Report: Ex-UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez Released by WWE

Cain Velasquez’s tenure as a member of the World Wrestling Entertainment roster has proven to be short lived.

According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Velasquez was released by the sports entertainment company as a part of budget cuts due to the coronavirus pandemic. The former UFC heavyweight champion made his pro wrestling debut in the AAA promotion before signing a multi-year contract with the WWE last year.

Velasquez made his WWE debut in October and was quickly inserted into a storyline with former Octagon foe and UFC champ Brock Lesnar. Velasquez was defeated by Lesnar in their match at “Crown Jewel” in Saudi Arabia on Oct. 31 and hasn’t competed for the organization since then.

After being plagued by injuries throughout his career, the 37-year-old Velasquez retired from mixed martial arts last year. The decision came on the heels of a return from a two-and-a-half-year absence, where he suffered a knee injury in a 26-second knockout loss to Francis Ngannou at UFC on ESPN 1.

Anchored at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California, Velasquez made his Octagon debut in just his third professional fight. He would go on to win his first six appearances, culminating in a championship triumph over Lesnar at UFC 121 in October 2010. He lost the belt to Junior dos Santos in the promotion’s first-ever UFC on Fox card the following year, but regained the crown in a rematch with “Cigano” at UFC 155 in December 2012. He defended the title twice more before falling to Fabricio Werdum at UFC 188 in 2015. Velasquez has competed just twice in the Las Vegas-based promotion since that defeat.