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Exclusive: AJ Francis Announces He's Re-Signed With TNA Wrestling

AJ Francis is staying put with TNA Wrestling.

Steven Muelhausen

AJ Francis chokeslams TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth.
AJ Francis chokeslams TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth. / TNAWrestling.com

One of the biggest potential free agents in pro wrestling is going no where.

The Takedown can exclusively confirm that AJ Francis has signed a new contract to remain with TNA Wrestling. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

After his release from WWE in the latter part of 2023, Francis appeared at Hard To Kill, the first PPV event under the relaunch of TNA.

The former six-year pro in the NFL, Francis found a new lease on life in TNA. The 34-year-old won the TNA Digital Media Title in June, bought the Canadian International Heavyweight Championship and became the leader of Fir$t Clas$$ with rising star KC Navarro. Then on Dec. 13 at Final Resolution, Francis headlined his first PPV against TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth. Despite coming up short, Francis opened up a lot of eyes with his good performance.

Francis, who is the Grand Marshall of Tuesday's Cheez-It Citrus Bowl between Illinois and South Carolina along with being the Cheez-It Champion, talks with The Takedown about why he decided to remain with TNA, and when he made the decision.

Editor's note: This article was edited for length and clarity.

The Takedown: What led to the decision to stay with TNA Wrestling?

AJ Francis: TNA has taken care of me over the last year. A year ago, I wasn't the most sought after free agent. A year ago, people thought I wasn't going to wrestle anymore. A year ago, people thought that my wrestling career might be done. And a year ago, TNA took me in for their very first show, Hard To Kill in (Las) Vegas. That was the very first night that I interacted with Joe Hendry. One year later, Joe Hendry's the biggest star in wrestling. He can still send me a box of cigars for that whenever he wants.

It's been a blessing with the fact that TNA has done so much for me in the last year. Obviously, this is a business. It's not called the wrestling friendship. It's called the wrestling business. I always wanted to go back to TNA. Even though over the past week, I've made it clear that I could go anywhere. There were feelers out for me potentially going over to AEW, maybe going back to NXT because I never really got a run in NXT, maybe go back to SmackDown. Obviously going to Netflix for Raw would have been cool too. But there was a lot of options out on the table for me. TNA just feels like the best place for me. TNA has always since the day that I got there changed people's perception of me. My last match in TNA was for the TNA World Title, an absolute banger of a match in the main event of Final Resolution against Nic Nemeth.

TNA, in one year, took me from someone that people pretended couldn't wrestle to a bona fide main eventer to the best big man in the business. If TNA could do that in one year, imagine what they could do in another year where I start the year as a bona fide main eventer. I'm very much happy with the decision to take my talents back to TNA.

The Takedown: When you debuted at Hard To Kill, people were like, 'Oh, what's he doing here'? As you the year went on, you really got into a really good rhythm. People then were like, 'Ok, maybe our perception was wrong of him'. When did you feel the tide started to shift and you started to change, the perception of others?

AJ Francis: I always knew I was a main eventer. Me not getting the opportunity to to be a main eventer everywhere I went was a travesty of justice. I always knew I was this good. People think that I got better as a wrestler this year, but I'm using all the same moves that I used in 2019 when I first started wrestling. I'm using the same running knee. I'm using the same spear. I'm using the same chokeslam. I'm just doing it with more time. You know, I had a 20-minute main event title match versus Nic Nemeth. It was my longest singles match that I've had, and it was my first title match that I had for the world title in any company. And went out and put on an absolute banger. It wasn't a lack of ability. It was a lack of opportunity.

When Tommy Dreamer and his infinite wisdom in the go home promo before Slammiversary, right before I'm going through the curtain, he says, 'You got six minutes. Say whatever you want'. I go out there and put on a masterclass promo. It's because I was given time. It's because I was given the opportunities because I was given the mic. I didn't just get good at promos. When I was in WWE, I was writing promos for a lot of people. People just don't know that. There are people who've been in this game for 20 plus years, had been in WWE for 10 plus years. Before they would go out and do their promo, they'd come over to me in the locker room and ask me what I thought about it. Because they'd seen me promo on live shows, even though I never got to promo on TV. They'd see me promo online. They hear my rap songs, and they'd be like, 'Yo, this guy's special with his words'. I wonder what he thinks about this. I've been the best kept secret in the industry for a long time.

It's funny because a year ago when it was announced I was coming to TNA, the discourse by TNA fans was, 'Why is he coming? We don't need him. What's he doing here'? And then over the last week, when I was out here saying I might be leaving, it became, please come back to TNA. We love you at TNA. It's been great the TNA. So it's funny, what a year could change. A year can change everything. There was never anything that made me want to leave TNA. It's just a business, and I must do what's best for me. And luckily, we were able to come to terms. And it works great for both sides. I love the fact that this company is growing. Just got a television deal in Canada. Trying to get a major television deal in the United States. If I had gone to AEW or WWE, even though I would be coming off the best year of my career, I would have to start over. I'm not saying start over at the bottom, but I'd have to start over from scratch. My last match was for the TNA World Title in the main event. I'm a main eventer. Coming back to TNA a year ago, I was a promo on the pre-show my first, time showing up at TNA. Now, I'm a bona fide main eventer. So imagine what we can do this year in 2025, a new TV deal in Canada, and unfortunately, Joe Hendry's hotter than ever.

The Takedown: When did you make this decision to decide that TNA is where you're planting the flag?

AJ Francis: Yesterday. Literally, we had a discussion yesterday. We had a final discussion really this morning. Today was the last day of my current deal. I know my worth. I'm glad that TNA was able to make it happen. I got what I wanted out of the deal. I was willing to go into free agency if it didn't pan out how I wanted it to. Luckily, everything was able to come together. Another year in TNA. Another year proving that I am the best big man in the business. Another year chokeslamming people out of their damn boots. So, it'll be another great year. TNA this year, we're doing bigger venues than we had in the past. We got the UBS Arena (for Slammiversary). We got big venues this year, big shows. We're going live sometime this year on Thursdays. This is a big year for TNA. It's a big year for us to prove who TNA is. We came back as TNA, and this wasn't just a rebrand. It wasn't just lipstick on a pig. It was a complete change. It allowed us to prove why we're the best company. We're gonna give you absolutely fire matches from the best performers in the world, and an atmosphere unlike anywhere else.

It means a lot to me that these guys understand my value and how good I am. Because for the longest time, I was the only person that seemed to understand it. So a year ago, I told anybody who was in my life a year ago. I told people this going to happen. When I got released from WWE, I told Bully Ray the only place I wanted to go was TNA. I was like, in a year's time, I'm going to show people that I'm a main eventer. And that's exactly what happened.

The Takedown: With your new TNA contract in hand, what are your goals for 2025?

AJ Francis: Tag team gold for Fir$t Clas$$. Me and KC deserve and should be the Tag Team Champions in TNA and be the flag bearers of the tag team division. All things pointing towards Joe Hendry maybe actually being able to finish the job for once and become the TNA World Champion. If Joe Hendry leads TNA as the world champion, let's be serious, a year ago, Joe Hendry was not a TNA World Title contender. Nobody would have believed that. One year ago, TNA would have Joe Hendry in a world title match, right? Now, he's the hottest act in wrestling and he has me to thank for that. So if he happens to be lucky enough to have Nic Nemeth slip on a banana peel and Joe ends up as the TNA World Champion, I'm going to take the world title from Joe Hendry. I'm going to be the world champion. Because if Joe Hendry can do it, it can't be that hard.

When I was debuting at TNA, minding my own business, and debuting my music video, Joe Hendry comes out and interrupts and makes a song about me being the Cheez-It champion. In that song, he says, 'You'll never win the World Title, the X Division or the tag but you're the Cheez-It champion.

Well, this year I'm going to win the Tag Team Titles, and when he wins the World title, I'm going to take it from him. And if Moose don't act right, I'm going to take the X Division title from him, because it's not I don't like what Moose is doing. Moose keeps bullying these little boys, Moose keeps picking on these guys that are 175 pounds when they got two bricks in their pockets, right? He needs to fight a real man. Somebody his size. Moose knows that when we were in the NFL, he couldn't block me then, and he knows that if we had a wrestling match, he can't beat me now.

2025 will be a big year for me, for TNA, for everybody involved with TNA. It's only getting bigger. It's only getting better. I can't wait to have the year that I expected a year ago. I told everybody coming into TNA that even though I came in as a pre-show promo guy, I said by the end of the year, I would be a main eventer. And I was right. I won the Digital Media Title this year. So, I've already been a champion in TNA this year. I'm telling you, I'm going to win the Tag Team Titles, and if Joe Hendry doesn't act right after he wins that title, if the first person he doesn't thank for being TNA World Champion isn't me, I'm going to take the TNA World title from Joe Hendry too.

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Steven Muelhausen
STEVEN MUELHAUSEN

: Steven Muehlhausen is a veteran combat sports writer for various outlets including Sporting News and Yahoo Sports. He can be reached at stevemuehlhausen@yahoo.com and followed on Twitter @SMuehlhausenJr.

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