Cain Velasquez in WWE: All you need to know about Brock Lesnar's next opponent, AEW interest in signing him

Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez
Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez

The debut of SmackDown on FOX ended in quite a surprise as Brock Lesnar won the WWE Championship from Kofi Kingston in no time, landing an F5 on Kingston right off the bat.

But, what followed was even more shocking. Rey Mysterio - who had been assaulted by Lesnar on this week's RAW, arrived on SmackDown, along with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez.

Lesnar retreated once Velasquez and Mysterio made their way to the ring, and it seems like Velasquez will be Lesnar's next opponent.

Who is Cain Velasquez?

Velasquez is a former MMA star, having won the UFC Heavyweight Championship twice. His first reign as the UFC Heavyweight Champion began when he defeated Brock Lesnar back in 2010 at UFC 121, with Velasquez winning the bout by TKO in just over four minutes.

Velasquez's second reign as UFC Heavyweight Champion happened in UFC 155 in 2012, when he defeated Junior dos Santos. The 37-year-old has not retired from UFC, and had a fight earlier this year against Francis Ngannou, which he lost.

He signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC, the first of which was against Ngannou.

Velasquez in pro wrestling

The newest WWE Superstar has been lifelong fan of pro wrestling, and has been a part of Mexican promotion AAA, having fought two matches for the promotion.

Both matches were 6-man tag team matches; the first saw him team up with Cody Rhodes and Psycho Clown to face and defeat the team of El Texano Jr., Rey Escorpion and Taurus, while the second saw him team up with Brian Cage and Psycho Clown to once again face the team of El Texano Jr., Rey Escorpion and Taurus.

The second match happened just a month before his WWE debut.

How long has he been with WWE?

Velasquez made his first appearance on WWE television at SmackDown's debut on FOX, but has previously been involved with Vince McMahon's promotion, having trained at the WWE Performance Center last year.

youtube-cover

In an interview with Sports Illustrated earlier this year, Velasquez revealed why he chose AAA over WWE: "It was a consideration (signing for WWE), but for me, lucha libre has a more special place in my heart, from everything to my nationality to where I grew up. I have so much pride for lucha libre, so it hits me closer to the heart."

AEW's interest in Velasquez

AEW, WWE's newest rival, were also interested in signing Velasquez, with Cody Rhodes, executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling, praising the MMA fighter. Cody had wrestled alongside Velasquez in AAA and called him "special".

"He's definitely somebody that I am keeping an eye on. Cain was one of those athletes - it's not even an athlete thing, it's almost a strange, natural ability to pick up our industry. "He picked it up so quick and he wasn't doing mixed martial arts Cain Velasquez, he was trying to do true lucha," said Cody on Velasquez. (H/T WrestlingInc)

Quick Links