Insight with Chris Van Vliet - AJ Francis (fka Top Dolla): What Went Wrong With His WWE Career, Signing With TNA, Hit Row

Episode Date: March 19, 2024

AJ Francis (@ajfrancis410) is a professional wrestler signed to TNA and is best known as Top Dolla in WWE. He is also a musician and a retired NFL player. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Hollywood to talk about how his NFL career lead him to signing with WWE, training with D-Von Dudley, being part of Hit Row in WWE, his wrestling persona being inspired by Suge Knight, partying with Tom Brady when he played for the New England Patriots, signing with TNA and making his debut at Hard To Kill, his music career and much more! Quote I'm thinking about: “You are not your past. You are bigger than your past and you are better than your past. Let it be part of who you’ve become, but don’t you dare let it define you.” — Lexi Ryan Sponsors: PRIZEPICKS: Download the app today and use code INSIGHT for a first deposit match up to $100! BABBEL: Learn a new language and get 50% off your lifetime Babbel subscription at http://babbel.com/cvv MAGIC SPOON: Get $5 off with the code CVV at http://magicspoon.com/cvv RHONE: Upgrade your closet with Rhone and use CVV to save 20% at https://www.rhone.com/CVV ROCKET MONEY: Join Rocket Money today and experience financial freedom: https://rocketmoney.com/cvv BETTERHELP: Get 10% off your first month with the code INSIGHT at http://betterhelp.com/insight MUDWTR: Get 15% off with the code CVV15 at http://mudwtr.com/cvv MYBOOKIE: Bet on WWE! Get a 50% welcome bonus when you use the code CVV and sign up at http://mybookie.ag BLUECHEW: Use the code CVV to get your first month of BlueChew for FREE at http://bluechew.com PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at http://plunge.com BONCHARGE: Go to http://boncharge.com/CVV and use coupon code CVV to save 15% on your BONCHARGE Infrared Sauna Blanket! For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you enjoyed this episode, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast/iTunes? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests.  Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris Well, here we go. Welcome back to another one here on Inside. I'm CVV, Chris Van Fleet. Hope you're doing well. I know there's a lot of wrestling podcasts out there. But thank you for being with us on this one. Thank you for choosing us.

And thank you for making Insight, one of the top wrestling podcasts on the planet. I appreciate you for following the show on Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you're listening. And if you haven't done that yet, please, if it's not too much to ask, could you just hit that follow button so you don't miss out on anything that we have coming up

and you know, WrestleMania is just around the corner here. So we got a lot of big ones lined up for that week. Excited about this one today. We've got A.J. Francis with us. You know him as Top Dala from WWE. And I don't think people realize just how big AJ is. I feel like this often happens with wrestlers because, you know, you see him in the ring next to other very large humans.

Then you meet them and you're like, oh, yeah, that's a big dude. A.J. Francis is 6.5, 330 pounds. And you probably heard that he played in the NFL. That seems to be a thing. Like when someone played a professional sport, you're like, oh, yeah, they were a basketball player. They were a football player. They were a volleyball player, whatever it happens to be.

He had like a real NFL career. Listen to this. He was signed with the. dolphins, Patriots, Seahawks, Buccaneers, Redskins, and Giants. Yeah. Oh, and by the way, he was on the Patriots the same time that Tom Brady was there. He tells a great story about going to a Halloween party with Tom Brady. So we talk about all that. We talk about his first run in WWE, hit Row, how his character was actually based on Shug Night, or in least inspired by Shug Night. We talk about his first release, getting brought back.

And now the work that he's doing in TNA. We also talk about his music. And for him, where music and wrestling intersect. So snap a screenshot. Let us know that you're listening. Tag us so we can share it out as well. He's at A.J. Francis 410.

I'm at Chris Van Vleet. And here we go. Enjoy this conversation with A.J. Francis. We're doing this in person. Thank you so much for coming by. Yeah, no, it's awesome. actually finally be able to do this for sure you drinking that f3 energy oh i'll have one too you got in your hands you know what i'm saying f3 energy yeah focus energy mood you're deceivingly large in

person yeah i think people know you're big cheers by the way cheers saloon there it is you know we got a tropical theory right that's my favorite flavor but i'm figure i'll drink some original here right now you know as uh as diabetics we need zero sugar so this is sugar free sugar free no calories zero carbs. Yeah. That's actually really good. Yeah, not great. That is not a cheap plug.

That is really good. It's turning into one now. I would tell you this was shit if it was shit. Yeah, you're just seemingly large. People know you're big. People know you played in the NFL. Yeah. But then you see you in person and you must always get the like, did you play football?

So it's funny because I get two different things. Okay. So three different things. One thing I always get is what do you do, which is incredibly rude. But it happens all the time. Or like a wonderful compliment. No, but it loosely translates to why do you exist at this large, right? So that's what I get.

Obviously, I get, do you play football? Like on the flight here from, I was in Sacramento. I had a signing in Sacramento. I came to L.A. for another signing. And on the flight, you're boarding the flight here, a guy was like, you play, you playing in the game for the Niners tomorrow? And it's like funny because I actually did play the NFL. I don't know that, obviously.

Sure. But, like, I'm like, no, I'm not. But, like, I get that. Do you play football all the time? But the one that's always hilarious, it's people always ask, you got to play basketball, which proves to me they don't know what basketball players look like. Because, yes, I am 6.5, and there are basketball players that are 6-5. But I'm 330 pounds.

The basketball players that are 6-5 are, like, 165 pounds. And the basketball players that are 330 pounds are, like, Shaq. Yeah, are like eight feet tall. Right? I'm saying? So it's like, it's funny the juxtaposition. of how people think big people are in sports as well. But like it happens a lot where people meet me and they say,

you're a lot bigger than I thought. Because in WWE or just entertainment in general, like people are shot in a way so that everyone looks larger than life. Everyone looks big. So like, yeah, if they go out of their way to let everyone know, you are super big like they do with Braun Stromen and those guys. Sure. Or if you just actually are the largest human walking earth like Omas,

like then obviously but like I'm 6-5 real-life 6-5 measured at pro-day 6-5 and B-Fab is like 5-9 5-10 but she also wears heels so like on any given day she's 6-foot 6-1 sure you know I'm saying she's taller than Ashantia di Adonis when she has her heels on so like standing next to her you can't really see that I'm 6-5 you know what I get that all the time

So what a weekend that you were in Tampa to Sacramento, to L.A., to Orlando. Yeah. All in the course of three days. So I live in Orlando. Saturday, I drove from Orlando to Tampa. Stole the show with Joey Janella at GCW. Look at me.

People have been talking about it all weekend. A great match. Shout out Joey. Great match. Great opponent. That night went to Battle Rumble with Megaran, D&A. Max Cassie was there, Leo Rush was there. It's this really cool hip-hop wrestling.

show where like we all perform songs and then we did a cipher at the end it's been getting a lot of traction mega range's going to take it on the road i'm going to be doing a lot of stuff with him with that um that was also in tampa same night double booked same night um then didn't even have time to sleep because that same night five a m i fly out of tampa to sacramento i land in sacramento go straight to a signing i do a signing in sacramento watch the rumble people pay these like VIP things to Not just see me, but we all watched the Rumble together. It was a great time. People at Barrios Toys, great people.

I can't wait to go back. Love my time there. And then went to my hotel, played FIFA, I know, EA Sports FC, played the video game until about three in the morning when I had to leave for my next flight, which was 6 a.m. in to L.A. 6 a.m. flight to L.A., landed in L.A. 7.30, took a nap. after my nap got picked up, went and kicked it with the great people at Jimmy's World Order. Love Jimmy.

They're great people. They told me that you work with them to bring it out. I know you like you guys work together. Did the show with them, a signing with them. Then after that, went back to the hotel, played EA Sports FC again, you know. I've seen a trend here. Before I passed out and finally got 10 hours of sleep,

which is more than I got in the previous four days combined. And then here we are. And now, and then I woke up to a text from you saying I'm 15 minutes away. Oh, that was a wake-up text? That was a wake-up text. And for the record, I picked him up at 1. Oh, yeah. I needed every ounce of that sleep, for sure.

So you're traveling more than you ever did with WWA. Yeah, and I'm making more money, too. It's crazy because, like, I made more money this weekend than I made at any time, any weekend I was ever in WWE. I think that will surprise a lot of people. Yeah, it will surprise a lot of people. It actually surprises me. It's at the point where, like, you know, I love. loved my time in WWE, but they decided to do something else and go another direction.

But there's not just one place in this world you can make money. And so now I'm using the fact that I have these connections already in the wrestling industry. I have a fan base of people that want to see me. People flew me from, flew me from a World War weekend to Sacramento and LA just to have signed pictures. I mean, sign autographs, take pictures. You know what I'm saying? It's a great time.

And I'm enjoying my time being able to do the things that I love. like going to GCW, like going to T&A, like being able to do all the other things that I'm going to be doing this year that people don't even know is coming yet. We haven't even touched on music yet either. Talk about it. Who Ida?

Come on, man. So, I mean, it's all of this and then also music on top where it seems like you're really grinding there, too. Yeah, yeah. So I just released my new single, We Outside, with DJ Who Kid, with 3O Black, produced by Slushy.

Great song. It's my entrance music. You know, we're working on the music video now. You know, we did the music video for the T&A show, but it really, that was all a set up just to get the Joe Hendry thing. It was so funny to see people's reaction online, like, ah, TNA's back to trash because they're doing music videos. Why are they signing?

AJ, for instance, in the meantime, it's all the work. The video was never going to play longer than 25 seconds, right? But because it works so well, because you can play wrestling fans like Fiddles, like you know how they're going to react to these things. If you go back and watch the clip, T&A did it on purpose. They didn't, a lot of times when you, like, play a music video, you, like, overlay the audio so that you don't hear the audience. Yeah.

Right? Yeah. So you can hear the video plays for, like, 25 seconds, and you hear the audience booing the entire time because that's what you want. You want them so that when Joe Hendry's face appears on the screen, they're like, yeah! Because that's wrestling. Football season may be over, but the action on the floor

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first half and doesn't return in the second, that player projection won't count against you and the rest of your entry stays live. Download the app today and use the code Insight for a first deposit match up to $100. That's the code Insight for a first deposit match up to $100.00. That's the code Insight for a first deposit match up to $100. Prize picks, pick more, pick less. It's that easy. How did it come together with TNA? You know, I have, I trained at the Team 3D Academy when I first started wrestling, so I had a relationship with bully Ray already.

And one of the very best friends that I've made in this industry, he's like my second dad, really, is Mark Henry. He looks like my dad, too. Please, when you edit this, put a picture of him by dad. I'll send you the picture of them together. He looks like my dad. He looks like my dad's next level evolved of a Pokemon, right? So, like, you know, he has, I have a very good relationship with him,

and they both also do busted open radio with Tommy Dreamer. And because of that, I also have a relationship with Tommy. And I talk to Tommy and bully and about going to TNA. I really, when I knew I was leaving WWE, like, I wanted to go to TNA. Like, it wasn't like, and honestly, I wanted to go to Impact,

but then when I found out it was going to be TNA, I was like, oh, I got to go to TNA. Like, I was knocking down Tommy's door. Like, so my, my agent, A.B. Albert,

he does a lot of work with like Swerve and other people too. He, you know, talked to Tommy a lot and talk to Scott for me and we set it up. So, you know, we have a very good relationship. now. And, you know, it was funny because, like, you know, people, there's, thanks to guys

like Dave Meltzer who just say things without facts or any actual backup or just innuendos and just lie on my name and perpetuate these myths that I'm a terrible person when not a single person's ever come on record to say, hey, this is the thing that he did. What is the thing that I've ever done? You tell me. I don't know. What are you accused of? Exactly. I'm accused of being a bad person and when people ask why or how it's oh he's hard to work with oh he's hard to work with well nobody who's ever actually working me thinks so hard to work with he j styles doesn't think i'm hard to work with raymisterio doesn't think i'm hard to work with legato doesn't think i'm hard to work with peter doesn't think i'm hard to work with the usos don't think i'm hard to work with real rippley

doesn't think i'm hard to work with naomi don't think i'm hard to work with michael michael okay we're not going to go down the whole list here i get it i understand the point you're making So who are these people of these people? You know what because of that, you know, like you have these guys who like Tommy's like, you know, telling people at TNA, like bring him in. We'll see how it works. If he's, if he is hard to work with like they say he is, then we just won't bring him back. You know what I'm saying?

Scott's like, okay, cool. I meet everybody at TNA. I do the show in Vegas. And they're like, wow, you're great to work with. Brian Myers goes on his show with Mac Cardona, who I hate. And he goes, man, AJ was great to work with. He's hard working. You know, Scott, I have a conversation with him at TNA.

He's like, man, you know, you're good to be around. The boys like you, the girls like you. Like, you're not causing any problems. You're hardworking. You're on time. He's like, I love with the energy you bring. So it's like it went from, we'll see how it works with TNA. maybe we'll do one day in Vegas to now like I'm at TNA for the foreseeable future.

Are you signed with TNA? I'm not signed anywhere. Now that's not saying that I wouldn't sign with TNA. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? I'm not saying that at all. It's just like I'm at a point now where I just got out of a pretty tough relationship. You know what I'm saying?

With WW. With WW. I love my time there, but apparently they didn't love my time there. So like I'm at the point now where like, do I want to be locked in anywhere? I don't know. That was my think thought process for the entire time. Yeah.

But now that I've been at TNA and I've had such a great time at TNA and I love the people at TNA and I love what we're doing at TNA, I would not be opposed to it at all. But that's another conversation down the road long-term thing. Like that's not a conversation that we're having right now. Like could potentially down the road, TNA be my permanent home? That would be great. I love that.

You know what I'm saying? I love working there. I go there and I have fun. I love being around that environment. I saw this, like a lot of comments after your match with Joey Janella about the knee that you did. People like really, really hating on that knee and the way you flip over the top rope after. Yeah, people think that was the first time I ever did it.

So much so they thought it was an accident. They thought it was an accident you fell over the top rope. Yes, because the gimmick, right? But the fact of the matter is I did that move on Smackdown. I've done that move on the Indies since 2019 at SCW when I first got my first break. Shout out Mike Busey in the Saunders Castle. I did my, I've done that at CCW a couple weeks ago.

That move. They even put it in the video game. Yeah, that's in your move set in the video game. It's eaten the video game. It is called Tennessee Whiskey because it's so smooth. Oh, so smooth. Right? So shout out Chris Staples. So, like, it's really good, just like F3C.

Bringing it right back around. But, no, like, so it's funny because, like, I've been doing that move for a while. So the thing is, like, even with my chokes, I gave Joe Hendry at Hard to Kill. People are like, wow, that choke slam was incredible. Why did we never see that on the WWE? I'm like, because I didn't get a chance to. Did they tell you you couldn't do a choke slam

because other people had a choke slam? No, there's just no point in doing a choke slam when you're losing the match in three minutes. Like, why would I give, my last match was with LA Night. Go watch it, great match. It's three minutes long. It's incredible. The crowd's going crazy the whole time.

It's a great time. Yeah, it's two big personalities. And if I give L.A. Knight a choke slam in this match, in a three-minute match, and he kicks out, my chokeslam is terrible. Yeah. So why would I even think about trying to give him a chokeslam? And why would he want to take that bump? Like, this match is three minutes long. My longest singles match in W.W.E. is literally that match with L.A. Knight.

Like, I never had time to do anything like that. And then my other long matches were tag team matches. So there's at least three, sometimes it was a fatal forward. tag team match, sometimes seven other people in the match that all have to be able to do things. You know what I'm saying? So it's like, you can't always get your stuff in. People see me do the two-man move, the three-man move where I carry three people crown the ring.

Nobody else has ever been able to do that successfully in WWE or any other high promotion I've ever seen. A lot of weight. Three people. Three people, two on my shoulders, one in my arms. Like, yeah, no one gives me my credit. It's the greatest feat of strength in the history of wrestling. Let's talk about it. Wow, that is a bold move.

Let's talk about it. The only other one you can count, you can say Sina with Big Show and Edge. That's cool, too. But he also, he didn't carry him around the ring. Yeah, what about any time they pick up Mark Henry? Yeah, Mark Henry is a legit, well, at the time, like 400 pounds. That's less than three people. I'm just calling it like it is.

You know what I said? Love Bark. He is your second dad. He is my second dad. He's also the strongest man ever. I'm not saying I'm stronger than Mark Henry. Yes. Mark Henry could have done that move.

Thank you for clarifying this. Okay. Mark Henry could have done that move. Big show probably could have done that move. There's a lot of people that could have done that move. I'm just saying I'm the only one that has. I appreciate that you clarified that before getting just destroyed in the comments here. Although you're no strange.

They're still going to destroy me in the comments. You're no stranger to that. What is the, why is there so much negativity thrown your way? I don't know. I mean, I think it started because, I made a joke about tennis shoes. By the way, shout out the Gucci. Those are some great shoes.

Also, what size is that? 16. My agent, Albert, he got me those. Shout on him. I would never spend this much money on a pair of sneakers. But he got them for me. What was the joke about tennis shoes? So I made a joke about tennis shoes about no one in particular.

And I said, these guys wear Jordans on, I believe the joke is a tweet. said these guys were Jordans on screen, but in real life, they wear A6 and vans, but y'all not ready for that conversation. It's a joke, right? MVP adds hot sauce like he always does. I love MVP. Yeah, it's hot sauce to it.

Gets the Twitter people talking, right? So then the Twitter people start talking, and all of a sudden, the Youngbucks decide, you know how they do their thing with the change in the bio. Yeah. They change the bio, and they're like, we spent more money on sneakers last year than anybody in NXT has made this in September or whatever he said, whatever the joke was. Right.

And I didn't give a damn personally because I wasn't on NXT anymore. Like I was on Smackdown. You know what I'm saying? Like I was on Smackdown. I didn't care. But he's clearly talking about you. Yeah, they're clearly talking about me. But I don't care.

Like at that time, I don't care. I'm like, all right, whatever. I don't even mention it. And I don't bring anything up. I don't say anything like me. But because of the whole situation, I trended on Twitter all day. Top dollar trended all day.

Right? So this is 2021. So then the next day, they put in their bio, all we have to do is mention you in our bio and to make you relevant or something like that. I can't remember exactly what it said. Some along those lines.

And now they're talking about me specifically. And that's where I drew the line, right? So then I dropped the notorious sneaker disc where I diss the Young Buck's on the Young Buck B, right? that went viral, had every wrestling blog talking about it, it went crazy. And like, bro, I don't got no real problems with the Young Bucks. Never have. I used to watch the Young Bucks at Ring of Honor in Duke Burns Arena in Baltimore, Maryland

when I was in college as a fan. I used to love the work that they did with them boys and all the other people they would work with in honor and Kevin Steen. And you know what I'm saying? Like, this is where I discovered independent wrestling. Like, they were part of me discovering independent wrestling. Matt Taven was there. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah. And Nana was there. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, this is ring of honor. So, like, I had no beef with them at all. But, like, you also, I'm from Piney City. You're not going to play on my name. Like, that's just not going to happen.

So I dropped a disc song on some, respectfully, watch you talking about. It went viral. And after that, you know, they got a big fan mix. From that day forward, internet people hated my guts. And every opportunity they get to hate on me, they would. And like, some of it is like lighthearted hating, and that's cool.

And some of it is, I'm glad your mother's dead. Wow. You know what I'm saying? Who says that? You'd be surprised how many times I get comments like that. Or, like, I notoriously went famous, went viral one time because TSA went through my bag after my mom's funeral and I had her ashes put together

and they like made sure it was ashes but when they put it back together they didn't put it back right so it spilled in my bag yeah it was trash and it was awful and like people would be like talk about like make jokes about that

in my mentions and stuff like I'm used to things like that so that's why people are like how do you deal with haters I don't care about them people then people's lives are miserable like anyone who is sad financially, mentally, sexually, doesn't spend their time on the internet

talking trash about people. That's just not what you spend your time doing. If you're wanting to burn more calories to help with weight, check out the infrared sauna blanket from Bond Charge. I'd been looking into getting an actual sauna, but the price, I mean, really scared me away. We're talking thousands of dollars here. Then I found the infrared sauna blanket from Bond Charge.

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So it's already a fraction of the price, then you're getting 15% off as well. So that's bondcharge.com slash CVV, B-O-N-C-H-A-1. RGE.com slash CVV and use that coupon code CVV to save 15%. You were in such a unique situation in WWE where you were there, you got to let go. They brought you back, so obviously they had something for you. Then you got let go again.

What do you think led to you getting released the first time and then being brought back? The first time I got released, I personally, I don't know, once again, this is all here, like everything. Nobody's ever told me. Like, no one's ever been like, this is what happened. They always make it seem like, oh, this is just business.

And budget cuts, right? And budget cuts, right? That's what they always try to make it seem like. But it never feels like that. It never feels like that. Like the first time I got released, it felt like I got released because I stood up for BFAB.

But that's what it felt like. It felt like because BFAB got released because what happened was when they were doing a bunch of call-ups, they were getting ready for the draft in 2021. John Loronitis came to the PC and they would have shows and they would just have him sit and watch acts because John Loranitis and Vince,

they wasn't watching NXT. Like, I'm sorry if this is a newsflash, but they didn't watch NXT. So they didn't know anybody on NXT. So they would literally come to the PC and like see the talent in the PC and like, oh, okay, that's cool. Whoa, I wonder what I can do with him. So, uh-uh.

So B-Fab had already planned a vacation that she was going on, right? So she wasn't, they sprung a show up on us on like, it was like a Wednesday. They were like, oh, we got a PC show Saturday for John Laurenitis. And we're like, oh, but B-Fab was already out of town. So she wasn't going to change her stuff to get back. And she wasn't wrestling anyway. It was a singles match, me versus Mace, which is funny, right? Um, so, uh, you know, Swerve and Tahiti were there.

So the first time that John Lauren Nattis ever lays eyes on Hit Row, it's just me Tahooty and Swerp. He doesn't even know B-Fab is there, right, with the crew, which in my opinion, she was the most integral part of the crew because if you take, if let's say you want to take the four original members of Hit Row and you want to get rid of one of them, well, if you get rid of me, you still have a beautiful woman valet who can also wrestle and you got a good tag team. Sure. If you get rid of swerve, it's a beautiful woman valet that can wrestle and you have a tag team.

If you get rid of Ashante Diodonis, Tudy, it's still a beautiful woman ballet and you got a cool tag team. But if you get rid of BFab, we're just hip-hop New Day. You know what I'm not different than any, like we're just a three-man group. You know what I'm saying? Like, so she was the special element. Plus, she wraps. She's sexy. I go places where people see me because they see how big I am,

but they stare at her. You see what I'm saying? So she got released for not being there? No, she got released because whatever reason they released her for, I feel like John Loreninas didn't think she was a necessary part of Hit Row because when he saw Hit Row, she wasn't with us. Gotcha. So when she got released, I went to Laurenitis and Vince and was like,

yo, I feel like you shouldn't have did that. I feel like she added a lot to the group. I feel like, yes, we can still do this and it will still work, but I feel like we shouldn't have did that. And that conversation is somehow how I'm an asshole three years later. Mind you, she's still in WWU right now, right? So clearly I was right. clearly I was correct but then you get brought you get brought back then yeah I get brought back

because Hunter gets the power right um and Hunter recognized the wrong of the situation as well so hunter calls me and says when can I have you know and I was like tomorrow if you book the flight like I'm ready right now I was like but I don't want to come back if I'm not coming back with the rest of hit row like I told him that now I don't know know if me saying that is the reason he decided to bring them back to or if he was already going to bring us all back. Yeah. But I said that to him. So then two days later, we set up a call with all of us and Hunter laid out the plan. And then we've re-debued a week after that. And that's when

we came out in North Carolina and it was a great time and the crowd wrecked and crazy. But then, like, after that, like, there was never really a plan for him. Like, we, we were, you know, We would pitch ideas and 90% of times they wouldn't use them. And a lot of times when they did use them, like, it was cool and it worked. You know, but like, sorry. But like there was never really... Is it a Triple H reaching out to you right there? No, it's my Xbox app.

I've really been on this Xbox, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, Xbox. Yeah, Xbox. Jeez. So, uh, so I wish it was Triple H. I love that guy, but, uh, no, but, uh, so it was like, uh, uh, she, When we came back, like, a perfect example. I want to do the diss songs.

Obviously, like, the diss song went viral with the Youngbucks. Yeah. Like, the disc songs went viral. A lot of times I did them. Yeah. They never put them on TV, right? So we did one. Finally, they reach out to us, and they're like, we want you to this to OC.

And I'm like, finally. Yeah. Like, finally. So I literally, mind you, they tell me this on Wednesday at, like, 10 p.m. and my flight is Thursday at noon. Okay? You don't have a lot of time. So in about three hours,

I write, record, shoot the video, edit the video, and I'll capture all my cell. Oh, my goodness. Now he's really calling you. Man, trap phone booming. It is money calling, but I'm just letting go to the voicemail.

When money calls, you're supposed to answer the phone, but for you, I'll let it go to voicemail. Appreciate it. So, but, so,

You know, I edit all this video. Yeah. And I get it all done. And I'm like, I'm going to post it on Friday. So I posted Friday morning at like noon. Mm-hmm. It gets almost across all platforms, it gets almost 2 million views by 8 p.m. So in eight hours, by the start of Smackdown, it has almost 2 million views.

Yeah. Okay. So clearly it worked. Like the plan worked. It's so much so that we have been. match with the OC, the crowds red hot behind it, the match is great. AJ Styles at the end gives me a phenomenal forearm. Everything goes great.

Couldn't ask better. That night is why me and AJ Styles are so much cooler now because he had never actually worked with me. And, you know, he heard all the same rumlins about everybody else talks about me. And then that night, he was like, man, you're great. I'm so happy we got to work with you. I can't wait to work with you again, blah, blah, blah. And we became good friends after that.

I call him Big AJ. He calls me a little AJ. It's hilarious. I know. right so uh so we do that it goes great and then nothing like nothing ever came from that storyline we never brought it back up we could have did like a match between b fab and mitchin we could have did singles matches with a j we could have ran back tag team matches we never did anything because there was never a plan for hit row did they not want you to do these disc tracks because that was

seen as gimmick and also the acclaim they're doing that on a no no the one good thing is that paul haman used to stand up for me a lot. And Paul Heyman would say, they can't see the difference between what, like, John Cena and Max Cash and what you're doing. He said, theirs is like,

not comedy, but like, k-fabe rap. Like, it's rap within the wrestling realm. Yeah. Yours is, like, actual livable,

breathable hip-hop. And, you know, he said, because of that, it makes it more real. So like if you're not into that, you can't understand it. You know what I'm saying? So like, did they want me to not do them?

No, they had no problem with me doing them. They just wasn't going to put them on TV. There's so many times Paul Heyman would text me, man, this should be how we start the show tonight. I would send him my video I'm doing. I sent him one I did for the Christmas show. He was like, this should start the show tonight. I did it.

Send him so many different ones that we did. And mind you, I never get my flowers. Hit Row never gets our flowers. when LA night had that $2 million, two million view video on YouTube in 24 hours from the Madison Square Garden Dark Show. We were in the segment with him. No one ever gave us our flowers for that.

I don't know how many times that happened on WWE, not just for LA Night, but just on WWE YouTube since, but we never got our flowers for that. You know what I'm saying? Like never got our flowers. The only match that that was, promoted for the Christmas show that's one of the most,

what is one of the highest watch shows in Smackdown history, and I think the highest watched pre-tape show in WWE history, the only promoted match for that was Uso's versus Hidro, okay, for the tag team titles. There we got flowers for that.

But Paul Heyman would always show me love. And, like, I would send him my videos and he would love them. You know what I'm saying? and I would send other people my videos and they would love them, but they just would never put them on TV.

And then sometimes they, I would send, I would make videos, we would make videos, hit row, and we would send it to the creative team and they'd be like, this is great.

We're going to try to put this on the show. And then something would happen. Don't know who, don't know why. Yeah. But it just wouldn't be a part of the show. And like, it happened with like L.A. night.

Like we did a whole segment. We were the, people don't remember this, but L.A. night was a heel. even though he was getting baby face reactions everywhere he went. Right. He was a heel until he crossed past with Hit Row. That's what made him officially a babyface.

Go check the timeline. And it started with that night in Madison Square Garden. And then he ended up having a match with Tahiti two weeks later. And then Ashante, and then he had a match with me two weeks after that, which is my last match in WWV. Right? Go look at all of that. During that whole time.

Like, we. I had the idea to set up our match. I made a disc song. I made, I'll show it to you. I'll show it to you. You can put it on your show for all I care. It don't matter no more. Whatever you want.

Yeah. But I made a disc song that was dope to try to set up a match with L.A. night. Because we were already going to have a match, but like add a little juice to it so that when he eventually beats my ass, which is what happened, there's like, oh, yeah, L.A. night, yeah, right? So they loved it. But then they were like, oh, well, we don't. know if we can use the things you, some of the things you said.

Like one of the things I said was my line was, they say you biting off stone cold in the rock, but you did it wrong. You're clearly biting off Little John. Yeah. Like that was the line, right? And they were like, oh, we don't know if we can say he's trying to be like stone cold in the rock. And then two weeks later, the Miz said all that.

So it's like, do you not know or do you not want me to say? You see what I'm saying? Like, it's cool. You ain't got to, you can literally come out and be like, we don't want you to be the person to say this. And I'll be like, respect. I know my role. My role in WWE was to be the class clown punching bag.

Like, do I think that anyone who actually was saying these things to me in character would ever say that to my face in real life? No. These fans, no. They never would. Because I'm playing a role. I'm playing a character. I'm cool with that.

But don't pull that. like try to pull the wool over my eyes and make it seem like, oh, well, we don't know if we could say that and then let somebody else do it like two weeks later. I think people also forget that Bray Wyatt's last segment was with Hit Row. It was. Bray Wyatt's last segment was Hit Row. Bray Wyatt loved working with Hit Row. We actually had this idea.

Have you ever seen the movie, Lepercon in the Hood? Can't say I have. Great movie, right? Well, maybe I'll watch it tonight with the wife. You'll enjoy it. It's one of those movies that's so bad. That it's good. I love movies like that.

It's so bad that it's good. It's called Lepricon in the Hood. Have you ever heard of the Lepicon franchise? Of course, yeah. So the whole theory of this thing is the Lepicon has this magic flute. And if you get it, you get good luck. I've seen the news story about this. The Lepercon in Alabama?

Yeah, well, it's all over. Okay. It's a TV. There's a viral YouTube news clip about this. Yeah, like so, but the movie series is like, there's like nine sequels or something. Like, it's like a cult classic. It's ridiculous. So leprechaun in the hood, it stars iced tea, okay?

Oh, wow. And iced tea finds this flute, which brings the leprechaun to life, right? But it brings you luck. But when you have the flute, the leproson wants his flute back, and if you don't give it to him, he'll just, he's just trying to kill you and everybody that you're with, right? It's a comedy horror movie, right? And it's gruesome, but it's funny, right? So, you know, the idea was, you know, Bray hadn't done the Firefififflun house yet. And Bray loved this idea.

Bo loved this idea because it was funny to me because when I pitched the idea to him, I was like, yo, have you guys ever seen Lepricon in the hood? They're like, we love that movie. Like, if you ever get a chance to interview, Bo, please ask him about this. Excuse me, please ask him about this because it was so funny. They were so into this idea. the idea was we go into we stumble across the firefight fun house abandon all hope you enter right and B-Fab's like let's go in there and I'm like ain't you ever seen a scary movie

like the brothers that we need to stay away from there all the brothers we always died in scary movies I'm not fit to go in there she's like well would you scared me being the top dollar character I ain't scared or nothing right so now we go into five five fun house We go in and there's cobwebs everywhere. All the puppets are like laying down. It's clear that nobody's been there, right? And we're looking around and we see all the things. And then eventually I see rambling rabbit, you know, lucky rabbit's foot.

And I see rambling rabbit. And I'm like, oh, man, I pick them up. When I pick them up, everything starts going haywire. And it's, oh, my God. We're like, we got to get out of here. So we've run away. It's like a Scooby-Dooby. So we run away.

And as we're running away, it's just like Sister Abigail doll, just like red eyes glowing, standing up, like, it's, you know, giving you spooky vibes. Yeah. So then just like they did with L.A. night, like L.A.'s in the talking and saying, I'm not scared about, blah, blah, blah. And then like spooky Bray Whiteface or spooky Uncle Houty, I'm saying, like in the background. And he's like stalking us. And eventually, you know, Bray comes to us as humanized the Bray with the sweater.

And he's like, hey, man, I just want Ramlau'll have rabbit back. Like, please just give me my rabbit back. And like I said, just like in the movie, like, it's brought us good luck. We're winning matches now. We're making more money. So I'm like, I didn't give you nothing. You ain't going to get this for me. You got to take this for me.

So then now Bray starts like hunting us down, just like he did L.A. night, right? And just like the leprechaun does in the movie, right? So eventually it's the whole big thing was to build to a tag team match of Uncle Houty and Bray versus Hid Row in which BFab gets involved. and then Alexa Bliss shows up. So then now their whole crew is together, our whole crew is together, and then we have a big blow off like that. And I literally pitched the idea when I pitched it to Creative, pitched the same idea.

I was like, bro, we can lose every match. Like, we're not saying, like, this is our chance to look good against Bray Wyatt. Like, we don't care about that. Like, I would literally tell Creative, I don't care if I ever win a match. Winning doesn't matter. It's the actual on-air screen time being able to put things in most. motion, right? So, like, they love this idea, but, like, it never happened because, mainly because it was supposed to happen. Well, Bray was going to try to push for it. Don't know if it

would ever happen, but he was going to try to push for it after WrestleMania. Then obviously, he didn't end up being a part of WrestleMania, and then we all know, unfortunately, he passed, and that was sad for everybody, myself included. And, you know, a big shout-out. You know, I wish nothing but the best to his family and Jojo and everybody, but his kids. But, like, I would have loved to be able. That was one thing that, like, it was cool to me that someone who I idolized as a wrestler, Bray Wyatt, that I pitched an idea to him, and he absolutely loved it. Him and his brother were, like, 100% all in.

I think the fans know Bray, but not many fans get to know Wyndham. No. Who was Wyndham to you? Well, Wyndham to me was somebody who would, like, let me sit and learn. Like, I would literally sit and just sit and watch him in L.A. Knight put matches together because they were, you know, they did the match, obviously. The Rumble. The Rumble. Yeah.

But they were doing, like, dark matches and house shows all the whole time. Yeah. And I was just trying to see how, because his character, Brace character, Wyndham, his character was so much different than anything I ever done. So I wanted to see how he, like, implemented his thing into. to what he was doing. And then, like, he always had the nicest, like, I don't want to say disposition, but, like, he would go out of his way

to make everyone around him feel comfortable. And, like, he knew I was a huge fan of his because a lot of the guys in the back knew me before I signed because I was at every WrestleMania. And I was at all of the functions and the behind-the-scenes things, because I had friends in the business and I was in the NFL,

so I just had access via the NFL. And he never made me, Brandon, Wyndham never made me feel like a fan. He made me feel like family. He made me feel like I belonged in a place where, like, a lot of times I didn't feel like I belonged. Not because I wasn't good enough,

wasn't talented enough, It's just like sometimes in the wrestling industry, people like don't treat you how you feel like you should be treated. And Wyndham was never like that. Everybody loved Windham. He brought everybody together. He brought the locker room together. He was such a joy to be around. And he was great to bounce ideas off of because he is a, he is by far one of the great.

wrestling minds in the history of this business. And I don't think anyone would argue that. So it's like, a lot of people that are like that, because they know it, they're, you know, they're always on guard. They're always like trying to protect their identity, protect themselves from, you know, people getting too close to them. But Windham welcomed everybody, you know.

Um, we did a, we did a, uh, house show in, uh, Miami Christmas week during a Christmas tour. And his whole family was there. His kids were there, Jojo was there. And they were talking about the wedding that they were going to have. And, um, the house they just, they had just been working on for so long and how happy they were. And, you know, um, I had my buddy, Brent Grimes, who's, uh, former NFI. player, a four-time pro bowler. I had him backstage with his son and his mom. And they were so

not, like he didn't know Brent at all. Like his family didn't know Brent at all. They didn't know him from a hole in the wall, but they treated him like they knew him forever. You know, he was just such a kind person. And he would do that for not just me. He did it for everybody. Yeah, yeah. Was your goal as a kid to be in the WWE or was your goal as a kid to play in the NFL? And crazy to think you did both. Yeah. So honestly, my goal as a kid was to be in WWE and to be a professional athlete. I lie and say professional athlete because I really wanted to play in the NBA. Like my dad was a basketball coach. He coached football too, but my dad has 300 career wins as a head coach in high school basketball. Wow.

So, yeah, my dad is, he's one of the best high school basketball coaches ever from the state of Maryland. But football became your sport? Football became my sport just because I stopped growing, which sounds ridiculous because I'm so big, right? But like, 6.5.330 is not prototypical basketball size. Sure. We already talked about that. Yeah, but 6.5.330 is perfect for football. Yeah.

So, you know, I was playing basketball in high school two and AAU and all those things. And, like, I saw the writing on the wall. But I, as a kid, eight years old, I told my mom, I said, I'm going to play in the NBA and I'm going to play. and then I'm going to go to WWE. Let's go through a list of all the teams that you played for. There's a lot. So where does this start? So I started.

I was, true story. I went to the Dolphins for $500 extra dollars. Okay, so after, so I, you know Jimmy's favorite seafood, right? Of course. Jimmy. Shout out John. My guy Jimmy. My guys at Jimmy's.

I had my draft party at Jimmies, which was awkward because I didn't get drafted. And so I have my draft party. there and like during the draft teams are calling you saying if we don't pick you we want to sign you as an undraft agent so teams are calling i had like nine offers once the draft ended okay so then the best offer that i wow maybe you put this on vibrate that's my agent hey ab i'm in the middle of a pretty important interview could you like give you a second yeah thanks for the Gucci shoes love you So money's always calling. You see, money's calling, man.

You got to answer. Money calling. So. Living the gimmick, yeah, literally. You are Shugnoy. Yeah, I'm telling you. So, yeah, so I didn't get drafted, but the Lions offered me $7,000 signing bonus. Mind you, I had about $70 in my bag.

But then you get the rookie minimum, right? If you make the team, yeah. Oh, the league minimum. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But if you make the team, okay. Right? But if you got seven Gs. to show up, right?

So, but then, you know, the dolphins offered me five grand, so then my agent calls the dolphins back, and they're like, yo, you know, he's going to go to Detroit. They offered him $7,000. They're like, well, we'll give them $7,500. So I'm like, sold. So I go to Miami. I start my career in Miami.

I have a great rookie season. You make the team? No, so I should have made the team. I played well enough to make the team. So you make the practice squad? I was supposed to be on a track squad, but I got released so that they could put me on a practice squad, because you got to clear waivers, 24-hour waivers.

And when I'm thinking I'm going to clear waivers to sign on the practice squad, that's when the Patriots claim me off waivers. Are you at that point going, oh, my God, I got to play with Tom Brady. Absolutely. That was literally my first thought was, I played with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. This is crazy. By Jubellichick, he's getting a lot of flack now. He just left the Patriots, and it seems like nobody wants to hire him.

But he's the greatest coach that I've ever played for by far. But so I'm in the Patriots for, like three months. And then when they put me back down on practice squad, Miami claims me back. So then I finished my rookie year in Miami. So in my rookie year, I played for Miami and the Patriots. My second year, I'm on the dolphins a whole time. My third year, I'm on the dolphins to midway through the season and the dolphins try to put me on practice squad again. And the Seahawks claim me off waivers this time. Okay. So now I move from Miami to Seattle overnight, which, you know, those cities are exactly the same. And that's not an eight-hour flight.

And so now I live in Seattle. I finished that season in Seattle. I was actually going to resign. But now you're playing for Russell Wilson. Yeah. And Pete Carroll. Pete Carroll. I mean, come on.

Richard Sherman. Cam Chancellor. Like someone of the best. Was that just after the Super Bowl? Just after they won the Super Bowl. Yeah, like two years. I mean, come on. So yeah, I played for the Patriots the year before they won the Super Bowl.

And I played for the Seahawks two years after they won the Super Bowl. So I have perfect timing. Right. So. Just a bit outside. So, you know, I. finished that third season with the Seahawks, and I was actually going to resign in Seattle. But then I had to finish my master's degree at Maryland.

And Pete Carroll, when I met him, I was like, yeah, I'm finished my master's. I'm going to miss the workouts, but I'll be back on practice. Masters of what? I have a master's of international security and economic policy. Wow. So, yeah, I have a master's degree from the University of Maryland. I don't brag about it too much because nobody gives a shit. I don't think now.

So, but, you know, then, so I end up that offseason signing with the Buccaneers. I do the whole preseason with the Buccaneers, so now that's my fourth team. And then I should have made the Bucks, like Gerald McCoy, $100 million defensive lineman, calls me after I get released from the Bucs, like, you were supposed to start next to me. I don't know what the hell they're doing. This was a gigantic mistake, but you got a chance in this league still because you put the tape out there. And he was right because I end up getting signed by. by the then-Washington blank skins, right?

And we don't say that anymore. By the way, we would talk about that, too, how I got in trouble because I stood up for that. But so then I'm on D.C. for two years, basically, on and off. That's great because that's where you grew up. Exactly. Was that your team growing up, too? No, actually, it's funny because my whole family is Cowboys fans.

Wow. Because, yeah, a big rival. Yeah, huge rival. There's a lot of Cowboys fans in D.C. People don't know that. But so, you know, I grew up, blah, blah, blah, in D.C. But so it's cool to be on my hometown team, though. Sure, yeah.

Obviously. My dad still has the jersey on the wall, which as a Cowboys fan, you got to give them his props. Sure. Right? So, you know, and then after two years there, I get released. And me being me, I, when I resign, I'm not resigned, when I sign with the Giants, I say, I'm going to get a chance now. The Giants, because I, every time I played the Giants, when I was in D.C., I would kick the Giants ass. I had some of my best games in my career were against the Giants and the Cowboys.

So they were obviously watched the tape. So they were like, we need this guy. So then I get called from them, and they're like, we want to sign you. I'm like, great. So then me, I post on Instagram laughing, saying, ah, clearly the Giants watched tape. And then, like, the last hashtag is your logo is racist, talking about the then, then, Redskins team, which was a racist logo and a racist name. And they have since changed their name.

And everybody in the D.C. media eviscerated me. The national media said I had sour grapes, blah, blah, blah. It's not how you talk about a team that you just went. And then two years later, they changed their name to the football team. And I have not received any apologies or anything since that time. And I demand my apologies now. You got heat and pro wrestling. you got heating football, geez.

God forbid, and both of them for standing up for what's right. Ain't that crazy? Ain't that crazy? All my heat is from standing up for what's right. Maybe I should just be a shitty person like everybody else, and then the people will love me. How did you know your NFL career was done? It wasn't, honestly.

I just started wrestling, and I loved wrestling. I started training wrestling. And you loved wrestling since you were a kid? Since I was a little kid. Who was your guy when you were growing up? I'm going to be honest. Okay. I can't not be honest here.

Because there's a lot of things that come with what I'm about to say as a black man. But I would be lying if I didn't say that Hulk Hogan was the reason that I started watching wrestling when I was a kid. He was 100%. Now, obviously, things have changed since then, and there's a lot of different stances on that now. But Hulk Hogan was the reason I started watching wrestling. But that transitioned to Brett Hart really fast. Like, I loved Brett Hart. And when I was on the Seahawks, I actually got to meet Brett Hart and brought him to the teams like dinner after meetings before the game.

him in Baltimore one time. He just happened to be in Baltimore. John from Jimmy's set it up so that I could bring Brett Hart to meet the team. Man. And the whole team got to meet Brett Hart. It was so cool. You know, then after Brett Hart,

my buddy showed me VHS tape of Halloween Havoc 98. I didn't even know WCW existed. Like, I didn't, I had no idea. Only thing I knew was WWF. Yeah. So, you know, he showed me a VHS tape of Halloween Havoc 98 and showed me

Eddie versus Ray. Oh, wow. Yep. And it blew my mind. I'd never seen anything like this before my life. So from that day forward, Ray Mysterio was the reason I watched WCW. And I told him this at this Hall of Fame speech. We were at the Hall of Fame together last year.

And I was like, yo, you're the reason I started watching WCW. Like so many people, people started watching WCW because of flare and the enforcement. Sting and, you know, the NWO and all these other. Ray Mysterio was the reason I started watching WCWCW. I could see it. You know what he was doing? what he was doing on US TV. Nobody.

So, you know, and then he had the cool outfit. It was just so. But then after, you know, while I'm watching now, I'm watching WCW and WWF now. And then came along Stone Cold in the Rock. Yeah. And after Stone Cold in the Rock, I was hooked. Like, I was never leaving. Like, the Rock is still my favorite to this day.

And I've told him that since when we've met. And, you know, the Rock is the reason I'm still a wrestler to this day. and meeting him again backstage of Smackdown a couple of months ago. Just getting to talk to him and pick his brain. He just sat and talked to me for like 10 minutes. And mind you, all these people are waiting to talk to him. Like he at any point, he could be like, thanks, kid, I got other things to do. But he didn't.

He just sat and talked to me and we talked about everything. Yeah, he makes time for everybody. And he's the best. He really is the best. And it's so, because he could just, if you want to take me an asshole and just, like, all right, whatever, and blow you off. And there's a lot of people that are less cool than the rock, act exactly like that.

Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So, but that's not him at all. So, yeah, the rock is definitely one of my favorites. I want to ask you about Bill Belichick. Is there like a, is there a life lesson or something that you still carry with you

just as a man, as a person that you learn from Belichick? I wouldn't say as a man. One thing I'll say about Bill is the fact that like, actually, now that you mention it, yeah. Bill doesn't give a damn about the outside noise. And I never, I won't say I attributed it to Bill

Belichick, but I saw him as an example. Like, Bill is a really good person to, like, sit. Like, if you sat down, if he wanted to talk to you, that's a whole thing. But if he wanted to talk to you, like, he'd be a great interview. He's so much fun to talk. Like, you see him when he does, like, the NFL honors panels with other legends. He's, like, it's completely different than he is in his, like, pre and post-game pressers. Yeah, his press conference, like, oh, we're going to.

Because he hates, because he hates how the media will take something he says and then twist it. Oh, the media doesn't do that. Come on. And then present it as something else. Sounds a lot like wrestling. What are you talking about? Yeah, right? So he hates that.

So because of that, he just gives you the most generic bland answers ever. So you can do that as little as possible. But in actual interaction, I got shotgun beers with Belichick and Brady and Giselle. That's a great story. Yeah. At the Patriots Halloween party that Vince Wilfrick threw out. at a skating rink. I've heard a lot of stories that Brady is a sneaky

great drinker. Brady is just a great dude. Like one of the things, like he would win over the lineman by like drinking as much as that. When I saw Giselle and Tom shot gutting beers, I was like what is happening right now? You know, I did, and then Bill

gets involved and Vince is involved. This sounds like a great party. It was a great party. Vince Wilfork threw a hell of a Halloween party for the guys. I almost made the mistake of wearing a prisoner's costume, which I didn't think about it at the time because I had joined the team like two months after the whole Aaron Hernandez thing. Yeah, good, good call. Right. So I wasn't thinking about Aaron Hernandez at all. My now, ex-wife, then wife, was a cop for Halloween and I was going to be a prisoner. I had the

whole outfit. Yeah. We were going to wear it to the party. And she's like, what do you think about wearing that costume to the party? I was like, you're a cop. I'm a prisoner. It's like one of the most common couple, you know, costumes ever. Yeah. She's like, yeah. Yeah. She's like, yeah. Yeah, but you know. Context, yeah. The whole Aaron Hernandez thing, I don't think it's it. And I'm like, you're right. You're absolutely right.

So I said I did a terrible little terrio outfit, and I was saying, ooh, kill them all night, and nobody got the reference. But you're drinking beers with Belichick and Brady. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you'd be surprised how many of the world-class athletes that are in the NFL can't roller skate. It's absolutely insane to me. This was a roller skating party? Yeah, it was at a roller rink.

Just adding all these layers to this party. It was at a roller rink. The party was at a roller rink. And there was, like, laser tag there and, like, an arcade and stuff, but it was at a roller ring. Vince Wilfrick rented the whole place out. It was a great time. I did enjoy.

I've been lucky enough that, like, one thing that I got from my NFL career is I got to work with, learn from some of the greatest minds and biggest personalities in the history of football. Like, how many people have played with Russell Wilson and Tom Brady and Richard Sherman, you know, and Fort Belichick and Gronk? I played for Belichick. I played for Pete Carroll. I played with James Winston. Who was your quarterback

when you were on the Dolphins at that time? Ryan Tannan. That's right. I played with Tannenhill. You know what I'm saying? I played in Jerry World. How many wrestlers can say that they've been in Jerry World

and it wasn't for WrestleMania? Don't worry, I'll wait. I referenced it earlier, but you've said before your character is based on Shug Night. Yeah, it is. Was that your idea? Yeah, that's always been my idea.

So when I first started wrestling at Sausage Castle Wrestling, my first match ever was a Battle Royal, and I came out as this character named Sugar Bear. And it's because Shug Knight, when he was a kid, the reason he's called Shug is because his grandma, I think, called him Sugar Bear. Like, that's where it came from. Wow.

So I made my character Sugar Bear, and my crew was The Row, and we all wore red, and all had bandanas tied, right? The Row, ergo hit Row. Death Row. Death Row. Death Row record. It's all, there it is.

It was in front of your face, in a row, right? So, but yeah, so then I look like Shug, obviously. So I didn't look like Shug until I started shaving my head. But as soon as I started shaving my head, everywhere I go, I wear red, people are like, are you Shug Night? I'm like, you know he's in prison. It's crazy to say, but isn't he actually bigger than you? No, I'm bigger than him.

I thought he was like 6-8. No, he might as well be with the stories that I've heard of how people were scared. DJ Who kid? my DJ loved the man doing a lot of stuff with him. He just took a DVD through a door at GCW. Look at me from Joy Janella. Like, he's a crazy man. He's, you know, he blew up as G-Units DJ

when 50 Cent was taking over the world. And now he's one of the biggest DJs in the world. He works with Loane. And I'm with, because of him, I party with Travis Scott and all these other huge artists in the world. And Snoop Dog and all these people. And he tells a story about, There was a time when a 50 cent put out a song with a Tupac verse on it called Realist Killers, right?

And so apparently, Who kid got the beat and the verse from, I think it was Snoop. And Shug didn't want it to be put out because Shug, as the owner of Deathwell Records at the time, he controlled all that. So he didn't want it out. So then 50 Cent didn't give it down. So 50 Cent recorded a verse, put the song out, and the song out. song blew up. So now Shug, a bona fide gangster and killer, is furious, right? So now every time he finds out he's in the same city with Hu-Kid, he's hunting him down, right? Oh, my God. So Hu-Kid tells a story, he's sitting in a barber shop and his haircuts halfway done. And the barber says,

yo, Shug is on his way here. And with his bar, with his hair halfway done and the mock, the barber-mock, still on, he runs out of the barbershop, jumps in a car, drives to the studio, C's 50 and 50's like, yo, why you got half a haircut? Like, what's going on? Like, Shug had people terrified. Jamie Fox has stories about Shoech have people terrified. So I'm not surprised people think he's that big.

But Shug is actually like 6-2-300. I'm 6'330. So, like, I'm actually bigger than Shoeh. But Shook's persona is 7 foot 500 pounds. So the whole thing was like, you look kind of like him. Yeah. And then it all ties together with the game. and hipro and everything.

Yeah, and I make music. I actually have made a lot of money outside of wrestling, like with things that had nothing to do with wrestling. So, like, I have business ties that, you know what I'm saying? I am tied into the streets. I have people that have made terrible decisions and still continue to.

Like, I have many people that I can call on any given notice if some bad shit needs to happen. But, like, you know, I try to stay away from that. But I actually talked to Moose about the fact that, like, because he played, seven seasons. You played six, six in the NFL. You have the money.

Yeah. So, like, you're not as, I guess, you have the comfort to do what you want to do in wrestling. Yes. Rather than, like, you can say no, is what I'm saying. Yeah, and I do say no. Like, you can say no if you get, if an indie booking is not going to pay your rate. Yeah.

You say no. I do say no. I've turned down a bunch of bookings because people think that because they're used to people pay, uh, being paid X amount of dollars. and I'm not even raking people over the colds. Like I'm not... But you've got your rate, right?

I got my rate. And I'll even work with people. Like, I'll work for under my rate if I really want to do what you're trying to get me to do. Sure. But don't disrespect me in my time. Don't pay me what I know

that you could, you would pay Joe Blow who's never been on TV in his life. Sure. Who isn't going to cut up... One thing about me that promotions I can work with me is I always give you a fire promo. to sell the show.

Yeah. And the fact that you can cut a great promo means, I mean, your character really doesn't have to bump that much. I don't. And that's one thing I learned from WWE. And I'm so forever grateful. Me and Matt Bloom butted a lot of heads

while I was at the PC, but we had a mutual respect for each other. And one of the things that he taught me was that I don't have to bump. when I first got to WWE, people don't know this, I was on Indies for a year, and I was wrestling indie style.

And when I got to WWE, I was still doing that. And he was like, yo, you don't have to bump. Like, you can work ways around to move around or put yourself in position

where you can sell into the corner through the ropes out of the ring. into the ropes bouncing off coming back, but not having to actually bump. He was like, and you'll save your body. And when you do bump, it'll matter more. And I was like, duh, duh, why did I not do that?

So then, like, I started working that way, and I still worked that way. And it's easier for me than it would be for a 185-pound luchador, obviously. But at the same time, I learned that, like, the fans don't want to see big guys bump. Like, you can pretend, especially indie show, you can pretend that you want to see it. But go watch the Smackdown

Fatal Fourway tag team match that we did where I do the three-man move and I carry around Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Pete Dunn. All around the ring, I carry three grown men around the ring

walking a circle with him, slam all three of them. Boom! The crowd erupts. Rich Holland comes in. I give him a boot. to slow him down. I stuff him like I'm going to do, give him a power bomb.

He lifts me up, gives me an Alabama slam, and they pop even louder. What I took from that was, is me slamming three people is not as impressive as one person slamming me. So why would I then let anybody do anything to me that wasn't intended to be a huge spot? You're basically saying you should be booked like a big man. Yeah. Yeah, you ought to work like a big man. And because I am one.

Yeah. Because they don't exist. On the Indies, who's bigger than me? Big Bill. Big Bill. But is he really on the Indies? No. Yeah.

We're not really. Yeah. But like he's, he can't take any books. He does any bookings, but for real, he's in A.W. So not really. Yeah. Like, all right. Who else?

I guess Moose could take indie bookings, but. Moose is not, Boose is also not bigger than me. Like, Moose is my boy. I love Boose, but he's not bigger to me. Like, physically, in wrestling, he is. He's in, he's the TNA World Heardboy champion. But I'm saying physically, he's not bigger than me. So, like, yes, but he's big, but...

Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like, who else? That's why you want me to come in and work like these dudes that are 510, 185? No thanks. What's wrong with 510-185? I mean, it's nothing wrong with it if, you know what I'm saying? You're an interviewer or...

You know what I'm saying? I feel seen. You know what I'm saying? I feel attacked. It's nothing wrong with it if you're a wrestler, too. It's just you're not as big as me. I was 510-185 in fifth grade. Yeah, and in...

If we, you and I got, that's a shoot, that's not even like, I'm not here. If you and I got into a street fight, I wouldn't have much of a chance. Well, you know, I heard that you could throw them a little bit. Yeah, you know. I'd probably pick you up and put you down. Yeah, probably. What was the, you said you had a story about the ring. Oh, yeah.

So this is my world champion, a gaming ring. Can I see it? Yeah, absolutely. So I'm the captain. Los Muirto's football club. Yeah. I'm the captain of, now we're called a whole lot of FC, but I'm the captain of a team.

that has former NFL players, rappers, politicians. There it is. Anything you can think of every walk of life, down to like just fans of mine that I've known for years. We play EA Sports FC and we do this mode called pro clubs.

And in pro clubs, instead of 1v1, like I have a team, you have a team. It's 11 on 11. We're playing a position on the field. It's like a real soccer game. Oh, wow. So, and we've been ranked as high as 28th in the world out of 200,000 teams.

So the year that we, the way that they do, the, they used to do the championship system is you start in Division 10 and then you got to work your way up to Division 1. And then you can win titles all along the way. And the first year that we won our first D1 titles, we got these rings. And there's like 30 guys on the team and, uh, no wonder everyone on the plane thinks you play football or basketball. I'm saying? There's 30 guys on the team. No, it's from playing fake soccer. And 11 of the guys played in the NFL.

Like it's the team. Wow. So we got some NFL caliber world championship rings, you know what I'm saying? You got your hand in everything. And I just think it's so fascinating. I'm excited to see what the rest of 2024 has in store for you. I end every interview talking about gratitude because it's a big part of my life. What are three things in your life?

AJ that you're grateful for right now? I am grateful to be alive. Sadly, I heard this saying, you don't appreciate your own mortality until one of your parents dies. And for me, that was the truth. I didn't realize how grateful I was to be alive until my mom passed away six years ago.

My mom passed away overnight. She overdosed on codeine. and I take, like, drugs and, like, the drug life and things like that very seriously because it has personally affected my life. I've heard, like, people say, like, you know, if you see your, my parents live in Canada, right? I live here in L.A. So if I see my parents three times a year and my parents are 70, and they live to be 90, I'm only going to see them 60 more times.

And that one hit so hard when I thought about that. Yeah. It's sad because like I said, like I said, like the thing about my mom is that like I could tell something was going on with my mom, but I had no idea what it was. Like I could tell something that was off. Yeah. But I didn't know what it was. She lived in Arkansas.

She moved back to Arkansas with her family. After her and my dad got divorced, she moved back to Arkansas to live with her family. to live with her family where they lived and, you know, I didn't see her as much. And when I did see her, I could tell something was off. But, like, I had no idea what it was. And then one day she just, I've got a call from my sister live on, I'm on Good Morning Football on the NFL Network,

one of the biggest morning TV shows, like literally at the time, other than Good Morning America, the second biggest morning TV show in the country. And during a commercial break, while I'm in the bathroom, I get a phone call from my sister saying that my mom had passed away. And like, I have to go back out on air and finish the show. Right? You know what I'm saying?

So, like, that kind of overnight shock really, that really messed me and my sister up for a long time. But it gave me a greater appreciation for what people are going through in their lives. and it made me more grateful for my number two thing I'll say is that I get to give back to my community. I do my canned food drive for Sarah's house, and Sarah's house is a homeless shelter in Fort Me, Maryland, and they provide housing and food and all, any type of life essentials for a lot of children and families, like moms, getting away from a domestic violence issue. You know, and I do events with them all the time. I do my camp food drive with them as the biggest event of the year.

I'm grateful that I'm able to support my people in my community that need it most. Yeah. And then thirdly, I'm grateful that I get to do what I want to do and live my life the way that I want to live it. I get to play video games all week and then on the weekend go. be a fake super villain. So it's like, it's incredible to me that this is my life. I get to do whatever I want all week. And then on every Friday, Saturday, I show up somewhere and I'm the worst person alive.

So it's like, it's great that I get to live my life like this. But yeah, I'm grateful for my life. I'm grateful for being able to support my family and my people in my community. And I'm grateful for the fact that I get to do what I want when I want to do it. Three great things. Yeah. AJ. Such a pleasure

to finally do this in person. Thank you for making this happen. No, thank you. And thank you for F3 energy. It's fantastic. There we go. A.J. Francis. That's how he says it in every promo.

A.J. Francis. Great conversation with him. And we touched on a lot of things there. That Tom Brady story is just fascinating. And I was there when AJ made his TNA debut at Hard to Kill. And I'm excited to see. what he has in store for us in TNA. And again, just the way that he approaches music

and the way he approaches wrestling and how he brings those two together, I think is really, really interesting. Snap a screenshot, let us know that you're listening. Tag us on social media. He's at A.J. Francis 410. I'm at Chris Van Vleet, and I'll leave you with this quote

that I saw earlier this week from Lexi Ryan. You are not your past. You're bigger than your past, and you are better than your past. Let it be part of who you've become, but don't you dare let it define you. So whoever I'm speaking that to right now that needs to hear it, there you go.

Be great, be grateful, we will see you on the next one for some more insight. Jim Rome takes on sports. Why? Because I have a job to do. With rapid fire takes. So I don't want to hear from you lava pigs on this notion today. No idea what you're talking about.

You're complaining more than you like to breathe air. It's like you get up in the morning only to complain and cry and moan on social media about things that you don't even understand. He's the spitfire of sports smack. Take advantage of it, but get up in here. The Jim Rome Show podcast. What's your beef? Follow and listen on your favorite platform. You've been warned.