Former WWE star AJ Francis, known to fans as Top Dolla, has spoken out in response to comments made by AEW’s Swerve Strickland regarding the circumstances surrounding Hit Row’s release from WWE. In a candid interview with VladTV, Strickland had suggested that a member of the group made a phone call about B-Fab’s travel that rubbed WWE officials the wrong way. Strickland claimed the call was seen as “aggressive” by the office staff and implied it may have played a role in souring management on the faction.
AJ Francis addressed the issue in a passionate interview with Adrian Hernandez on Unlikely, providing his side of the story and calling out what he believes are false narratives that have followed him for years. According to Francis, the issue stemmed from B-Fab’s travel being inexplicably removed from the WWE talent travel app. “All of us had our travel to SmackDown and randomly, B-Fab’s travel came off the app. I ended up being like, ‘Call them and see what’s up.’ She’s like, ‘No, it’s not a mistake. They’re saying I’m not needed for TV.’ That was weird to me,” he said.
Francis said he personally called John Laurinaitis to offer to pay for B-Fab’s flight, thinking it might just be an oversight or due to a dark match situation. “I was like, ‘I’ll get her flight. I just want to make sure she is there.’ He’s like, ‘No, you don’t need to get her flight.’ I left the conversation being like, ‘That’s kind of weird.’” When B-Fab was released shortly after, Francis said he was blindsided and devastated.
He went on to explain that Hit Row was a product of his own vision, originally developed with B-Fab and Ashante “Thee” Adonis. “Swerve didn’t even join until two weeks before we debuted. The reason we were debuting was because I was already hosting WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures. It was a hit. Triple H came to me like, ‘What do you think about putting Swerve in your crew?’ I said, ‘If it gets me on TV, you can put the Dalai Lama in my crew.’”
Francis emphasized that he was the creative force behind the group, claiming to have written the music, structured their material, and produced their songs at his own home. He said he was the one organizing group meetings and guiding the vision of the faction behind the scenes.
Addressing the allegation that he was perceived as “aggressive,” Francis strongly rejected the characterization. “Every Black dude in America that is big and has something to say is ‘aggressive.’ Keith Lee was called aggressive. Keith Lee is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life. I was never disrespectful in any way. I go out of my way to not be that way.”
Francis expressed frustration that he has been the subject of repeated criticism over the years while, in his view, being the one who brought real substance and success to the group. “So many people have talked about this bullshit lie for years, trying to talk down on my name. I’m the realest person in this business. That’s the problem—this industry is fake, so real looks fake.”
He also noted that B-Fab and Ashante remain in communication with him, subtly implying a rift between them and Strickland. “If I’m the bad guy, somebody ask Vlad to ask Swerve why [Ashante] and [B-Fab] don’t talk to him. Since I’m the bad guy, why is it that me, her, and [Ashante] were talking today about this foolishness?”
Francis ended the segment unapologetically, defending his accomplishments and stating that he refuses to stay quiet. “I’ve been too successful in too many different avenues to give a fuck about what these cornballs think about me. I was on TV for ten years before I took my first bump. I made my first million before I was 25. What the fuck do I gotta do to prove to you people that you’re not in my league.”
