A. J. Francis | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Francis with theWashington Redskins in 2017 | |||||
| Born | Anthony Joseph Francis (1990-05-07)May 7, 1990 (age 35) Washington, D.C., U.S. | ||||
| Alma mater | University of Maryland | ||||
| Professional wrestling career | |||||
| Ring name(s) | A. J. Francis AJ Francis Suga Bear Top Dolla Dolla | ||||
| Billed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)[1] | ||||
| Billed weight | 330 lb (150 kg)[1] | ||||
| Trained by | Bubba Ray Dudley D-Von Dudley[1] | ||||
| Debut | October 25, 2018[1] | ||||
| Football career | |||||
| No. 96, 99, 64 | |||||
| Position | Nose tackle | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||
| Listed weight | 337 lb (153 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school | Gonzaga College (Washington, D.C.) | ||||
| College | Maryland | ||||
| NFL draft | 2013: undrafted | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| |||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||
| |||||
| Website | ajfrancis | ||||
Anthony Joseph Francis (born May 7, 1990) is an Americanprofessional wrestler,rapper, and formerfootball player. He is signed toTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a former one-timeTNA Digital Media Champion andCanadian International Heavyweight Champion. He also performs on theindependent circuit, predominantly forReality of Wrestling, where he is the current and inaugural ROW Glory Champion and leader of House Money (Quentin Wynters, Josiah Jean and Tiana Sway). He is best known for his previous tenures inWWE, where he performed under the ring nameTop Dolla and was a member ofHit Row from 2020 to 2023.
Francis playedcollege football for theMaryland Terrapins. He was signed by theMiami Dolphins of theNational Football League (NFL) as anundrafted free agent in 2013 and also played for theSeattle Seahawks andWashington Redskins.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 309 lb (140 kg) | 33+1⁄2 in (0.85 m) | 9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 4.98 s | 1.78 s | 3.04 s | 4.58 s | 7.45 s | 29.0 in (0.74 m) | 9 ft 4 in (2.84 m) | 24 reps | |
| All values fromPro Day[2] | ||||||||||||
After going un-drafted in the2013 NFL draft, Francis signed with theMiami Dolphins on April 30, 2013.[3]
TheNew England Patriots claimed Francis off waivers on September 1, 2013.[4] He was released on September 7, only to be signed to the team'spractice squad three days later.[5] Francis remained on the practice squad until being re-signed by the Dolphins in November.
On November 27, 2013, Francis was signed off the Patriots'practice squad.[6]
Francis was put on injured reserve on August 27, 2014.[7] On November 14, 2015, he was waived.
On November 16, 2015, Francis was acquired off waivers by theSeattle Seahawks.[8] On November 24, he was released by the team,[9] 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.[10] He was waived on May 9, 2016.[11]
On May 17, 2016, Francis signed with theTampa Bay Buccaneers.[12] He was waived on September 3, 2016.
On October 12, 2016, Francis signed with theWashington Redskins.[13] He was promoted to the active roster on November 29, 2016.[14] He was waived on December 10, 2016, and was re-signed back to the practice squad.[15][16] Francis signed a futures contract on January 2, 2017.[17]
On September 2, 2017, Francis was waived.[18] He was re-signed to their practice squad on October 18, 2017, and was promoted to the active roster the next day.[19][20] He was waived on October 25, 2017.[21] He was re-signed on November 21, 2017.[22]
Francis was waived on April 30, 2018.[23] 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.[24][25]
On May 2, 2018, Francis signed with theNew York Giants.[26] He was released on September 1, 2018.[27]
Francis signed withWWE in January 2020.[28][29] Francis, now assigned to theNXT brand, made his wrestling television debut on the May 4, 2021, episode ofNXT where he aligned himself withIsaiah "Swerve" Scott by helping him defeatLeon Ruff in a Falls Count Anywhere match, establishing himself as aheel in the process.[30][31] The following week, Francis was introduced asTop Dolla and formed a new stable,Hit Row with Scott,Ashante "Thee" Adonis, andB-Fab.[32][33] Despite Top Dolla being drafted toSmackDown along with the rest of Hit Row as a part of the2021 WWE Draft,[34] B-Fab was released on November 4, and the rest of Hit Row were released fifteen days later as part of a round of mass layoffs due to budget cuts in response to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[35]
Following his release from WWE, it was announced that Francis and the rest of Hit Row, minus Scott, would begin wrestling on the independent circuit, 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. AtGame Changer Wrestling’s For The Culture event, Francis and Miles would lose to the team ofShane Taylor and O’Shay Edwards.
After ownerVince McMahon stepped down in July 2022, Francis, reprising his "Top Dolla" character, made his unannounced return to WWE on the August 12, 2022, episode ofSmackDown as aface, where he and Ashante "Thee" Adonis (accompanied by B-Fab), defeated two local competitors, thus reuniting Hit Row.[36] On the December 16 episode ofSmackDown, Top Dolla and Adonis won their first main roster championship opportunity for theUndisputed WWE Tag Team Championship by defeatingThe Viking Raiders andLegado Del Fantasma in a triple threat tag team match but failed to defeatThe Usos for the championship.[37][38] On the January 6, 2023 episode ofSmackDown, Top Dolla was defeated byRicochet in aRoyal Rumble qualifying match. After the match, Top Dolla and the rest of Hit Row attacked Ricochet, turningheel in the process.[39] Hit Row were drafted to the SmackDown brand in the2023 WWE Draft.[40]On September 21, nine days after WWE's merger with theUltimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to formTKO Group Holdings, Top Dolla was once again released from his WWE contract along with a host of other WWE superstars, which effectively marked Hit Row's disbandment.[41]
On the June 3, 2025 episode ofNXT, Francis made a one-off return to WWE under his real name, where he andKC Navarro assistedTrick Williams in retaining his TNA World Championship againstMike Santana.[42]
In December 2023,Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) announced Francis' return to the promotion atLook At Me on January 26, 2024.[43][44] At the GCW Holiday Special, Francis would attackJoey Janela. This would lead to a match between the two atLook At Me, which Janela won.
On January 11th, 2025, Francis would make an appearance atReality of Wrestling's Battle of the Belts, where he would compete in the Street Justice Rules Gauntlet, in a losing effort.
On January 13, 2024, Francis made his debut forTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) atHard To Kill under his real name, where he andDJ Whoo Kid promoted the music video of Francis' song "We Outside" (which would become his entrance theme) while quickly turning on the fans in attendance, thus establishing himself as aheel.Joe Hendry would later come out and interrupt Francis and Whoo Kid, and subsequently mocked Francis with a song, prompting Francis and Whoo Kid to attack Hendry, thus starting a feud between Francis and Hendry.[45] On March 14 episode ofTNA Impact!, he would defeat Hendry with the help ofRich Swann,[46] with the duo now calledFirst Class (stylized as Fir$t Cla$$), and ending the feud.[47] On the June 6 episode ofImpact! 20th Anniversary Show, Francis won theTNA Digital Media Championship fromLaredo Kid, his first title win in TNA.
On the June 15 taping ofTNAImpact! (aired ontape delay on June 27), Francis (inkayfabe) bought theCanadian International Heavyweight Championship, a title that was promoted in Canada for many years and had been retired since 1987. As the new owner of the title, Francis declared himself as its new champion, making himself a double champion in the process.[48][49] AtSlammiversary on July 20, Francis lost the TNA Digital Media Championship and the International Heavyweight Wrestling Championship toPCO in aMontreal Street Fight, ending his reign as TNA Digital Media Champion at 62 days and his reign as Canadian International Heavyweight Champion at 35 days.[50] In August,KC Navarro would align himself with Francis and join Fir$t Cla$$, replacing Swann who had been suspended by the company due to disorderly intoxication.[51] They would challenge ABC (Ace Austin andChris Bey) for theTNA World Tag Team Championship atEmergence in a losing effort.[52] On December 13 atFinal Resolution, Francis foughtNic Nemeth for theTNA World Championship in a losing effort.[53]
On the July 25, 2025 tapings of iMPACT!, Francis turned on Navarro and kicked him out of Fir$t Cla$$, with the latter being replaced by a returning Rich Swann.[54] Francis and Swann teamed together as a tag team in TNA for the first time since August 2, 2024 as they defeatedThe System (Eddie Edwards andBrian Myers) atEmergence on August 14, 2025 in Swann's hometown ofBaltimore, Maryland.[55] AtFinal Resolution on December 5, 2025, Swann turned on Francis and aidedLeon Slater in retaining theTNA X Division Championship, thus disbanding Fir$t Cla$$.[56]
On February 17, 2024 at Burning Crush, Francis made his debut forMajor League Wrestling (MLW) debut in a pre-taped vignette, calling outAlex Kane and was revealed as the newest member of the World Titan Federation. On night 2 ofIntimidation Games, Francis made his MLW in-ring debut, defeating Mr. Thomas.
On March 2, 2024, Francis made his debut for theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) atHard Times, defeating Bryan Idol in ano disqualification match.
On October 13, 2017, Francis released a music video on hisYouTube channel by the name of Olympic Gold featuring an artist by the name of J-Lew, which would be featured on Francis' debut album "O.T.A" that has made it onITunes / Apple Music.[57][58] 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 formerHit Row memberIsaiah "Swerve" Scott in it.[59]
On March 6, 2023, Hit Row was partially reunited as a musical group when 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) was featured in Monteasy's song "Price Went Up".[60][61]
On July 21, 2023, Francis, under his Top Dolla ring name, alongside three members of Hit Row B-Fab and Ashante "Thee" Adonis released a freestyle single by the name of Barbie Barz.[62][63]
In April 2015, Francis went viral for signing up to be anUber driver in the off-season, while playing for the Miami Dolphins.[66]
Francis revealed that he was diagnosed withtype 2 diabetes in December 2022, with hisblood sugar level at 626 mg/dL. He revealed his condition a year after being diagnosed with the disease after havingbotched a diving moonsault during a tag team match on the December 16, 2022 episode ofSmackDown.[67]
Anthony Francis is a 6-foot-5, 330-pounder with five years of NFL experience under his belt. The former defensive tackle played for the Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins.
Flanked by Top Dolla, Ashante "Thee" Adonis and B-FAB, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott introduced the NXT Universe to Hit Row, putting the rest of the black-and-gold brand on notice.
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