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On the 4th of October, in the debut episode of WWE SmackDown on FOX, the main event was set to be one with remarkable repercussions. The WWE Champion Kofi Kingston was putting his title up for grabs against the former UFC fighter and wrestling legend, Brock Lesnar.
The match was an important one. Lesnar was not someone that the WWE Universe was too fond of. There was too much about him that they could not quite accept. By appearances, Lesnar seems always money oriented with little to no passion about the business, although that might just be an assumption. Also, whenever Lesnar wins a title, it seems almost certain that the title will disappear from television for weeks on end, with very few defenses of the title.
What happened on WWE SmackDown's debut on Fox?
The fans were hoping that Kofi Kingston would do the impossible and retain the title, but it was not to be. Kofi did not get to even put up a good fight against Lesnar, something that would have earned him some respect at least, and instead was the victim to an F5 within 5 seconds of the match starting. The match was over with Brock Lesnar, while the fans were disappointed.
However, the night was far from over.
Before Lesnar could even celebrate his title win, he was interrupted by the man he had assaulted the previous week — Rey Mysterio.
Mysterio and his son, Dominik, had been the victims of a brutal assault by the Beast Incarnate.
The Lucha legend was not alone, however, as accompanying him to the ring was none other than another member of the world of Lucha Libre, Cain Velasquez.
Continue to read on Velasquez's status in UFC and his reasons for moving to professional wrestling and WWE.
Cain Velasquez in the UFC
Velasquez is a UFC legend like none other. A two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion, he has a record of 14-3 to his name and has defeated the best of the best in the company during his time there — including Brock Lesnar.
Over his time in the UFC, he has won four of his UFC Heavyweight Championship fights, where 2 of them were successful title defenses, tying him in third place for most Heavyweight Championship fights won alongside Stipe Miocic. He also has the most Knockout wins in the UFC Heavyweight division history with 10 such wins, tying with Derrick Lewis and Junior Dos Santos.
So, when he retired, why would Cain Velasquez, a UFC legend, head to wrestling?
Well, he has quite a few reasons to do that. Let's take a look at a few.
Cain Velasquez's injuries have caught up with him
As anyone in the world of MMA will tell you, it's a dangerous sport. Fighters who enter the Octagon, do so putting their lives at risk. They put on dangerous fights, looking to take out their opponents, all the while suffering shots to the head and different parts of their bodies themselves.
Over time, this can be extremely taxing on anyone's body and having been in such high profile fights, Velasquez's body has certainly taken a lot of punishment.
Continue reading to find out more about Cain Velasquez's reasons for retiring from UFC and heading to WWE
Cain Velasquez is no longer in his prime
One mistake that many UFC fighters make is their tendency to continue fighting when they are well past their primes. This is evident in several fighters, but especially in someone like BJ Penn, who was at one time one of the top men in the UFC, but now holds the record for the most consecutive losses in the UFC.
Velasquez, too, is past his prime, and he recognized that. At 37, he may not be too old, but his last fight against Francis Ngannou proved that he is not what he once was. His knee crumpled, showcasing how easy it is for his body to suffer injuries now. He was finished by Ngannou within a minute, something that was unthinkable even a couple of years ago.
Velasquez has recognized that he is past his prime and has thus made the perfect decision to retire from the company and move on to bigger and better things while keeping his legacy intact.
Cain Velasquez and wrestling
Even before Cain Velasquez came to WWE, he was already in the business of professional wrestling. He had signed with AAA, the Mexican wrestling promotion. There he had two wrestling matches.
The truth about it is that Cain Velasquez is in love with professional wrestling, a form of entertainment that allows him to enter a ring and entertain fans all over the world, without taking a fraction of the risks that an MMA fighter has to take every day.
In an interview with NYPost during his time with AAA, he said that he was falling in love with wrestling all over again.
“For me this is kind of reliving my childhood, just having fun with it. The show in August was great. I had a blast doing it. I wasn’t sure how people would react. I wasn’t sure how I would like it, going and performing. It was amazing and a dream.”
This showcases that for Velasquez, wrestling is not only about the money and his passion for the form of entertainment as well.
Continue reading about Cain Velasquez leaving UFC, and why his move to WWE to face Brock Lesnar is absolutely logical.
Cain Velasquez in WWE
While it is definitely his passion for wrestling that is his main motivation, but money certainly does not hurt.
Cain Velasquez signed with WWE at a very convenient time. A month away from their huge show at Crown Jewel at Halloween, Cain Velasquez is in for a huge payday. With WWE starting their contract with FOX, Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez are certainly in the spotlight.
As part of his first-ever match in WWE, Cain Velasquez is getting a WWE Championship match in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
This ensures that he is in for a huge payday.
Due to his contract with WWE, he will be making a huge amount of money, possibly far more than he would have made for a fight in the UFC.
Continuing a rivalry with Brock Lesnar
Finally, another reason that his move to WWE makes sense is that he gets to wrestle the man with whom his real-life rivalry has attracted a lot of eyes.
Velasquez was able to defeat Brock Lesnar to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion the first time in his life.
Could this be something that will be repeated in WWE? A win could mean that he will become the WWE Champion for the first time in his life. That seems unlikely, but either way that promises to be a blockbuster bout which will attract a lot of attention.
Conclusion
Whatever be the reason that Cain Velasquez has finally made the move to WWE, one thing is clear.
The UFC might have a serious problem on their hand at the moment. UFC and MMA fighters have now made it a habit of shifting to WWE after their UFC career. More often than not, such stars get huge pushes in WWE due to their legitimate background.
With Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler, Matt Riddle, and others making their way in WWE, it appears that UFC fighters might consider wrestling to be a good and secure alternative in the future if they are big enough names.
What do you think of Cain Velasquez vs Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
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