Former Maryland Terrapin, and NFL defensive tackle AJ Francis has signed a three-year deal with the World Wrestling Entertainment to continue his pro wrestling career, according to Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Francis is a Washington, DC native. He played his high school football at Gonzaga before playing four years at Maryland.
With the Terrapins he registered 9.5 sacks and 20 tackles for losses. He went undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft. But, he would play five seasons in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins.
He also spent time with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ preseason and practice squads.
Francis appeared in six games during the 2017 seasons with the Redskins, recording 18 tackles.
Following his April 2018 release, Francis criticized the Redskins organization after signing with the New York Giants.
AJ Francis was released by the Giants during final cuts ahead of the 2018 season.
He later transitioned into being a professional wrestler. He trained at Team 3D Academy in Kissimmee, Florida operated and owned by WWE Hall of Famers Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley.
Francis has been on the independent circuit the last year, winning the Sauce Castle Wrestling title along the way.
Now he will train at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. There he will learn another level to pro wrestling with the giant of the industry. If, he pans out he will have an opportunity to showcase his wrestling skills on a national level with either the WWE’s Raw, Friday Night Smackdown or NXT brands.
“My parents had video of me cutting promos against Hulk Hogan since I was 18 months old. I’ve watched wrestling for nearly 30 years,” Francis told Omar Kelly of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “The reason I moved to Orlando when I was in the NFL is because I knew when my career ended this is what I wanted to do.”
Francis will attempt to join a handful of former football players who transitioned into great wrestling careers such as Dewayne “The Rock” Johnson, Bill Goldberg, Ron Simmons, and Brock Lesnar.
