Junior dos Santos made his eagerly anticipated professional wrestling debut at AEW Rampage on Friday night at James L. Knight Center in Miami.
The former UFC champion was part of a six-man tag team match that included a few of the biggest stars on the roster.
‘Cigano’ immediately put a beating on wrestling legend, Chris Jericho, after been tagged into the match. However, things ultimately went the other way for dos Santos who was put through a table by Bellator fighter, Jake Hager.
The war between the #InnerCircle and @AmericanTopTeam is far from over. See what happened when @IAmJericho, @sammyguevara, & @RealJakeHager battled @ScorpioSky, @OfficialEGO, & @junior_cigano w/ @GamebredFighter on #AEWRampage
https://t.co/poK9IX6Vou pic.twitter.com/Ff7YYGCbnN
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) October 16, 2021
Despite that, dos Santos still found himself on the winning team after Paige Van Zant distracted the referee allowing Jorge Masvidal to land his patented flying knee to the jaw of Jericho to leave him motionless on the floor and allow one of dos Santos’ teammates to get the pin.
Dos santos has been looking for a new career path since being cut by the UFC back in March. The former titleholder lost four straight fights against the heavyweight elite before being let go by MMA’s premier promotion.
The Brazilian knockout artist has talked up a potential move to boxing but is also open to becoming a full-time professional wrestler with AEW if the chance arises.
Junior dos Santos To Become A Full-Time Pro Wrestler?
“Not yet – but maybe, dos Santos said about signing a deal with the AEW ahead of his debut match. “The one responsible for this is this man right there, Dan Lambert. He brought some of us to the shows at AEW, and I was just impressed with that. I remember I enjoyed watching some pro wrestling matches, but I wasn’t really following it. Once I was there and I could see how things worked, I was impressed and I said, ‘Man, this is amazing. I want to be a part of it. I want to be in that ring, too.’ So things started to happen, and here we are, close to our debut.
Do you think Junior dos Santos should make professional wrestling his full-time gig?