5 WWE rookies who didn't last long in the company

Not every new talent who joins WWE is destined to become a World Champion.
Not every new talent who joins WWE is destined to become a World Champion.

#2 Former UFC star Cain Velasquez didn't last long in WWE

Amid much fanfare, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez made his first WWE appearance on the debut edition of SmackDown on Fox in October 2019.

Velasquez immediately locked horns straight away with his longtime rival, Brock Lesnar. The pair were booked to face off for the WWE Championship at Crown Jewel 2019 later that month.

The Mexican-American star seemed destined for great things in the world of sports entertainment. Until he became injury struck, that is. A knee injury suffered by Velasquez meant that his clash with Lesnar in Saudi Arabia had to be kept to under 90 seconds.

On the basis that Velasquez would be out of action for a period, Lesnar was booked to win decisively by submission. At the time, it was felt that a rematch between the two could take place once Velasquez was healthy.

That rematch did not happen, however. Nor, in fact, did any other televised match involving Cain Velasquez in WWE. Aside from a house show tag team match in Mexico City alongside Rey Mysterio, Velasquez never competed for the company again.

A scheduled return in the 2020 Royal Rumble match was reportedly scrapped after Velasquez revealed the plan to members of the media. A few months later, Velasquez was released by WWE as part of cost-cutting measures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Velasquez's inevitably large salary would have played a part in his release, but WWE was also seemingly frustrated by his proneness to injury.

Leaking information that the company would have preferred to be kept under wraps - such as his Royal Rumble appearance and a meeting at WWE headquarters with Ronda Rousey - was another strike against Velasquez.

There can be no doubt that the San Jose native had the potential to be a genuine headliner for WWE. Circumstances, though, did not work out in this instance.

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