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 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 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 with the Redskins on January 2, 2017.[17]
On September 2, 2017, Francis was waived by the Redskins.[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]
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 15 days later due 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 withUFC 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]
In December 2023,Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) announced Francis' return to the promotion atLook At Me on January 26, 2024.[42][43] 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 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.[47][48] 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.[49]
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 the June 3, 2025 episode ofNXT, Francis returned to WWE, where he andKC Navarro assistedTrick Williams in retaining his TNA World Championship againstMike Santana.[51]
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.[52][53] 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.[54]
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".[55][56]
On July 21, 2023, three members of Hit Row by the names of B-Fab, Top Dolla and Ashante "Thee" Adonis released a freestyle single by the name of Barbie Barz.[57][58]
In April 2021, Francis began hosting theA&E seriesWWE's Most Wanted Treasures in which he travels withWWE Legends as they search for memorabilia owned by private collectors, museums and occasionally other WWE Legends.[59]
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 inWWE 2K23 as DLC characters in the Steiner Row Pack DLC bundle.[60]
In April 2015, Francis went viral for signing up to be anUber driver in the off-season, while playing for the Miami Dolphins.[61]
Francis revealed that he was diagnosed withtype 2 diabetes in December 2022, with hisblood sugar level at 626 mg/dL, which was revealed a year after havingbotched a diving moonsault during a tag team match on the December 16 of that year's episode ofSmackDown.[62]
^Melok, Bobby (January 14, 2020)."Mercedes Martinez, Jake Atlas and more report to WWE Performance Center".WWE. Archived fromthe original on January 15, 2020. RetrievedMay 22, 2021.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.
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