AJ Francis Interview: Joining WWE NXT, "Most Wanted Treasures", Playing In The NFL, More

You mentioned that you've been to five WrestleMania events as a fan and that you were actually at WrestleMania 36 while with the company. Were you among those who helped catch Rob Gronkowski when he fell off the platform?

Francis: Yeah, I actually was. The only reason being when I was in the NFL, I played with Gronk. In college, I played with Mojo [Rawley]. There's a lot of crossover there between the both of them. It's funny because everybody else in the Performance Center sees Gronk and they're scared to go up to him and scared to talk to him because they don't know what to expect. He's a superstar and not from our world, so they don't know what they're going to get out of him. Then he sees me, and at the time I played with the Patriots, I was number 69, so when I walked in the room, he was like, “Hey! 6-9, man! What's up!” I was like, “What is going on right now?”

That's awesome. Is competing at a WrestleMania in a football stadium one day the dream for you?

Francis: It honestly is. One of the best games of my career was when I was in D.C. and we played Thursday Night Football in Dallas. I had a great game and now next year's WrestleMania is in that same arena. I'd definitely like an opportunity to show that I can perform in that same arena again.

CONT'd...