Last night’s Friday Night SmackDown premiere on FOX was a historic occasion, but the biggest talking point after the show was Cain Velasquez. As The Inquisitr reported, the former UFC World Heavyweight Champion appeared with Rey Mysterio and attacked his old rival Brock Lesnar, who he previously fought in the world of mixed martial arts.
Velasquez spoke about his WWE debut and how he felt about seeing Lesnar again, according to Wrestling Inc. , He revealed that despite WWE and UFC being separate entities, he had many of the same feelings he had when he fought “The Beast” all those years ago.
“It was a different world, but it felt the same, the same intensity that was there from the first time we fought. The same feelings came back. It’s a different world, yes, but those same feelings are there when he’s staring at me and I’m staring at him, like, ‘It’s time to go.’… The crowd reaction was awesome, the energy, it’s something that I gotta take in more of and I will once I get better at this. I could feel the energy and people just loving it.”
Velasquez and Lesnar will reportedly square off for the WWE Championship at the upcoming Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia. That said, apparently the company’s newest addition to the roster is bypassing WWE’s development system and going straight to the main event.
Velasquez is a newcomer to the world of sports entertainment since he made his in-ring debut back in August at a Triple A event in Mexico. However, now that he’s withdrawn for UFC’s USADA testing pool, he’s effectively retired from MMA to concentrate on wrestling full-time.
Although Velasquez is a rookie to pro wrestling, MMA stars do tend to quickly learn the ropes of the business. Ronda Rousey made her in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34 despite only training for a matter of months, while Ken Shamrock was a star back in the 1990s.
Velasquez does have wrestling experience, so he is already familiar with the basics. Furthermore, he will be able to incorporate his MMA style into his wrestling arsenal as well while his style is bound to match up well with Lesnar’s in their upcoming bout.
Until signing with WWE, Velasquez was the hottest free agent in the business and was courting offers from All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling. In the end, though, he chose WWE and he’s entered his new company and made an immediate impact.