounds really weird [to release all of Hit Row when Top Dolla was the only one with heat on him] but here's the thing, he's the one that Vince saw as a star. The other guys just came along with the package. Ashante Thee Adonis was just a guy that they put in the group. It's not like he's a great wrestler. He's just a guy, but he got put in the group and that's what could have made a career for him — because that's what Xavier Woods was, I mean not to say Xavier Woods isn't very good now, he is very good."

"When Xavier Woods came along, he was just a guy and the group became a big star and he became a big star in the group. That was the best possible thing for Ashante, except for unlike the New Day where they are around for years and years and years these guys got fired right away. But they thought AJ Francis was the star because he's the big guy and the big personality."

WWE had other plans for Hit Row before releasing them

After WWE released B-Fab, the company had other plans for Hit Row. Though they were cut from a group of 4 to 3, the writers did not see a considerable difference and wanted to keep things going.

There were mixed signals going around, with plans made for the group to be on RAW, SmackDown and Survivor Series. However, rather abruptly, the company decided to release Hit Row instead.