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

Roman Reigns Paul Heyman
WWE

On the subject of Reigns, have you interacted with him at all since coming to WWE? If so, has he given you any advice having come from football as well?

Francis: Due to common friends, I hung out with Roman with friends before I ever got to WWE. Since I've been with WWE, I haven't seen him. The cool thing for me is that's what I did on this show. Even when the cameras weren't rolling, I was just sitting and listening to Booker T tell me about what I can do. I actually got in the ring at Booker's school and trained with him. I got to train with Sgt. Slaughter. I got to talk to Ric Flair about my promos and he said, “You got it.” When you give a promo and Ric Flair says he loves it, clearly I know what the hell I'm doing.

If Ric Flair didn't like it, he'd say, “Eh, not really a fan of that.” He's not the guy that's going to sugarcoat something to make you feel better. I didn't waste that. I trained with these legends any opportunity I got. I pitched my promos, I showed them my moves, got their advice, and I learned from every person I was on the road with. That's one thing I'm grateful for in having the opportunity to do. Nobody else in the PC over the last year has gotten advice from The Undertaker and Ric Flair and Kane and Big Show and Mark Henry and Mick Foley and Jake The Snake. That's invaluable information I can never be ungrateful for.

CONT'd...

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Contributor

Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.