A. J. Francis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
A. J. Francis
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Francis with the Washington Redskins in 2017
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| Born |
Anthony Joseph Francis
May 7, 1990 Washington, D.C., U.S.
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| Alma mater | University of Maryland | ||
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Professional wrestling career
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| Ring name(s) | A. J. Francis AJ Francis Suga Bear Top Dolla Dolla |
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| Billed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||
| Billed weight | 330 lb (150 kg) | ||
| Trained by | Bubba Ray Dudley D-Von Dudley |
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| Debut | October 25, 2018 | ||
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Football career |
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| No. 96, 99, 64 | |||
| Position: | Nose tackle | ||
| Personal information | |||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||
| Weight: | 337 lb (153 kg) | ||
| Career information | |||
| High school: | Gonzaga College (Washington, D.C.) |
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| College: | Maryland | ||
| Undrafted: | 2013 | ||
| Career history | |||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||
Anthony Joseph Francis (born May 7, 1990) is an American professional wrestler and former American football player. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a former one-time TNA Digital Media Champion. He also makes appearances for Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is a member of World Titan Federation, and also performs on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Top Dolla, where he was a member of Hit Row.
Francis played college football at Maryland. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2013 and also played for the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins.
Contents
Professional football career
Miami Dolphins (first stint)
After going un-drafted in the 2013 NFL draft, Francis signed with the Miami Dolphins on April 30, 2013.
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots claimed Francis off waivers on September 1, 2013. He was released on September 7, only to be signed to the team's practice squad three days later. Francis remained on the practice squad until being re-signed by the Dolphins in November.
Miami Dolphins (second stint)
On November 27, 2013, Francis was signed off the Patriots' practice squad.
Francis was put on injured reserve on August 27, 2014. On November 14, 2015, he was waived by the Dolphins.
Seattle Seahawks
On November 16, 2015, Francis was acquired off waivers by the Seattle Seahawks. On November 24, he was released by the team, but signed to the practice squad two days later. On November 30, 2015, he chose to be promoted to the active roster in Seattle rather than re-signing with the Dolphins to their active roster. On March 8, 2016, Francis signed his one-year exclusive-rights tender deal to return to Seattle. He was waived on May 9, 2016.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
On May 17, 2016, Francis signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was waived by the Buccaneers on September 3, 2016.
Washington Redskins
On October 12, 2016, Francis signed with the Washington Redskins. He was promoted to the active roster on November 29, 2016. He was waived on December 10, 2016, and was re-signed back to the practice squad. Francis signed a futures contract with the Redskins on January 2, 2017.
On September 2, 2017, Francis was waived by the Redskins. He was re-signed to their practice squad on October 18, 2017, and was promoted to the active roster the next day. He was waived on October 25, 2017. He was re-signed on November 21, 2017.
Francis was waived on April 30, 2018. After his release, Francis publicly stated he was grateful that he was no longer a part of team due to the organization's lack of appreciation for him and adding his view that the team's mascot was racist.
New York Giants
On May 2, 2018, Francis signed with the New York Giants. He was released on September 1, 2018.
Professional wrestling career
WWE (2020–2021)
Francis signed with WWE in January 2020. Francis made his wrestling television debut on the May 4, 2021, episode of NXT where he aligned himself with Isaiah "Swerve" Scott by helping him defeat Leon Ruff in a Falls Count Anywhere match, establishing himself as a heel in the process. The following week, Francis was introduced as Top Dolla and formed a new stable, Hit Row with Scott, Ashante "Thee" Adonis, and B-Fab. Despite Top Dolla being drafted to SmackDown along with the rest of Hit Row as a part of the 2021 WWE Draft, B-Fab was released on November 4, and the rest of Hit Row were released 15 days later due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Independent circuit (2021–2022)
Following his release from WWE, it was announced that Francis and the rest of Hit Row, minus Scott, would begin wrestling on the indies, under the team name, The HitMakerZ.
They would reunite at MCW’s Spring Break event, where Francis and Miles defeated Boom Hayden and Clay Jacobs.
At Game Changer Wrestling’s For The Culture event, Francis and Miles would lose to the team of Shane Taylor and O’Shay Edwards.
Return to WWE (2022–2023)
On the August 12, 2022, episode of SmackDown, Top Dolla made his unannounced return to WWE with Hit Row where he and Adonis (accompanied by B-Fab) defeated two local competitors. On the December 16 episode of SmackDown, Top Dolla and Adonis won their first main roster championship opportunity for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship by defeating The Viking Raiders and Legado Del Fantasma in a triple threat tag team match but failed to defeat The Usos for the championship. On the January 6, 2023 episode of SmackDown, Top Dolla was defeated by Ricochet in a Royal Rumble qualifying match. After the match, Hit Row attacked Ricochet. Hit Row were drafted to the SmackDown brand in the 2023 WWE Draft. On September 21, Top Dolla was again released from his WWE contract along with a host of other WWE superstars.
Return to the independent circuit (2023–present)
In December 2023, Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) announced Francis' return to the promotion at Look At Me on January 26, 2024.
At the GCW Holiday Special, Francis would attack Joey Janela. This would lead to a match between the two at Look At Me, which Janela won.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2024–present)
On January 13, 2024, Francis appeared at Hard To Kill under his real name, attacking Joe Hendry and marking his debut for Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling. On March 14 episode of TNA Impact!, he would defeat Hendry with the help of Rich Swann, with the duo now called First Class (stylized as Fir$t Cla$$). On the June 6 episode of Impact! 20th Anniversary Show, Francis won the TNA Digital Media Championship from Laredo Kid, his first title win in TNA.
On the June 15 taping of TNA Impact! (aired on tape delay on June 27), Francis (in kayfabe) bought the Canadian International Heavyweight Championship, a title that was promoted in Canada for many years and had been retired since 1987. As the new owner of the title, Francis declared himself as its new champion, making himself a double champion in the process. At Slammiversary on July 20, Francis lost the TNA Digital Media Championship and the International Heavyweight Wrestling Championship to PCO in a Montreal Street Fight, ending his reign as TNA Digital Media Champion at 62 days and his reign as Canadian International Heavyweight Champion at 35 days.
Major League Wrestling (2024–present)
On February 17, 2024 at Burning Crush, Francis made his debut for Major League Wrestling (MLW) debut in a pre-taped vignette, calling out Alex Kane and was revealed as the newest member of the World Titan Federation. On night 2 of Intimidation Games, Francis made his MLW in-ring debut, defeating Mr. Thomas.
National Wrestling Alliance (2024)
On March 2, 2024, Francis made his debut for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) at Hard Times, defeating Bryan Idol in a no disqualification match.
Music career
On October 13, 2017, dropped a music video on his YouTube channel by the name of Olympic Gold featuring an artist by the name of J-Lew and the song is actually featured on A.J. Francis debut album by the name of "O.T.A" that has made it on ITunes / Apple Music. On March 15, 2022, A.J. Francis was featuring in a music video by the name of Digits alongside music group Swerve City which has former Hit Row member Isaiah "Swerve" Scott in it.
On March 6, 2023, Hit Row was partially reunited as a music video was dropped where it was musical artist Monteasy featuring A. J. Francis (aka FRAN¢ / aka Top Dolla), Rich Latta, Swerve Strickland (aka Swerve The Realest / aka Isaiah "Swerve" Scott former member) & Briana Brandy (aka B-Fab) dropped a music video by the name of Price Went Up.
On July 21, 2023, three members of Hit Row by the names of B-Fab, Top Dolla and Ashante "Thee" Adonis dropped a freestyle single by the name of Barbie Barz.
Other media
- Other digital appearances
- In April 2021, Francis began starring in the A&E series WWE's Most Wanted Treasures as the historical expert where he travels with WWE Legends as they search for lost memorabilia from private collectors, museums and occasionally other WWE Legends.
- Video games
- Top Dolla, alongside his Hit Row members Ashante "Thee" Adonis & B-Fab (as a Manager; and probably Non-Playable), made their video game debut in WWE 2K23 as DLC characters in the Steiner Row Pack DLC bundle.
Personal life
In April 2015, Francis went viral for signing up to be an Uber driver in the off-season, while playing for the Miami Dolphins.
Francis said that he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in December 2022, with his blood sugar level at 626 mg/dL.
Championships and accomplishments
- 2econd Wrestling
- Maxwell Street Heritage Championship (1 time, current)
- All Caribbean Wrestling
- ACW Championship (1 time)
- Sausage Castle Wrestling
- SCW Championship (2 times, current)
- Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
- TNA Digital Media Championship (1 time)
- Canadian International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
See also
In Spanish: A.J. Francis para niños
- List of gridiron football players who became professional wrestlers
