AJ Francis wanted to do a throwback match at Slammiversary that matches his “old school” wrestling style.
Elijah and AJ Francis will square off at TNA Slammiversary this week. During a recent interview with WrestleZone, Francis was asked if there was a “musical” stipulation match he’d propose to fit the theme of their feud. Elijah has had the ‘Walk With Elijah’ strap match and a guitar-shaped casket match.
Francis says that the main reason he and Elijah are having a traditional singles match at Slammiversary is due to the card needing one. However, he did pitch a “contract on a pole” match, with the contract to Elijah’s music rights on the line.
“Me and Elijah’s match is going to be a singles match at Slammiversary, mainly because there aren’t many plain singles matches on the card. You’ve got to have a place for those. Everyone knows I’m the best big man in the business. I’m going to steal the show. I don’t need all the extra stipulations. My match is going to be a banger because it always is.
“With that being said, I originally pitched for me and Elijah to have his music rights on a pole, dangling from a pole in the corner, or hanging from the middle of the ring. But they already had a ladder match, so we couldn’t do that. So I was like, ‘All right, maybe we do a music rights on a pole match.’”
AJ Francis wanted the old-school stipulation to match his in-ring style
Francis says he’s always wanted to do a pole match or flag match because he wrestles like a villain from that era.
“I’ve always wanted to do one of those old-timey 1980s matches because that’s all I am. I’m a 1980s wrestling heel. I’m a big man heel from the ’80s,” Francis said. “The thing is, all my matches stand out because I have a tried-and-true formula that everybody did in the ’80s that nobody does today. Because of that, people say, ‘Oh wow, that AJ match was great,’ when really I’m just following the formula that was laid out 40 years ago.”
Francis said he has several other matches he’d like to check off his list, including a strap match and I Quit match.
“I did a ladder match at Slammiversary for the tag titles with The Hardys. If I never do a ladder match again, I’m cool. I’m good,” Francis explained. “I have done many cage matches, tables matches, chairs matches, and a million street fights and no DQs. I have never done an I Quit Match. I’ve never done a Submission Match, I’ve never done an On-a-Pole Match. I’ve never done a Strap Match. Those are the ones that I need to nail down.”
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