Cain Velasquez's WWE tenure is over after just a little over 6 months, after he reportedly signed a multi-year deal with the company. News broke early Tuesday that WWE had come to terms with Velasquez on his release, the latest in a long list of talent let go in recent weeks.
The former UFC Heavyweight Champion showed up at the conclusion of the SmackDown premiere on FOX to confront newly crowned WWE Champion Brock Lesnar - close to a decade after the two battled inside the octagon at UFC 121. The two would go on to fight for the WWE Title at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia in a match that lasted a little over two minutes. That match would be his only televised contest in WWE.
Velasquez did compete at a WWE live event in Mexico back in November, but he had been off of TV for the past several months. Now his run with the company has reportedly come to an end.
So what went wrong?
Tom Colohue is our Senior Journalist here at Sportskeeda, and I had him on my radio show Tuesday night to discuss Cain Velasquez, among other things. When I asked him what went wrong with Cain following his high profile debut, he said in one word - ":everything". It started with Velasquez allegedly concealing a knee injury, apparently.
"The WWE believed he was well aware of his injury when he signed the contract. That rubbed some people the wrong way. That's something I've reported on before and something that's really been quite public knowledge for a while. Then he announced that he was going to be in the Rumble. Where of course he wasn't, in the end, in the Royal Rumble."
Colohue went on to say that Velasquez was supposed to be a surprise entrant in this year's Royal Rumble match, but was ultimately pulled. So there were some people who were upset that he let that cat out of the bag so to speak. Then, there was the photo he shared of himself with Ronda Rousey at WWE Headquarters.
"He was there to talk about plans for him, contract details going forward. He wasn't supposed to let on that he was there. So firstly, he doesn't say what he should be saying. Then he says what he shouldn't be saying. And then he shows what he shouldn't be showing."
Colohue notes that ultimately what led to his release, according to sources, is that WWE simply couldn't get him back in the ring after his injury in time for their scheduled plans. His release comes despite management being happy with how he looked in training in recent weeks. The door, at this time, isn't closed on a return to the company in the future.
You can hear my full conversation with Tom Colohue below at about the 21 minute mark.