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Hit Row

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Hit Row
Hit Row logo
Stable
Name(s)Hit Row
The HitMakerZ
Former
member(s)		Isaiah "Swerve" Scott
Top Dolla / Fran¢
B-Fab / Briana Brandy (manager)
Ashante "Thee" Adonis / Tehuti Miles
DebutMay 4, 2021
DisbandedFebruary 2, 2024
Years active2021–2024

Hit Row was an American professional wrestling stable consisting of Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, Ashante "Thee" Adonis, Top Dolla, and manager B-Fab. They performed in WWE on the NXT and SmackDown brands. After their release from WWE in November 2021, they have worked the independent circuit under the name The HitMakerZ. In August 2022, the stable returned to WWE without Scott. Top Dolla was released from the group in September 2023 due to roster cuts. In February 2024, B-Fab aligned herself with Bobby Lashley's new stable The Pride, and Ashante was announced to be forming a new tag team with Cedric Alexander, privately disbanding Hit Row.

History

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WWE (2020-2021)

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NXT (2020–2021)

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In October 2020 at TakeOver 31, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott faced Santos Escobar for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship and during the match, Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza attempted to interfere on Escobar's behalf but were thwarted off by Ashante "Thee" Adonis, who entered to save Scott. However, Scott ultimately lost the match against Escobar.[1] In January 2021, Scott was paired up with Jake Atlas to compete in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament.[2] They were eliminated in the first round by eventual winners MSK (Wes Lee and Nash Carter) and following the match proceeded to argue.[3] On the February 17 episode of NXT, Scott attacked Leon Ruff after losing a match against him, turning heel in the process.[4]

Scott and Ruff continued to feud with it culminating on the May 4, 2021 episode of NXT where Scott defeated Ruff following interference from a debuting A. J. Francis. Following the match, Scott and Francis were joined by Ashante "Thee" Adonis, and Briana Brandy.[5] The following week, Francis and Brandy were introduced as Top Dolla and B-Fab, respectively, and the group were named Hit Row. On the May 18 episode of NXT, Adonis and Top Dolla debuted as a tag team and defeated Ariya Daivari and Tony Nese.

On the June 29 episode of NXT, Scott defeated Bronson Reed to capture the NXT North American Championship, giving the stable their first title. They wrestled only four more matches, sometime after the group was drafted to the SmackDown brand where Adonis showed his final appearance on the NXT brand alongside Hit Row as the show was transformed into the new NXT 2.0. Their final match was held on the August 24 episode of NXT 2.0, losing a six-man tag match to Legado Del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde, Raul Mendoza & Santos Escobar)[6] while B-Fab feuded on and off again in the ring with Elektra Lopez, who was the opposing team's female valet and manager as B-Fab was to Hit Row.[7]

SmackDown (2021)

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On October 1, 2021, Hit Row was called up to the main roster and drafted to SmackDown. Isaiah "Swerve" Scott and Top Dolla wrestled their main roster debut tag team match against two local competitors while Adonis and B-Fab managed the two in their corner on the October 22 episode of SmackDown.[8] Despite the stable being drafted to SmackDown as part of the 2021 WWE Draft,[9] B-Fab was released on November 4,[10] while Adonis, Top Dolla, and Scott were released 15 days later as part of a seventh round of layoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic that involved administrative staff, plant and talents.[11][12]

Independent circuit (2022)

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After three months of inactivity following the WWE releases, Hit Row reunited at the MCW Pro Wrestling Spring Fever show under the name the HitMakerZ on March 19, 2022 in Parkville, Maryland, minus Scott, who had signed with All Elite Wrestling. On August 6, Top Dolla made his return to Coastal Championship Wrestling in Hialeah, Florida, under the ring name FRAN¢; attacking Cha Cha Charlie in the main event of Bash At The Brew 19.[13]

Return to WWE (2022–2024)

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On the August 12, 2022 episode of SmackDown, Hit Row made their unannounced return without Scott as faces, where Top Dolla and Ashante "Thee" Adonis (accompanied by B-Fab) defeated two local competitors.[14] Shortly afterwards, Hit Row began a feud with Maximum Male Models (ma.çé and mån.sôör) which they defeated the latter on the September 2 edition of SmackDown.

On the December 16 episode of SmackDown, Hit Row beat The Viking Raiders and Legado Del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro) in a triple threat tag team match for an Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship opportunity against The Usos.[15] On the December 23 episode of SmackDown, The Usos beat Hit Row to retain the championship.[16]

On the January 6, 2023 episode of SmackDown, Top Dolla was defeated by Ricochet in a Royal Rumble qualifying match. After the match, Hit Row attacked Ricochet, turning heel for the first time on the main roster.[17] B-Fab made her main roster in-ring debut at the 2023 Women's Royal Rumble match as the seventh entrant.[18][19] She was eliminated in 36 seconds by eventual winner Rhea Ripley.[20] Adonis made his singles main roster in-ring debut on the May 26 episode of SmackDown in a losing effort to Cameron Grimes.[21] On September 21, 2023, along with a host of WWE superstars, Top Dolla was released again from his WWE contract.[22]

On February 2, 2024, it was revealed that B-Fab had joined Bobby Lashley's new stable The Pride. The following week, WWE announced that Ashante would be in a new tag team with Cedric Alexander, effectively ending Hit Row.[23]

Members

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* Founding member(s)
L Leader
M Manager

Former

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Member Joined Left
Isaiah "Swerve" Scott (L) May 4, 2021 * November 19, 2021
Top Dolla May 4, 2021 * September 21, 2023
B-Fab (M) May 4, 2021 * February 2, 2024
Ashante "Thee" Adonis May 4, 2021 * February 2, 2024

Timeline

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Music careers

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The members of Hit Row are all featured on the stable's WWE theme song titled "Now You Know" (later remixed as "Best of the Best”) which was released by the company on streaming services in 2021. They had also previously been involved with the music industry, recording music independently and collaborating with other artists. Briana Brandy (aka B-Fab) has released multiple songs since 2013 that have made it ITunes Apple Music.[24] Tehuti Miles also made an appearance in the music video for Dominique Danielle's 2022 song "Come Through".[25][26]

On March 6, 2023 Hit Row was once more partially fully reunited as a music video was dropped where it was musical artist Montesy featuring A. J. Francis (aka FRAN¢ / aka Top Dolla), Rich Latta, Swerve Strickland (aka Swerve The Realest / aka Isaiah "Swerve" Scott former member) & Briana Brandy (aka B-Fab) dropped a music video by the name of Price Went Up.[27][28]

On July 21, 2023 three members of Hit Row by the names of B-Fab, Top Dolla and Ashante "Thee" Adonis dropped a freestyle single by the name of Barbie Barz.[29][30]

Other media

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  • Isaiah "Swerve" Scott made his video game debut in WWE 2K22 after his WWE release; this was due to Isaiah being a member of the 2020 NXT Breakout Superstars alongside Angel (formerly Angel Garza).[31]
  • Ashante "Thee" Adonis, Top Dolla, & B-Fab (exclusively as a manager) made their video game debut in WWE 2K23 as DLC characters in the Steiner Row Pack DLC bundle.[32]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^ Melok, Bobby (October 4, 2020). "NXT Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar def. Isaiah "Swerve" Scott". WWE. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Bracket for Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic unveiled". WWE.com. January 13, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  3. ^ Moore, John (January 13, 2021). "1/13 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Adam Cole and Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Breeze and Fandango, and Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Ever-Rise in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic matches, Shotzi Blackheart vs. Candice LeRae, Johnny Gargano vs. Dexter Lumis in a non-title match". ProWrestling.net. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  4. ^ Moore, John (February 17, 2021). "2/17 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Finn Balor, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne, Danny Burch, and Oney Lorcan, Kyle O'Reilly opening segment, Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart vs. Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell, fallout from NXT Takeover Vengeance Day". ProWrestling.net. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  5. ^ Moore, John (May 4, 2021). "5/4 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Finn Balor's return, Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart vs. Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae for the NXT Women's Tag Titles, Isaiah Scott vs. Leon Ruff in a Falls Count Anywhere match". ProWrestling.net. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  6. ^ "Hit Row vs. Legado del Fantasma: WWE NXT, Aug. 24, 2021". YouTube.com. 24 August 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  7. ^ "B-Fab vs. Elektra Lopez – No Disqualification Match: WWE NXT 2.0, Sept. 28, 2021". WWE.com. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  8. ^ "Hit Row debuts on SmackDown against Dustin Lawyer & Daniel Williams: SmackDown, Oct. 22, 2021". YouTube.com. 22 October 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  9. ^ Powell, Jason (October 1, 2021). "10/1 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of the first night of the WWE Draft, Belair vs. Sasha Banks, Edge returns, fallout from Extreme Rules". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  10. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (November 4, 2021). "B-Fab Released By WWE". Fightful. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  11. ^ Chase, Stephanie (November 19, 2021). "WWE releases more names including John Morrison and Tegan Nox". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  12. ^ Currier, Joseph (November 19, 2021). "John Morrison Among Eight More Released From WWE Contracts". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Coastal Championship Wrestling". Coastal Championship Wrestling.
  14. ^ Powell, Jason (August 12, 2022). "8/12 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Gunther vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the Intercontinental Championship, Liv Morgan and Shayna Baszler contract signing for WWE Clash at the Castle, Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah vs. Xia Li and Shotzi in a WWE Women's Tag Title tournament match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  15. ^ Miller, Gregory (December 16, 2022). "Hit Row face The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles". WWE.
  16. ^ "SmackDown results, Dec. 23, 2022: Strowman & Ricochet deck the halls with Imperium in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight". WWE. December 23, 2022.
  17. ^ "Hit Row turned heel during WWE Friday Night SmackDown | Wrestling News | WWE and AEW Results, Spoilers, Rumors & Scoops". wrestlingnews.co. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  18. ^ "7️⃣: B-Fab #RoyalRumble". WWE Twitter.
  19. ^ "This is B-Fab's first WWE main roster match ever. It's her third televised match ever". Sean Ross Sapp Twitter.
  20. ^ "Michael Cole said that B-Fab, who lasted less than 40 seconds in the Rumble match, still lasted longer than Top Dolla would have. Damn. #RoyalRumble". Jimmy Van Twitter.
  21. ^ Powell, Jason (2023-05-26). "WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (5/26): Barnett's review of Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa on The KO Show with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, Austin Theory vs. Sheamus for the U.S. Title, Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi vs. Bayley and Iyo Sky, AJ Styles vs. Karrion Kross". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
  22. ^ Jenkins, H. (September 21, 2023). "WWE Releases Top Dolla From His Contract". Ringside News. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  23. ^ WWE (February 9, 2024). "Ashante "Thee" Adonis & Cedric Alexander look to make a statement: SmackDown exclusive, Feb. 9, 2024". YouTube.
  24. ^ "Briana Brandy". iTunes.com / Apple Music. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  25. ^ "OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO- "COME THROUGH"". YouTube.com. 29 April 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  26. ^ "Dominique Danielle". iTunes.com / Apple Music. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  27. ^ Unknown, Swerve City Podcast (6 March 2023). "Monteasy - Price Went Up feat. FRAN¢, Rich Latta, Swerve The Realest & Briana Brandy (Music Video)". Www.youtube.com. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  28. ^ Unknown, SP3 (7 March 2023). "SWERVE STRICKLAND, TOP DOLLA & B-FAB FEATURE ON NEW MONTEASY SONG 'PRICE WENT UP'". Wrestletalk.com. Retrieved March 8, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ Brandy, Briana. "Barbie Barz X Hit Row 💕🅱️💅🏽🔝💵🅰️🅰️💕". Instagram.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  30. ^ Skudder, Jake. "WWE Superstars appear in Barbie-themed photoshoot ahead of movie's release". Fightfans.co.uk. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  31. ^ "Isaiah "Swerve" Scott". Thesmackdownhotel.com.
  32. ^ Lara, James (6 March 2023). "WWE 2K23 Season Pass, DLC Wrestlers and Release Dates Revealed". Mp1st.com. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
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