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AJ Francis: Paul Heyman Stood Up For Me A Lot In WWE

Originally posted on Wrestlezone | By Hamish Woodward | Last updated 3/23/24

AJ Francis has nothing but positive words to say about Paul Heyman.

The former WWE Superstar was a part of the rap group “Hit Row” in WWE, which utilized his musical abilities to get the team over.

However, the group were not featured as much as he would have liked. Despite being likened to John Cena and Max Caster, Heyman fought for Francis backstage and stood up for his gimmick.

Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, AJ Francis said:

“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 this is like, not comedy, but kayfabe rap. It’s rap within the wrestling room. Yours is like actual, livable, 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. ‘This should start the show tonight.’ I did it, sent them so many different ones that we did.”

Sadly, Heyman couldn’t stop AJ Francis from being fired at the end of 2023. Now, he’s moving on with TNA, NWA, GCW and several other promotions.

Francis on Brent Grimes

Francis recently sat down with WrestleZone’s Managing Editor, Bill Pritchard, who asked about potentially getting Grimes to wrestle a match or be more involved in the wrestling business. Francis revealed he’s already had conversations with Grimes about doing that at some point. Grimes’ other priorities after a decade-plus in the NFL gave pause to any plans on a national level. However, he is OK with showing up for Francis in CCW.

“Absolutely. Me and him have already had those conversations for the longest time,” AJ Francis revealed. “When I first started wrestling, he actually came to train with me at CCW before, but he was still deciding whether he wanted to still play football or not.

“Even as late as last year, he had offers to play and, just for him, he’s made so much money in his career, the fact of him leaving his house for six months to go play somewhere, he’s just like, ‘I’m cool, I don’t want to do that.’ He’s got a 13-year-old son, you know, who’s a tennis prodigy. He wants to be around for his son. So it’s like, ‘Alright, cool. I don’t want to do that.’

Grimes Was The Row Before It Was Hit Row

Francis said Grimes is a fixture at CCW shows, and their pro wrestling history dates back several years to Sausage Castle Wrestling. Francis praised his friend’s athleticism and said he looks forward to seeing what Grimes could do in the pro wrestling space.

“But CCW is in South Florida, where he lives. So he’s actually been at all my shows, and CCW, every single show I’ve ever ever had in CCW. He’s been there in the crowd. So I finally was like, even though he’s trained with me before, I finally…and he actually, at Sausage Castle Wrestling, he was involved in…he was part of The Row, which when I got to WWE, obviously ended up becoming Hit Row. So like, he’s done things with me before.

“But you know, he finally got a chance to do them with me, CCW, and help me get the win. And we’ve already been talking about him getting involved in a match. Brent is arguably the most athletic person I’ve ever met. And I played in the NFL, so that’s saying a lot. He’s in his 40s now, and he still has a 40-inch vertical. So I mean, he’s a specimen. So obviously, he could do some really cool things in the room. And we’re looking forward to exploring that more for sure.”

This article first appeared on Wrestlezone and was syndicated with permission.

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