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

Having received such high praise from all of these legends, do you feel any kind of pressure to succeed in WWE?

Francis: Honestly, no, because the day I walked in the door, I could have been one of the more entertaining people on television. I feel that at this exact moment right now and I think that's what made me such a good host for this show. I also don't think that's why I didn't get overwhelmed [doing this show]. How many people are actually willing to live up to that opportunity? To me, I was like, “I can't wait to do it!” It comes off to some people as arrogance, but I don't ever get nervous. Think about this: When I was in the NFL, I got released from D.C. and no team picked me up for 12 weeks. On a Monday afternoon, D.C. called me back and said, “Hey, we need you to play Thursday, we have a couple of guys hurt. You haven't played in three months. It's going to be on Thanksgiving night, prime time, biggest night of the year. You ready?”

I went out and had one of the best games of my whole career on almost zero practice because I feel as if everybody's put on this earth to do something. I feel I was put on this earth to perform in high-pressure situations. I know people that get nervous before house shows. I wasn't nervous playing in front of 10 million people on Thanksgiving night. I'm not saying I'm better than other people, but I'm saying I was just blessed with that ability to never be nervous before a situation because I am completely confident in my abilities at all times. I feel like this show was made for me. They said, “You're going to go on the road with 10 legends you grew up idolizing and you have to come up with the information about their lives and their careers on the spot on camera. Can you handle it?” “Yes.”

To be able to be given that opportunity and then earn the respect of those legends in the process, I think was the best part for me. It verified what I always thought in that I love the WWE. I always have since the day I was born, to the point where it wasn't cool to like WWE. It was real easy to get made fun of for watching dudes in their underwear fight. Back in those days, when it wasn't cool to watch wrestling at all. I was able to come out of it the other side and not only be able to represent myself well but represent all of these legends the way they should be represented because they deserve it.

“WWE's Most Wanted Treasures” premiered Sunday, April 18th at 10/9c.