"We don't want any more 'Bigs'" - Released WWE star didn't get a proposed in-ring name because of Big E similarity (Exclusive)

AJ Francis, fka Top Dolla, appeared on the latest episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's UnSKripted, and the former WWE star opened up about the origins of his in-ring name during the Q&A session.

Francis revealed that he got the "Top Dolla" moniker entirely by accident, as he was originally pitched to be known as "Big Dollar."

While the former NXT star hated the name, he had no problems going ahead with "Big Dolla." WWE officials, however, eventually changed their minds about the name as the promotion already had Big E.

Here's what AJ Francis recalled about the process on UnSKripted with Dr. Chris Featherstone:

"True story, completely on accident," said Francis. "So, they pitched the name Big Dollar, and I hated it. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. They pitched the name Big Dollar with an R and brother, no hard Rs. I told them, nix that, how about Big Dolla, and they were like, 'Well, we already got Big E, and at the back of my mind, I'm like, well, you had Big Show and Big E when you had Big Cass, but whatever, you know what I'm saying? They were like, 'We don't want any more 'Bigs.'' Alright, Big E, respect, much respect to that brother, you know what I'm saying? I can understand why they wouldn't want it." [5:41 - 6:24]

AJ Francis says WWE thought he wanted the "Top Dolla" name

Francis was instructed to send a list of names to the office, and he came up with several exciting alternatives, including Big Jugo and Franklin Warfeud.

The 31-year-old superstar stated that while he proposed multiple options, the one that he liked the most was just "Dolla."

"They were like, make a list of names, and I sent them a list of names, and some of them are like, really dope, like Franklin Warfeud, Franklin Royal, Big Jugo, you know, and Jugo is spelled like in Spanish, Jugo because I got the juice," revealed Francis. "So, I had a bunch of names, but the number one name that I pitched was the name Dolla. Just Dolla by itself, right?" [6:25 - 6:53]

Francis wrote "Dolla" first on the list, so WWE personnel thought he wanted to be called "Top Dolla."

The former NFL player loved the unplanned addition from WWE's end as he was looking forward to having a successful start in NXT in 2021.

"When I broke the list up, I broke the list up into bottom five, next five, and then top five, so the way it read was, it said top five, and then the first option was Dolla," Francis continued. "So, they thought I wanted the name Top Dolla, and I was like, yeah, that sounds dope," continued AJ. "I didn't know until talking to Steve Corino [WWE trainer and producer] a couple of weeks later; I was like, 'Yo, who came up with the name Top Dolla?' He was like, 'You did.' I was like, 'Oh, what? Okay!'" [6:53 - 7:24]

AJ Francis was part of the Hit Row stable before his release in November last year. The group has since reunited on the independent circuit without Swerve Strickland, who signed with AEW in March.

Did WWE make a mistake by releasing all members of the Hit Row? Sound off in the comments section below.

Check out an interview with former Hit Row member B-Fab here:

Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the UnSKripted YouTube video featuring AJ Francis if you use any quotes from this article.