A former SmackDown superstar showed up in WWE during the June 17 episode of NXT, marking his first appearance in the Stamford-based company since September 2023.
Top Dolla, aka A.J. Francis, joined Wes Lee and the reigning TNA World Champion Trick Williams against Josh Briggs, Yoshiki Inamura, and Elijah in a Six-Man Tag Team Match.
Top Dolla Competes in a WWE For the First Time Since Leaving SmackDown
A.J. Francis has spent time between the independent circuit and TNA since he parted ways with WWE a couple of years ago. The partnership between TNA and WWE gave him the opportunity to return to the Stamford-based company, though.
Francis showed up a couple of weeks ago on NXT with KC Navarro to help Williams defeat Mike Santana and retain his title. Two weeks later, he was on NXT again, but his team lost, with Inamura being the one to pin Williams and earn the victory.
It should be a no-brainer that Francis will continue to work with WWE and NXT in parallel, making guest appearances on NXT, especially as long as Williams is the TNA World Champion. It will also be interesting to see whether WWE will attempt to bring him back to the main roster as well.
.@AJFrancis410 tried to play everyone, and he got played himself! 😂#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/QUhpqhkI9r
— WWE (@WWE) June 18, 2025
A.J. Francis Once Opened Up About a WWE Return: “The Door Is Never Closed”
A.J. Francis had been dealing with challenging situations on NXT and SmackDown from 2021 through his departure in September 2023. From having a decent run with Hit Row on NXT to their run on SmackDown from 2021 to 2023, Francis had to prove that he was deserving of a spot on the roster week in and week out.
Back at the time, when WWE, under then chairman Vince McMahon, was releasing superstars, there was uncertainty about whether things would get back to normal. Top Dolla, though, was confident that he would be able to return to the company even if WWE decided to part ways with him.
“The thing is like, the door is never closed with WWE either. People go and come back to WWE literally every year. The only problem is, how does it look the next time? Is it all four of us? Is it one of us? Is it two of us? Is it three of us? Is it none of us?” Top Dolla said in an interview with the Ringsiders Wrestling back in 2022.
Fast-forward to today. Francis had the chance to return to WWE, with Triple H as the boss this time, and he could likely return to the main roster if the creative team is satisfied with his current guest appearances on NXT.