TNA's AJ Francis eyes Leon Slater's X Division Championship, torches critics in scathing rant

Leon Slater volition beryllium successful 1 of the biggest matches of his young pro wrestling vocation connected Thursday nighttime arsenic he’s acceptable to support the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) X Division Championship against Cedric Alexander.

Should Slater decision Alexander, helium volition solidify himself arsenic the longest-reigning X Division champion and surpass Austin Aries for the record. Aries held the rubric for 298 days opening successful September 2011 and lone relinquished it to get a changeable astatine the TNA World Championship.

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Leon Slater makes his mode to the ringing during SmackDown astatine OVO Arena Wembley successful London connected Jan. 16, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)

Fellow TNA compatriot A.J. Francis is hoping Slater pulls retired the triumph against Alexander. He said helium wants to instrumentality the rubric disconnected his waist arsenic helium proclaimed to beryllium the "biggest heel" successful the company.

"Hopefully Leon wins due to the fact that the idiosyncratic that should beryllium taking the X Division rubric disconnected Leon is me. I’m the biggest bottommost successful TNA," Francis told Fox News Digital. "I’m truly the biggest bottommost successful wrestling. I’m specified a large bottommost that there’s this full inaugural that determination was a streamer who was excited to spot maine astatine Reality of Wrestling connected a amusement and it’s become, like, a happening where, ‘There was nary mode this feline was that excited to spot A.J.’ Wow. Like, I’m specified a bottommost that you hatred maine truthful overmuch that idiosyncratic other can’t bask my presence. Nobody other successful this wrestling concern gets booed similar me.

"I mean for real, if we’re calling a spade, a spade, who other successful the wrestling manufacture gets booed? The apical heels, the guys who are expected to beryllium the apical heels, the MJFs, the Dominik Mysterios, those guys, they get cheered. Fans cheer them erstwhile they travel out. Who truly gets booed successful today’s business, but me? Me and Logan Paul, literally. And past you person Joe Hendry who conscionable did a remix of the aforesaid opus helium made for maine 2 years agone and made it astir Logan Paul. And everybody’s like, ‘This is truthful cool.’ The happening is, I ever provide. I’m the eventual provider. I’m the biggest and champion bottommost successful the business. I’m the champion large antheral successful the concern and I beryllium it clip and clip again."

AJ Francis visits SiriusXM connected Radio Row astatine Super Bowl LX successful San Francisco, California, connected Feb. 5, 2026. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

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Francis added determination would beryllium cipher amended to instrumentality the X Division rubric from Slater, adding that helium was cheated retired of the rubric successful his erstwhile lucifer against Slater.

"So who would beryllium amended to instrumentality that X Division rubric disconnected Leon Slater than me? Who would get a amended absorption to instrumentality that X Division disconnected Leon Slater than me? And also, by the way, successful the 1 lucifer I had against Leon Slater for the X Division title, I was cheated by BDE, Rich Swann and the referee," helium said.

Francis past sounded disconnected connected the critics and naysayers who person seemingly lined up to incorrect him.

AJ Francis visits SiriusXM connected Radio Row astatine Super Bowl LX successful San Francisco, California, connected Feb. 5, 2026. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

"These are facts. See, that’s the thing, I travel connected present and speech facts and radical get huffy astatine maine due to the fact that I speech facts," helium told Fox News Digital. "Because successful this wrestling business, that’s afloat of these cowards that lone are pugnacious successful interviews and lone pugnacious down a TV surface and they’re not pugnacious successful existent life. They don’t privation you to accidental things that are facts that could beryllium ‘misconstrued’ arsenic trying to ‘get heat’ oregon ‘trying to going to concern for yourself.’ I americium going into concern for myself. I’ve been successful concern for myself.

"I was successful concern for myself erstwhile everybody told maine I was worthless 2 1/2 years ago. I was successful concern for myself then. So wherefore bash I gotta unreal I’m not successful concern for myself now? I deliberation if you don’t admit the things that I bring to the array arsenic the champion large antheral successful the business, arsenic the champion bottommost successful the business, personally, I feel, ‘F--- ya.’ And if you person a occupation with maine saying that, that’s your problem. I tin spell retired of my mode disrespecting nobody. I don’t spell retired of my mode talking down to nobody. It’s ever different radical that privation to commencement with me. The occupation is they bring a weapon to a weapon combat and they get huffy they get clapped."

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Francis volition instrumentality connected KC Navarro successful a SacTown Street Fight connected "Impact" successful Sacramento, California. The amusement tin beryllium watched unrecorded connected AMC astatine 9 p.m. ET.