WWE Rumors: Backstage Update On Cain Velasquez’s Release From Company, Per ‘Fightful Select’
Earlier this week, it was reported by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE recently released Cain Velasquez, who had wrestled just two matches for the company after retiring from mixed martial arts. The former UFC heavyweight champion was supposedly let go as part of WWE’s budget cuts amid the coronavirus pandemic, though further details on his release were initially unavailable. As the latest rumors suggest, Velasquez was cut with substantial time remaining on his contract, but not before he made a good impression with fellow trainees at the WWE Performance Center.
Citing a members-only report from Fightful Select, WrestlingNews.co wrote that Velasquez was “very nice and respectful” to his co-trainees during the time he was working out at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. While it wasn’t mentioned when he had last trained at the facility, the report suggested that he hadn’t been seen in the area in a while. He also did not appear on television after he lost to former UFC rival Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel in October 2019, with his only other match for WWE taking place at a house show in Mexico one month after the pay-per-view.
Looks like @sheltyb803 got in trouble after running his mouth…@cainmma is here on #RAW! Ain't no stopping CAIN VELASQUEZ now! ? pic.twitter.com/S1t3TAbRTc
— WWE (@WWE) October 22, 2019
The new report also backed up rumors that Velasquez signed a multi-year contract with WWE following his MMA retirement, noting that his deal with the promotion was good until the fall of 2022 — three years from the time he signed. This makes him one of several superstars who was released this month despite being on multi-year contracts. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, as well as Mike and Maria Kanellis, were under contract until 2024 when they were let go, having signed five-year deals with WWE last year, per Cultaholic.
Regarding the backstage reaction to Velasquez’s release, Fightful Select wrote that some people were caught by surprise, while others didn’t find the move that shocking, given how rarely he was used by WWE. This, however, was largely a result of a knee injury he was dealing with when he joined the company, one that was also blamed for the fact that he lost to Lesnar at Crown Jewel in just two minutes.
It’s not clear at the moment whether WWE has any plans to re-sign Velasquez in the future and give him another chance to cross over successfully from mixed martial arts to sports entertainment. However, rival company All Elite Wrestling was reportedly among the 37-year-old’s suitors after he had an impressive pro wrestling debut for Mexican promotion AAA last summer, as noted by CBS Sports.
