Cain Velasquez’s release should deter other UFC fighters from signing with WWE

Cain Velasquez’s short-lived WWE stint can’t be considered anything but a flop, which doesn’t bode well other UFC fighters eyeing an eventual run in the company.

News of Cain Velasquez’s WWE release today from Dave Meltzer was both surprising and unsurprising to fans. It was surprising in the sense that he signed a multiyear contract with the company back in October (per ESPN’s Marc Raimondi), yet unsurprising because of how he hasn’t been seen on TV in many months.

Rumors of Velasquez joining WWE started up in the fall of 2019, though the actual deal for him to be brought in reportedly came together fairly quickly.

Once rumors ran rampant of AEW also being in talks with the former UFC Heavyweight champion, WWE rushed to secure him to a contract and debut him on SmackDown’s first Friday night broadcast on Fox in October.

His face-to-face confrontation with his former foe Brock Lesnar (moments removed from Lesnar’s eight-second WWE Championship victory over Kofi Kingston) made for a memorable moment, but it was unfortunately all downhill for him from there in WWE.

Aside from acknowledging the history between Lesnar and Velasquez inside the octagon, WWE did very little to endear Velasquez to viewers who weren’t already familiar with him.

Despite being a perfectly competent talker, he rarely spoke on SmackDown. Instead, Rey Mysterio served as his mouthpiece, making Mysterio vs. Lesnar feel like a bigger attraction than Lesnar vs. Velasquez.

Worse yet, his one attack on Shelton Benjamin on Raw days before he was scheduled to clash with Lesnar for the WWE Championship was hardly impressive. He owned a victory over Lesnar from their MMA days, but because that was so long ago, few fans viewed him as a true threat to The Beast Incarnate.

In short, it was a mistake for WWE to blow off Lesnar vs. Velasquez after only three weeks at Super ShowDown. Had the company waited to build up Velasquez and allow him to rehab his injured knee and train a bit more at the Performance Center, the match likely wouldn’t have been the disaster it ended up being.

For what it’s worth, Velasquez wasn’t some random former UFC fighter WWE decided to hire on a whim because of his name value. Rather, he had experience with wrestling, having previously competed for AAA earlier on in the year.

He showed signs of potential in that one tag team match, but it’s important to note that it was a multi-man affair. His offense was limited, unlike at Super ShowDown where he was exposed for being a “rookie” upon going one-on-one with Lesnar.

With more seasoning, Velasquez could have been something special. However, the company cutting bait with him should serve as a lesson to any and all athletes from the MMA world with aspirations of crossing over into the wrestling world that they aren’t likely to receive their just due in WWE.

Of course, not everyone with a UFC background has flopped under the bright lights of WWE. Ken Shamrock and Ronda Rousey were decorated champions while with UFC and both of them managed to find success inside the squared circle.

Sadly, they are in the minority, especially with how short their stints were. Lesnar is an exception because of how he started with WWE before transitioning into the UFC in the late 2000s, and Matt Riddle and Shayna Baszler have yet to hit it big on the main roster.

Daniel Cormier, Colby Covington, Cris Cyborg and Paige VanZant have all expressed interest of working with WWE at one point or another. With the possible exception of Conor McGregor (whose charisma would make him the perfect fit in WWE), there is no guarantee that their respective runs would be any better than Velasquez’s if how he was used is any indication.

That isn’t to say MMA fighters and other sports stars have no place in WWE, as more variety is definitely needed, but that WWE should steer away from signing anyone else of that ilk until they prove they can book them like the legitimate athletes are.

As noted, Rousey was already on WWE’s radar long before she signed with them. Velasquez could have gone far had he been booked to look as dominant as he did in the UFC.

For now, WWE should focus on making the most of who they currently have under contract given that their roster is as stacked as it’s ever been. Sacrificing Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship reign to Lesnar in under a minute just so he could be ready for the debuting Velasquez was a waste in retrospect, but that’s another story for a different day.