AJ Francis has a message for critics of his WWE SmackDown dive botch (Exclusive)

AJ Francis does not have a problem with people using his infamous WWE botch in compilation videos. However, he believes many of his critics are wrong to make fun of his athleticism.

Francis, formerly known as Top Dolla in WWE, played in the NFL before becoming a wrestler. On the December 16, 2022, episode of SmackDown, he failed to clear the top rope after attempting a dive to the outside of the ring.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Riju Dasgupta, Francis clarified that comments from people online do not affect him. He also referenced that he received a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis shortly after the failed dive:

"It happened, bro," Francis said. "People try to use it to pretend that I'm not an athlete and not that my body was deteriorating from Type 2 diabetes. The same people that will use that as to say I'm not an athlete will pretend that my NFL career never happened when they couldn't even start on varsity [university sports team]." [From 04:47 – 05:10]

Francis added that he does not plan to stop performing dives over the top rope simply because of one botch:

"I don't care what these people have to say. I don't care if it makes any compilations. None of that makes any difference to me because, at the end of the day, I have done it successfully multiple times, and I'll do it successfully again now that I'm healthy. It doesn't affect me that it will be on these highlights or Botchamania. Everybody has botched. Everybody. There's not a single wrestler that has not botched." [From 05:13 – 05:46]

Watch the video above to hear AJ Francis reveal what John Cena said to him backstage about his rapping skills.

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AJ Francis defends his in-ring ability

Before receiving his second WWE release in September 2023, AJ Francis shared the ring with high-profile names, including LA Knight and The Usos.

Francis thinks his doubters only need to watch footage of his WWE matches to realize how good he is from an in-ring perspective:

"The funny thing is that I have one [botch] and people pretend that's my entire career. It's because they don't have anything else. I was successful before I got to WWE, I'm gonna be successful after leaving WWE, and I was successful during my time in WWE when I was given the opportunity. And if you don't believe me, go watch any of the house show footage of us cutting promos and then working a match, or go watch my last match with LA Knight." [From 05:46 – 06:13]

The former Hit Row member also disclosed details about a conversation he had with Triple H after leaving WWE.

Did you prefer AJ Francis as a babyface or heel? Let us know in the comments section.

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