The Surprising Ex-WWE Star Paul Heyman Went To Bat For
Former WWE star Top Dolla has explained his relationship with management in his former company and how Paul Heyman came to his rescue more than once.
Top Dolla was released by WWE for the second time in September 2023, only thirteen months after he made his return to the company alongside the rest of Hit Row – minus Swerve Strickland.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, ex-WWE star Top Dolla revealed that it was Paul Heyman who used to stand up for him and was the one who explained that higher-ups in the company just didn’t understand what he was doing:
The one good thing is that Paul Heyman used to stand up for me a lot. And Paul Heyman would say they can’t see the difference between what John Cena and Max Caster and what you’re doing. He said, theirs is like, not comedy, but kayfabe rap. It’s rap within the wrestling realm. Yours is like actual, liveable, breathable hip hop. And he said because of that it makes it more real. So if you’re not into that you can’t understand it. Do they not want me to do it? No, they had no problem with me doing it. They just wouldn’t go and 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 a video, I sent him one I did for the Christmas show. He was like this should start the show tonight. I did it, sent them so many different ones that we did. And mind you I never get my flowers, Hit Row never gets our flowers.
Hit Row Never Given Credit In WWE Says Top Dolla
Top Dolla then gave examples of situations that saw WWE generate success but says he along with the rest of Hit Row were never given credit for their part in them:
When LA Knight had that 2 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 with LA Knight, but just on WWE YouTube since, but we never got flowers for that. The only match that that was promoted for the Christmas show. That’s one of the highest-watched shows in SmackDown history. And I think the highest-watched pre-taped show in WWE history.
The only promoted match for that was Usos vs. Hit Row for the Tag Team Titles, we never got flowers for that. But Paul Heyman would always show me love. I would send him my videos, and he would love them. I would send other people my videos and they would love them, but they just would never put them on TV.
And then sometimes 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 gonna try to put this on the show and then something would happen I don’t know who, I don’t know why, but it just wouldn’t be a part of the show.
These days, Top Dolla is better known as AJ Francis and he is now part of the TNA roster. On the 14th of March edition of TNA Impact, Francis defeated Joe Hendry with Rich Swann turning on Hendry to form an alliance with the former WWE star.