Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez made his WWE debut last night (Fri., Oct. 4, 2019) during the SmackDown premier on FOX, as he crashed the ring to battle former UFC titleholder Brock Lesnar, who had just defeated WWE Champion Kofi Kingston in 10 seconds to win the title.
Velasquez made his way to the ring alongside WWE legend Rey Mysterio and eventually secured a beautiful takedown on Brock. The former UFC champion followed that up with a flurry of strikes before Lesnar kicked him off and scurried out of the ring. Lesnar would go on to flaunt his new WWE world title before retreating to the back.
Check out Velasquez’s beatdown on Lesnar above courtesy of WWE. Lesnar’s ridiculous win over Kingston can be seen below:
DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?!@BrockLesnar just took @TrueKofi‘s championship in 10 seconds!!! pic.twitter.com/goeiQ5CDHg
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) October 5, 2019
Well, it looks like the rumors are true.
Velasquez, 37, was reportedly in talks with WWE and AEW just this past week. The former UFC champion had been recently trying his hand in pro wrestling and apparently has enough chops in the ring to run with the big dogs. Velasquez is already known for his high motor and athleticism, evident by his 12-3 record as a UFC heavyweight, so it’ll be interesting to see what he can do alongside WWE talent.
Lesnar, who lost to Velasquez via first-round TKO back at UFC 121, is the best type of opponent for Cain if he ends up getting an actual match. Outside of the history shared between the two former UFC champions, Lesnar’s lack of technical wrestling will likely even in the playing field and give Velasquez a little more room for error.
Only time will tell how far Velasquez ends of taking this WWE crossover, but with the wrestling organization now part of big FOX Cain may be able to make a solid run at it given his history with the network as part of UFC.
After all, Velasquez has recently informed UFC of his removal from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) testing pool (per MMA Junkie), thus putting his UFC career on a prolonged hiatus and his pro wrestling venture into high gear.
Stick with Mania for more news on Velasquez’s WWE crossover.