AJ Francis says he actually got himself into trouble backstage in WWE because someone wanted to meet him instead of Brock Lesnar or Randy Orton. That’s right, according to the former Top Dolla, simply having a celebrity guest request him was enough to upset people behind the scenes. Francis says it happened during WWE’s Money in the Bank event in London, and he still remembers how ridiculous the situation felt.
Speaking on The Wrestling Classic, Francis discussed why he’s much happier working for TNA than he was during his time in WWE. He explained that TNA recognizes his contributions and gives him opportunities to show what he can do. That wasn’t always his experience in WWE, where he believes his own popularity sometimes worked against him.
Francis brought up an incident involving Expressions, the social media personality who now works alongside him in TNA’s First Class. The two first met backstage at WWE Money in the Bank in London, where Expressions was attending as a celebrity guest. According to Francis, WWE personnel asked Expressions which Superstar he wanted to meet. Despite having the opportunity to choose major names like Brock Lesnar or Randy Orton, Expressions specifically requested Top Dolla. Francis claims that decision didn’t go over well backstage.
“You know, when I was, you know, in WWE, sometimes you become a victim of your own success. Like, Expressions, who’s with me now in TNA. I remember one time I got a little bit of heat in WWE because when Expressions was backstage as like a celebrity fan before Money in the Bank in London, they asked him who did he want to see and he could have saw Brock Lesnar, he could have saw Randy Orton and he said Top Dolla and they’re like why do you want to see Top Dolla? Like what is, what is, what do you want to see him for?”
Francis believes the entire situation showed how differently he was viewed in WWE compared to TNA. Instead of being pleased that a guest wanted to meet him, he claims people were questioning why anyone would make that choice.
“So, it’s like I was a victim of success back then that I had fans. You know what I’m saying? And then now that narrative’s completely changed. Now, when I’m in TNA, I get an opportunity to show exactly how good I am. And now people are starting to realize how good I am.”
The situation also marked the beginning of Francis’ friendship with Expressions. Francis explained that Expressions had already been following his career since Hit Row’s time in NXT, but their relationship became much closer after that initial meeting.
A couple of years later, the two ended up in Las Vegas during Super Bowl week, where Francis says they spent an entire night together at the Spearmint Rhino strip club. That outing helped build their friendship, and Expressions eventually told Francis he wanted to become involved in professional wrestling. Francis said he offered to help bring Expressions into TNA, although Expressions initially thought he was joking. He eventually invited him to participate in his entrance at Slammiversary.
“So he booked his own travel to Slammiversary. We teed it up and then he did my entrance at Slammiversary and that got like 5 million views across all social media. And you know, from that point on, the rest is history.”
Francis now has Expressions working alongside him in TNA, and he believes the partnership has been a success. More importantly, he feels the company values the connections and creativity he brings instead of questioning why someone would want to work with him.
Francis didn’t identify which WWE personnel allegedly gave him heat over the Money in the Bank incident, so his account remains his side of what happened. Either way, he’s making it clear that he hasn’t forgotten how he was treated during his WWE run, especially when he compares it to the opportunities he’s getting in TNA.
Do you think AJ Francis was treated unfairly in WWE, or is there more to this backstage incident than what he’s saying? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
