What if Cain Velasquez beats Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship?

3. Fans balk at Velasquez

Despite Velasquez's legitimacy as a fighter, hardcore WWE fans may not rally behind him.

The general consensus is that WWE pulled off the feel good moment of the year when Kofi Kingston enjoyed an unlikely rise through the ranks, culminating in defeating Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35. Kingston has always been a popular Superstar, but this victory felt particularly vindicating, not only due to the immediate underdog story at hand, but because Kingston really had been grinding it out in WWE for over a decade, putting on memorable performances without ever being given an opportunity to shine at the highest level.

Cain Velasquez represents the opposite of Kingston. He hasn’t been honing his craft or waiting for his chance in a wrestling ring—let alone in WWE—for years and years. He just debuted and in the wake of Kingston getting squashed out of his championship reign, is immediately in the WWE Championship picture.

Velasquez may exceed expectations and do well in a featured role for WWE. However, his immediate rise to the top, without having developed the loyalty of WWE fans means he may be swimming upstream in trying to establish himself as a top face in the company.

This isn't much different from to how fans rejected Batista when he returned to WWE in early 2014 to immediately enter the WWE Championship picture. In similar fashion, the hardcore fan base may be inclined to boo Velasquez, as well.