Hit Row lasted less than a year on WWE television, but their impact still resonates as the group always believed that they could have been larger than life in the company.
Hit Row (Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, Ashante "Thee" Adonis, B-Fab, & Top Dolla) got together on NXT television in May 2021 and were drafted to SmackDown in the 2021 WWE Draft in October.
Their time on SmackDown was short as all four members were released in November.
Speaking during a K&S WrestleFest Signing, Swerve gave his thoughts on where he thinks things went wrong with Hit Row.
"Based on what I'm seeing from the product now with main roster and NXT, ambition can be misconstrued as a disrespectful thing or like we don't wait our turn or we're jumping the pecking order. We got this way because we all had ideas and were hellbent and focused on the same thing, we just had different ways of doing it, but that's what made more together. What they want from talent and their product now, they want guys with no shape, they want to mold their own clay, they don't want hand-delivered talent ready to go unless you have guys that have been integrated into the system for a long time like Tommaso, Pete Dunne, WALTER, they have been there for so long and they are familiar and comfortable with them. Adam Cole is one of those guys too, had he chosen to stay. They have equity. I'm the longest-tenured guy in [Hit Row], so they trusted me, but for everybody else, they were still new. Us coming with ideas and being ready to go, we wanted to jump out on TV and do those things. For them, we were an already made product and didn't need any more detailing. They wanted the detail. I guess that was a turnoff for them and dispersed it because there was nothing more to detail. We went to a product and they already had New Day and Usos, you can't have three starting quarterbacks in their mind. You already have your franchise quarterback and you have two backup quarterbacks that are first rounders, so we have to trade them off to Tennessee," he said.
Following their releases, there were reports that Top Dolla (AJ Francis) rubbed people the wrong way.
Swerve said about AJ's reported heat, "It's just the fact that he's new and people weren't familiar with [AJ] and that rubs people the wrong way or he hasn't built that equity yet. It's as simple as that. I'm pretty sure there are other guys on that roster that have bigger personalities and want to get things done and work hard, but they have been there for a while and the system is familiar with them. They're not familiar with AJ."
Top Dolla commented on his reported heat following his release, saying that the only time WWE got mad at him was when he questioned them for releasing B-Fab. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
Swerve continued by giving his thoughts on the WWE system, saying, "They are in a time right now where everybody just needs to toe the line, from top to bottom. There's only wiggle room for like four of those guys that can be free speaking and move that way. They want to nail it down to where everybody toes the line. If anybody speaks out of turn, they are pushed away or off TV for five months and you don't know why, because you spoke out."
Top Dolla, B-Fab (Briana Brandy), and Ashante (Tehuti Miles) will reunite at GCW For The Culture, going by The HitMakerZ.
As for Swerve, Fightful Select has reported that he has signed with AEW. You can learn more by clicking here.
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